How to Elope in Georgia (the Country) in 2026: Venues, Costs and the Outdoor Registrar

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Published 30 September 2026·21 min read·Prices and facts checked: September 2026

Two foreigners can marry in Georgia (the country) in a day: registration is free, a registrar comes to your venue for 255 GEL, and agency elopements cost about $850 to $4,875 in 2026. Here is where to say the vows, what it costs and which small venues you can book whole.

Eloping in Georgia (the country in the Caucasus) takes one working morning: two passports, two adult witnesses and a joint application at a Public Service Hall, and you can sign the same afternoon. The registration itself is free. What you pay for is everything around it: a registrar who comes out to a mountain meadow, a photographer, a dinner, and a place where your 2 to 30 guests can stay together.

This guide covers the three ways couples do it, the rules that agency pages get wrong, what each option costs in 2026 and the small venues you can actually have to yourselves. For every document and the apostille rules country by country, read our full guide on how to get married in Georgia as a foreigner.

A legal elopement is a civil registration by the Public Service Development Agency plus whatever ceremony you want around it. There is no residency requirement and no waiting period, so couples fly in, file and sign within a day or two (Legal.ge).

There are three ways to do it:

• Sign at the registry, celebrate somewhere else. Register at a Public Service Hall on a weekday (free at the counter, 75 GEL with a short ceremony), then hold a symbolic ceremony at Gergeti, by a lake or on a mountain meadow. The cheapest and most flexible way.
• Bring the registrar to you. A registrar comes to your venue for 255 GEL and the marriage is legally binding on the spot. The ceremony is the real one, not a re-enactment.
• Hold a micro wedding weekend. 10 to 30 guests, two or three nights in one place, the registrar on site and a long dinner. This is where the venue choice matters most, because most hotels do not give a small group the whole place.

For a couple alone, any registry office and a good photo spot will do. For a small wedding with guests, the questions that decide it are whether you get the place to yourselves and whether everyone sleeps under one roof.

Glamping Tago (our venue), Adjara

• Where: Village Tago, Khulo municipality, in the mountains of Adjara. 92 km and about 2 hours from Batumi, 86.5 km from Batumi airport; the climb up from Khulo is a 4x4 road.
• Capacity: weddings for up to 100 guests. 33 sleep on site in 12 Lotus Belle tents and a nine-bed dormitory dome, the rest in guesthouses in the village a few minutes below.
• Price from (2026): the whole camp costs 3,258 GEL a night in April, 3,711 GEL in May, 5,041 GEL in June and September, 6,035 GEL in July and August and 3,646 GEL in October, food and extras on top (organiser page).
• Season: the camp is open April to October; weddings run May to mid-October.

We take one wedding at a time: you book the whole camp, and it closes to other guests for your weekend. In 2025 and 2026 we hosted weddings of 17, 24, 27, 35 and 38 guests, which is the size the place is best at. The registrar comes up to the camp for the 255 GEL state fee, the ceremony is on the meadow facing the mountains, and the 150 m² event tent on its deck takes the dinner, or the ceremony when it rains.

Meals are cooked in Yurtalicious, the yurt restaurant on site: a Mountain Supra dinner at 85 GEL a guest, a Euro-Georgian buffet at 125 GEL or the Signature menu at 215 GEL (from 30 guests). The kitchen is vegetarian; meat comes from the BBQ live station at 45 GEL a guest. The handmade arch is 1,500 GEL, a bouquet 150 to 600 GEL, a local photographer from 800 GEL for the full day, and hair and make-up 400 GEL including the trip from Batumi. Music stays outside until midnight, then the party moves into the yurt. A 30% prepayment confirms the date and is non-refundable.

Just the two of you? The whole-camp booking is for weddings with guests. A couple on their own books a regular tent (today's prices), an agency files the registrar application, and we give you the ceremony spot and help coordinate on the day.

