01
Welcome drinks & welcome dinner
The first evening, when everyone has just arrived. Usually relaxed and early — a glass at sunset, small plates to share, nothing that asks guests to dress up after a long flight.
Arrival night
Welcome & rehearsal dinners · Santorini
Pre-Wedding Events in Santorini.
Welcome dinners, rehearsal dinners, boat days and farewell brunches — the evenings around your wedding, planned with the same care as the day itself and hosted at our own sunset venue in Pyrgos, or anywhere on the island.
Welcome to farewellEvery event of the wedding week
Up to 50 guestsOn our veranda in Pyrgos
One plannerFor the whole week, not just the day
The week, not just the day
A Santorini wedding is rarely one evening.
Your guests fly in from different countries, some of them meeting for the first time. By the wedding day, they should feel like one table.
That is what the events before the wedding are for. A welcome drink the night people land, a rehearsal dinner where the speeches can run long, a day on the water, one last slow lunch before everyone flies home. Each has a different job, and each needs its own venue, menu, music and timing.
We plan them as part of your wedding rather than as extras: one planner, one schedule for the week, and suppliers who already know your colours and your guest list. Every event is quoted on its own line — see how we price — so you always know what each evening costs.
The events
Before the wedding, and after.
The usual shape of a wedding week in Santorini. Take all of it, some of it, or tell us what you have in mind.
02
Rehearsal dinner
A seated dinner for family and the wedding party — or, as many couples choose on the island, for every guest. A long table, a menu set with the chef, wine poured rather than ordered, and room for the speeches you would rather not give at the wedding.
The night before
03
Welcome party
Standing, grazing and moving around: a grazing table instead of courses, a guitar and a voice at sunset, a DJ later on. It suits larger groups, and it lets people actually talk to each other.
Grazing table · live music
04
Boat day in the caldera
Swim stops in the coves and around Thirassia, a Greek lunch or a barbecue cooked on board, an open bar and transfers both ways. Semi-private, or the boat entirely to yourselves — the sunset sailings are the ones people remember.
05
Greek night
Live music, traditional dance and plate smashing — the evening when guests stop watching Greek culture and end up inside it. It works for any group size, and it is the quickest way to get two families dancing together.
Any group size
06
Farewell brunch
The day after, for whoever is still on the island. A late, slow brunch or lunch with no schedule and no speeches — often the meal couples tell us they remember most.
The morning after
For the free day: a wine tasting in Pyrgos or a hands-on Greek cooking class for your guests. Anything else — a bachelorette lunch, a sunrise walk, a surprise for the parents — just ask.
Where
Our own veranda, or anywhere.
Most of our pre-wedding evenings happen at Madame Sousou, the wine bar and restaurant we run in Pyrgos — the old capital of Santorini, on the highest ground of the island, fifteen minutes from Fira and twenty-five from Oia. The sunset reaches it last, and the whole island is in view.
- 01Indoor veranda · up to 50 guestsSheltered and softly lit, and our usual room for welcome parties and rehearsal dinners.
- 02Outdoor veranda · up to 12 guestsOpen to the island view, for a smaller dinner at sunset.
- 03Private balcony · up to 6 guestsFor a dinner with just the parents.
- 04The whole restaurantTaken exclusively for the evening. Capacity depends on whether it is seated or standing — tell us your numbers.
- 05Somewhere elseA restaurant in Oia, a villa, the boat: we book it and run the evening the same way. For a small group in Oia, there is also our Love Cave terrace.
How it works
Four steps, one plan.
Planned together with your wedding, so the week has one rhythm instead of five separate bookings.
- 01Tell us the weekYour dates, roughly how many guests arrive when, and which evenings you would like to fill.
- 02We shape the scheduleWhich event falls on which night, where it happens and what it costs, line by line — built around the wedding, never competing with it.
- 03We confirm the detailsMenus with the kitchen, music, flowers, the boat and transfers for your guests, with dietary requirements planned in advance.
- 04We run it on the nightCoordinated by the same team as your wedding, so you can arrive as a guest at your own party.
Getting guests around: any transfer within the island is a flat €40 — or one quote for the whole week.
Real evenings
Pre-wedding dinners we have hosted.
I think your dinner was everyone’s favourite meal of the trip — my friends and I like creative menus. Francis’s favourite was the cod and mine was the dolma with tartare, but everyone loved the preparation of the oysters!
Shayela & FrancisRehearsal dinner · Madame Sousou
Also before the weddingPre-wedding photoshootFlying dress sessions above the caldera, photo tours through the villages and couple shoots with a local photographer — from €200.See the photoshoots →
Questions
Pre-wedding events, answered.
What couples usually ask us before they plan the rest of the week.
What pre-wedding events do couples usually plan in Santorini?
Most wedding weeks follow a similar shape: welcome drinks or a welcome dinner the night guests arrive, a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, a free day for a boat trip, a wine tasting or a cooking class, and a farewell brunch or lunch the day after. Very few couples do all of it — we help you choose the evenings your guests will actually enjoy.
Who should we invite to the rehearsal dinner?
Traditionally the wedding party and close family. At a destination wedding, where every guest has travelled to be there, many couples invite everyone and let it double as the welcome dinner. For a larger group, a grazing table and live music usually work better than a formal seated menu.
How many guests can you host?
At Madame Sousou in Pyrgos: up to 50 guests on the indoor veranda, 12 on the outdoor veranda and 6 on the private balcony — or the whole restaurant for an exclusive evening, where the number depends on whether the event is seated or standing. For larger groups, or another part of the island, we book other venues and run the evening the same way.
How much does a welcome dinner or rehearsal dinner cost?
We do not publish packages, because the cost depends on the number of guests, the menu, the drinks, the music and the venue. Every event is quoted separately and line by line, alongside your wedding, so you can see what each evening costs before you decide. For reference, sailings start from €110, a wine tasting from €28 per person and the cooking class is €110 per person.
Can you arrange transport for our guests?
Yes. Any transfer within the island is charged at a flat €40, or we prepare a single quote for the whole week — arrivals, evenings out and the drive back after dinner — so nobody has to drive the island’s roads at night.
Can you cater for dietary requirements?
Yes. At Madame Sousou, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergy-specific menus are cooked properly rather than assembled from side dishes. Tell us when you book and the kitchen plans around it.
What happens if the weather turns?
Santorini is windy, especially in July and August. Evenings at Madame Sousou can move to the sheltered indoor veranda, and boat days depend on the captain’s call that morning — so we keep the week flexible enough to swap days where we can.
When should we book our pre-wedding events?
As soon as your wedding date is set. June to September is the busy season on the island, and the evenings around a wedding date — and the best boats — are the first to go.
Plan
Tell us about your week.
Send us your wedding date, how many guests are coming and which evenings you would like to fill — we will come back with a schedule and a quote.
The Diamond Rock · Pyrgos, Santorini
T. +30 694 483 3222