Five countries, five completely different answers

Italy — moderate, and worth arriving early for

No residency test, but the nulla osta is issued by your own consulate inside Italy and then legalised at the Prefettura, which means several appointments in country before the comune will marry you. Lake Como and Sicily are where the guides go deepest, down to which villas can hold a ceremony at all.

Portugal — the easiest of the five

No residency requirement, any conservatória in the country, and the cheapest of the five to actually get married in. The cost is a complete document file and four to six weeks of patience. The Algarve, Lisbon & Sintra and the Douro are the three regions with profiles of their own.

Greece — easy, and cheap to make legal

€18 for the licence, one week of public notice, valid six months, no residency test — provided every document is apostilled and translated first, which is the part that takes the time. Santorini has its own guide because the caldera venues have rules nothing else in Europe has.

France — hard, and it is the calendar that makes it hard

Thirty to forty days living in the commune, plus ten days' publication of banns. Roughly forty to fifty days in country before you can marry, which is why most couples marry at home and hold the day in Provence.

Spain — effectively closed to non-residents

Two continuous years of residency, or Spanish citizenship. A Catholic church wedding is the one exception and carries no residency rule. Andalusia and Mallorca are still worth the trip; the legal ceremony almost certainly happens before you fly.

And then the part that is the same everywhere

Whichever country wins, the day still needs a guest list that survives fifty flights, a budget in more than one currency, a website that tells people where to be, a seating plan and a timeline. That is what the workspace is for.

Which European country is easiest to get married in?

Portugal, by a clear margin: no residency requirement, any registry office in the country, and the lowest total cost of the five. Greece is close behind — an €18 licence and a week's notice — once your documents are apostilled and translated.

Where in Europe can we not legally marry as foreigners?

Spain, in practice. It requires two continuous years of residency or Spanish citizenship for a civil marriage, with a Catholic church wedding as the exception. France is not closed but asks for thirty to forty days in the commune plus ten days of banns, which most couples answer by marrying at home first.

Does Elos only work for weddings in Europe?

No — the guest list, budget, website, seating and timeline are the same wherever the wedding is. Europe is where the written guides go deep, because that is where the paperwork questions we get asked most often lead.

Can we plan a wedding weekend across two European cities?

Yes. Multiple events with their own guest lists — a welcome dinner for thirty, a reception for a hundred and forty — are part of Premium, and each event gets its own seating plan rather than one chart you keep rebuilding.