You file a joint application at a Public Service Hall (the Justice House) with your passports, proof of legal entry and two witnesses, and you sign the same day or at the date and place you chose. Yes, a registrar comes to any venue in Georgia for 255 GEL under Decree No. 373, and that outdoor ceremony is legally binding.

A same-day registration runs like this:

1. Arrive at a Public Service Hall before noon, Monday to Friday. The Tbilisi and Batumi halls open 9:00 to 18:00 and close at weekends.
2. File the joint application at the civil acts counter with both passports, your entry stamps and both witnesses.
3. Wait for the approval SMS, usually 3 to 5 hours later; the ceremony follows the same afternoon or evening, often after 17:00 (vow.legal). The SMS goes to a Georgian number, so buy a local SIM on arrival (about 18 GEL, T-Zh) or give your agency's number.
4. The ceremony takes 15 to 30 minutes and is held in Georgian, so bring an interpreter or an agency.
5. You leave with a Georgian marriage certificate. Apostille and translation follow (see the costs table).

You both sign in person: marriage by proxy is not allowed. A representative with a power of attorney can file the application for you before you land. For an outdoor registrar in the April to October season, file at least 3 days ahead in person, or about 2 weeks ahead when an agency files for you (vow.legal). The date, time and address go into the application and are hard to change later, so plan the rain option at the same address.

Adjara has had no wedding palace since 25 February 2026, when the Government of Adjara began demolishing the "Dolphin" hall at the entrance to Batumi Boulevard. The Minister of Justice visited the site of a new marriage house on the New Boulevard on 10 July 2026, with no opening date. In Batumi today you sign at the Public Service Hall on a weekday, or book the 255 GEL registrar at your venue.

For a wedding in upper Adjara, the nearest civil registration point is the Khulo Community Center, 8.7 km below Glamping Tago. A ceremonial registration in a Justice House branch or community centre costs 75 GEL, the cheapest ceremony in the country.

Two passports, proof that you are in Georgia legally (the entry stamp) and two adult witnesses with ID. There is no certificate of no impediment and no birth certificate: you declare yourselves that nothing stops the marriage (Legal.ge).

• Witnesses: two legally capable adults must attend, as the official page says. There is no exception for foreigners, and agencies provide witnesses if you come alone.
• Passport translation: the Public Service Development Agency is entitled to accept a passport without a Georgian translation when the names are printed in Latin letters. Many agencies and our own organiser page still ask for a notarised Georgian translation. At about 40 GEL a passport (T-Zh), it is cheap protection against a wasted morning.
• If you were married before: the divorce decree or death certificate must be apostilled or legalised in the country that issued it, with a notarised Georgian translation. The passport is the only foreign document without that rule.
• Travel insurance: since 1 January 2026, Decree No. 602 requires tourists to hold health and accident insurance of at least 30,000 GEL, and border police are entitled to check it at the border. It is an entry rule, not a marriage document, but you cannot get to the registry without entering first.

Kazbegi is for Mount Kazbek and Gergeti, 3 hours north of Tbilisi. Kakheti is for wine estates and lakes, about 2 hours east. Tbilisi and Mtskheta suit a same-day city elopement. Adjara gives you the sea and the mountains within 2 hours of Batumi airport, and the only venues in this guide you can book whole.

Batumi and the Adjara mountains

Batumi is the gateway: the airport, the Public Service Hall for the paperwork, the Black Sea for photos, and the mountains within 2 hours. In September the sea is 25 to 26°C and the rain falls mostly at night; mountain colours start around 20 October (Travel Batumi).

Eco House Merisi sits in the Merisi valley, about 50 km from Batumi, and is open all year. It is not on the road to Glamping Tago: going there adds 23 km and a separate climb up a side valley. It offers a full hotel buyout, a restaurant hall for up to 50 guests with two open terraces, ceremonies and dinners for up to 60, and a 100 m² covered backup if it rains (Eco House Merisi). Its sweet spot is 20 to 50 guests, and every wedding is priced individually. The drive from Batumi takes close to 2 hours on the mountain road (Galogrea).

