Published · 7 min read · Facts checked 9 October 2026 against the sources below
A Cyprus wedding is one of the simplest ways for a British couple to marry abroad. Documents in English are accepted, a date can be booked from home, and Paphos Municipality marries more than 1,500 couples a year. Once the legal side is settled, what remains is the venue, the month and the practical business of getting everyone to Paphos and Coral Bay, Cyprus.
How getting married in Cyprus works
Civil marriage has been valid in Cyprus since 1923, and today it falls under the Marriage Law of 2003. Many of the couples Paphos Municipality marries each year fly in for the occasion.
Every couple first needs a marriage licence from the municipal offices, whatever kind of ceremony follows. From there you have three broad choices:
- A civil wedding, conducted by the municipality at its own venue or, with permission, somewhere else.
- A religious ceremony or blessing in a church or chapel.
- A renewal of vows, if you are already married.
Most UK couples choose the civil route. You can reserve a date with the Office of Civil Marriages by phone, by email or through the form on the municipality’s website, without coming to Cyprus first.
Cyprus wedding legal requirements for UK couples
Paphos Municipality publishes a guide each year to the documents it needs. For British citizens visiting Cyprus to marry, the 2026 guide asks each partner for:
- a valid passport;
- a single statutory declaration, signed in front of a UK solicitor or notary public, who stamps it;
- a copy of your birth certificate;
- if it applies, a deed poll, a final divorce decree certified by the court, or the original death certificate of a late spouse.
Every original document must carry an apostille, and the documents about your marital status are valid for three months from the date they were issued. Anything not in Greek or English needs an official translation.
If either of you lives in Cyprus, the list is longer: the guide adds a "no trace" letter from the General Register Office and a certificate of no impediment from the Cyprus Civil Registry.
Witnesses
You need two witnesses aged over 18. Both must be at the ceremony, and you hand in photocopies of their passports with your application. Many couples ask a parent or a close friend who is flying out anyway.
A planning order that works
The three-month limit on the marital-status papers is the thing to plan around. Work backwards from the wedding date:
- Reserve the date with the Office of Civil Marriages by phone, email or the online form, and ask it to confirm your document list.
- Book flights for yourselves and both witnesses, landing at least one working day before the ceremony, so you can apply together on a weekday morning.
- Gather the papers no more than three months before the wedding: the statutory declaration, the birth certificate copies and any divorce, death or deed poll documents.
- Get the apostilles on the originals, and allow time for them to come back by post.
- Pack everything in your hand luggage, with photocopies of both witnesses’ passports.
The lower application fee applies only when the ceremony is at least 15 days after you apply, so a couple who fly in a few days before should expect the higher one.
Notice, fees and the day itself
You don’t need to be in Cyprus for weeks before the wedding. The 2026 guide asks you to apply in person at the Office of Civil Marriages at least one working day before the ceremony, between 08:30 and 10:00, Monday to Friday. Bring both witnesses’ passport copies and all your originals.
The fee depends on how long after your application the ceremony takes place. In 2026 the municipality charges:
| Ceremony date | Fee |
|---|---|
| At least 15 days after you apply | €128.15 |
| Less than 15 days after you apply | €281.92 |
Both can be paid by card. Official ceremony hours are 10:30 to 14:00, Monday to Friday, at the Municipal Gallery; a wedding outside those hours or at another venue costs extra. Your marriage certificate is issued straight after the ceremony, and certified copies are available for a further fee. The municipality can also send copies to your embassy.
Paphos wedding venues
The default setting is the Municipal Gallery, a 19th-century mansion in Ivi Mallioti park in Paphos, renovated in 2023. Its fee covers 20 gold Chiavari chairs, a sound system, a signing table and a ring pillow.
If you want the sea in the photographs, the municipality will also marry you elsewhere. Its 2026 venues guide lists these ceremony fees:
| Venue | Ceremony fee |
|---|---|
| Municipal Gallery, during official hours | €281.92 |
| Municipal Gallery, outside official hours | €382 |
| Ethnographic Museum (outdoor area) | €382 |
| Private venues, such as wineries and estates | €452 |
| Beaches | €482 |
| Lemba fountain, above the sea | €482, plus €300 to the Lemba Council |
| Hotels and resorts | €632 |
| A yacht at Paphos harbour, followed by a cruise | €632 |
A beach outside the municipal area may carry an extra charge. Confirm the total with the office when you book, because the guide changes each year.
Wedding coordinators can arrange the permissions for alternative settings, and many hotels have their own chapels. A coordinator is worth considering for a beach or yacht wedding, where the logistics on the day are less simple than at the gallery.
The best months for a Paphos wedding
Paphos is hot and dry through the summer, and that matters more for a wedding than for a beach holiday: the ceremony hours run through the middle of the day. These are the average daily highs and rainfall at Paphos Airport, from the 1991–2020 climate normals.
| Month | Average high | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|
| April | 21.8 °C | 15.2 mm |
| May | 24.9 °C | 11.1 mm |
| June | 28.1 °C | 1.6 mm |
| July | 30.4 °C | 0.2 mm |
| August | 31.0 °C | 0.1 mm |
| September | 29.4 °C | 4.2 mm |
| October | 27.0 °C | 21.7 mm |
May and October are the sweet spots: warm enough for a dress or a linen suit outdoors, with little rain and far less heat than July and August. June and September are reliably dry but hotter. For the full picture, see our Paphos weather guide.
Getting your guests to Paphos
Most guests will fly into Paphos airport. Our guide to flights to Paphos covers which airports fly there and when.
From the airport, guests staying in the Coral Bay area can hire a car in the arrivals hall or take a taxi; the route is in our guide from Paphos airport to Coral Bay. For the day itself, book taxis or a minibus for the wedding party well ahead, so no one has to drive after the reception.
Send guests the date early, and make sure both witnesses land in time to go with you when you apply.
A villa as a base for the wedding party
The ceremony is a short part of the trip; the days around it matter as much. A private villa gives the couple, parents or the bridal party one place to gather, eat and get ready, away from a hotel lobby.
Villa Prasino is in Peyia, on the hill above Coral Bay. It’s a place to stay, not a wedding venue, so hold the ceremony at the Municipal Gallery or one of the venues above and come back to the villa for everything around it.
What the villa offers a wedding party:
- Pre-wedding drinks at the outdoor bar, with fire pit seating for the evening.
- A family meal at the covered outdoor dining area, with the traditional stone barbecue.
- Somewhere to get ready: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a balcony off the master bedroom.
- Downtime for the day after: a private diving pool, a hot tub, and a games area with pool table, table tennis and darts.
You can ask about a celebration set-up and a grocery pre-stock when you book, so the fridge is full when you arrive. When you have dates, send a booking request and mention the wedding.
Where to stay
Villa Prasino sleeps 6 guests in 3 bedrooms, which suits the couple and close family before and after a Paphos wedding. There’s a 6 × 12 m diving pool, a hot tub, an outdoor bar with a fire pit, covered dining and a stone barbecue, in 1,000 m² of gardens behind electric gates. Coral Bay beach is about 5 km away and the Akamas National Park about 5 km. See our villa for celebrations, check availability and rates, and send us a booking request.
