Read below the full article which can be found here: http://city.sigmalive.com/article/13839/oi-kerdofores-mpiznes-me-toys-politikoys-gamoys-stin-kypro
Profitable businesses with civil weddings in Cyprus
Everywhere on the island, especially in the coastal cities and especially during the summer months, you will have succeeded in tourists exchanging vows of eternal love, circulating in wedding dresses and suits, followed by their party (or even alone sometimes) and being photographed in front of sea or on buses.
Usually, you will find them performing their civil wedding ceremony on idyllic beaches, in beautiful gardens, in historical locations of the Municipal Authorities, in castles, hotels, and even in boats.
These couples, who come to Cyprus with the ultimate goal of being united in marriage, maintain and develop (and do well) a lucrative business for the island called Politikos Gamos but Cypriot, while they themselves are known as "Honeymoon Tourists". And come mainly from the United Kingdom, Israel, Lebanon and Russia.
You will rarely see Cypriots get married in Town Halls, since religious-traditional weddings hold the lion's share.
The nice thing about the "Wedding Tourists", however, is that each of the peoples who come to Cyprus to get married, shapes their civil marriage in their own way.
The Russians and Ukrainians, for example, all they care about during their civil marriage is to take nice photos, which is why their weddings always have a concept. Ancient Greeks dress, for example, and are photographed in the most beautiful parts of the island. Usually the two of them come to Cyprus, just to get married and leave, without carrying relatives and in-laws with them.
On the other hand, the English are more organized. They get married in Cyprus because it is a very popular island for them and bring with them from 20 to 60 people. The bride and groom are dressed in hair and follow the traditional ceremony of civil marriage, just as we see it in the movies. After the ceremony, everyone gets on a huge bus (see main photo) followed by a frantic party with fancy dresses and plenty of alcohol.
Their civil marriages Swedish and Polish, however, they bet on simplicity. Their ceremonies are minimalist, with simple decoration, simple dresses and a few people.
The Lebanese, now, they choose the mainland for their civil marriage, due to the close distance with their country. There is a lot of bureaucracy in Lebanon and civil marriage there is a time consuming process. So, they come to Cyprus just to get married and leave and bring with them the company of about 10 people. Both the habits and the appearance of the Lebanese are very similar to those of the Cypriots.
These people, who are sometimes strange and sometimes simple, bad lies, bring a lot of money to the coffers of our state every year.
Below you can see in detail how many civil weddings take place every year in Cyprus, how much money comes to the island and other relevant information, as given to us by the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO).
CTO (PANKYPRIA)
VOLUME
Every year in Cyprus, an average of 8000 civil weddings take place.
MONTHS
The months that tourists choose to get married in Cyprus are mainly from April to November.
RENTALS
They get married mainly in gardens, historical sites of the municipal authorities, castles, hotel gardens, beach, boats, museums, wineries, agritourism.
COUNTRIES ORIGIN
From the United Kingdom, Israel, Lebanon and Russia.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
They bring with them an average of 25 to 30 people.
IN THE FUNDS
It is estimated that € 120 million per year enters the state coffers (including licenses, organization, guest income, etc.).
Read below in detail the data concerning the ceremonies of some of the Municipalities, per year:
MUNICIPALITY OF LIMASSOL
VOLUME
An average of 250 civil weddings take place per year in the Municipality of Limassol.
MONTHS
They choose December and the summer months.
RENTALS
The places where the weddings take place are the Municipal Palace, the Docks on the seafront of Limassol, the Pattiheio Municipal Museum - Historical Archive of the city, the area of the Zoo, the Gallery, the Panos Solomonides Cultural Center, the area of the General Assembly .THE. and the Medieval Castle of Limassol.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
Most are from Lebanon, Russia, Israel and England.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
On average 4-5 people, however, there are isolated cases where the number reaches 30 people.
CHARGE
There are 2 normal procedures where the application is made and the wedding takes place after 15 days and costs € 128 and the second procedure is the acceleration where the application is made and the wedding takes place before 15 days at a cost of € 282.
IN THE FUNDS
Revenues reach € 50.000 per year.
MUNICIPALITY OF PAFOS
VOLUME
In the Municipality of Paphos around 1000 weddings take place every year.
MONTHS
They choose the period between April and October.
RENTALS
The weddings take place in the Municipal Palace, Medieval castle, Ivi Maliotou Park, Ship, hotels, Museum, Ottoman Baths and beach.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
Tourists mainly come from England, Russia, Israel.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
They bring with them an average of 20 people.
CHARGE
A civil marriage costs € 281.92 (in a hurry) and € 128.15 (in a regular procedure). Weddings are also held outside the City Hall where there is an extra charge.
IN THE FUNDS
There are around € 450.000 receipts per year.
MUNICIPALITY OF LARNACA
VOLUME
An average of 1000 - 1100 civil marriages take place per year.
MONTHS
They usually get married in the summer months, but there is also a lot of demand at Christmas and Valentine's Day.
RENTALS
In the Municipal Palace and outdoors, in the Municipal boundaries of Larnaca such as the Medieval Castle, the Dock and the Beach of Finikoudes.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
From Lebanon, Israel, Russia, England, Dubai, Romania and Bulgaria.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
They bring with them from about 10 to 30 people, but it happened to be weddings with 100-120 people.
CHARGE
A civil marriage with haste costs € 281,90 and with notice € 128,15.
MUNICIPALITY OF AGIAS NAPAS
VOLUME
There are about 1200 weddings a year
MONTHS
Most weddings take place from April to October.
RENTALS
There is a special room at City Hall, in hotels or in specially designated areas near beaches.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
The main markets are England, followed by Russia, Hungary and Lebanon.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
The average number of guests is 30-40. But there are also weddings that have around 100 guests.
CHARGE
Prices start from € 281,92 (which is also the marriage license), up to 681,92 - depending on where the wedding will take place.
IN THE FUNDS
The funds of the municipality cost around € 5,5 to € 6 million per year.
MUNICIPALITY OF SOTIRA
VOLUME
About 250 civil marriages a year.
MONTHS
The months with the most bookings are May and September, but our wedding schedule is full from May to October.
RENTALS
90% are done in places on the beaches of Agia Thekla.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
From Great Britain, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Sweden, Israel and Lebanon.
COUPLE ACCOMPANYING
Depending on the nationality. The least invited are the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Belarusians and the Poles, while the most are the British.
CHARGE
On average it costs € 450 and includes marriage licenses and the right to a ceremony on the beach. The amount increases according to the customer's requirements.
IN THE FUNDS
About 100 thousand.
The main photo of the article, as well as the next three, are from weddings in the Municipality of Sotira.
Source: City Free Press