Hotel Chateau Iveri is a winery hotel in Varjanisi, Keda, right on the Batumi to Tago road (a 1 km detour). It works as a dinner or a night on the way up, or for guests who prefer a hotel room to a tent.

Castello Mare is the coastal option: a resort on the cliff at Tsikhisdziri, about 20 km north of Batumi (the opposite direction from the mountains), with three buildings and room for about 250 guests. You share it with other hotel guests.

The Batumi Botanical Garden on the Green Cape, 11.6 km from the Batumi Public Service Hall, is the classic sea-view photo location after a registry signing. It is large and hilly: plan 2 to 3 hours.

Chateau Milisi, a winery hotel 37.7 km from Batumi for up to 120 guests, is a separate trip (12.8 km off the Tago road). Several August and September 2026 reviews complain about breakfast and the kitchen.

Kazbegi and Gudauri

Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) is 153 km from Tbilisi on the Military Highway: about 3 hours by car or driver, 3 to 3.5 hours by marshrutka. The marshrutka leaves Didube station for 20 GEL, about 11 times a day in summer; a GoTrip driver costs from 210 GEL a car (The Georgian Guide). Ananuri Fortress and Gudauri are on the way; Truso and the Abudelauri lakes are separate trips.

Rooms Kazbegi is where most Kazbegi elopements stay: 156 rooms, front rooms facing Kazbek and Gergeti, a 300 m² Grand Conference Hall and three 60 m² halls (Rooms Hotels). It is a busy hotel, not a private venue. Private en-suite guesthouse rooms in Stepantsminda cost 180 to 280 GEL a night in peak summer (Georgia Journeys).

Gergeti Trinity Church stands at 2,170 m above Stepantsminda. It is a photo stop, not a ceremony venue. The walk up is about 3.5 km and 60 to 75 minutes; local 4x4 drivers charge 40 to 60 GEL a vehicle (Vacationby). From about 10:00 in July and August it is packed and early morning it is nearly empty, so come early. The gates open 9:00 to 17:00 (Wander-Lush). Women cover their hair and wear a skirt or dress to the knee, men wear no shorts inside, and flying a drone around the church needs a permit (Georgia Journeys). On Mariamoba, 28 August, locals come up for a liturgy.

Gudauri, at about 2,000 m and 117 km from Tbilisi, is a ski resort that works as a summer base on the way to Kazbegi. Gudauri Lodge has 121 rooms and an open-air hot tub next to the first ski slope.

Marco Polo Hotel Gudauri (123 rooms and 3 chalets at 2,003 m) is on the same road, but several September 2026 reviews describe dated, cold or poorly ventilated rooms.

Ananuri Fortress is a 0.3 km detour on the drive north and the usual first photo stop.

The Truso Valley starts at Kobi, 22 km from Stepantsminda: mineral springs, travertine terraces and abandoned villages, reached by 4x4, on horseback or on foot (Georgia Travel). It is a half-day trip, not a roadside stop.

The Abudelauri lakes in Khevsureti are a separate expedition: the paved road ends at Roshka, then a 7 km trail leads to the green and blue lakes, and the white lake lies above 2,800 m, 1.5 km further (Georgia Travel).

Kakheti: lakes and wine

Kakheti is 2 hours east of Tbilisi and suits couples who want a wine estate or a lake. Shu Wedding sells a Lopota Lake wedding from $3,500 and a Kvareli Lake wedding from $3,000. The two lake resorts are 43 km apart, not neighbours.

Lopota Lake Resort & Spa has 310 rooms across 16 buildings on the lake near Napareuli, 117 km from Tbilisi. It is a big family resort, so you share the grounds.

Kabadoni is a boutique hotel in the centre of Sighnaghi, 111 km from Tbilisi, with a terrace facing the Caucasus. Sighnaghi has its own registry, and the town walls make the photos.

Kvareli Lake Resort has 100 rooms on Lake Kvareli, but several September 2026 reviews complain about slow or unhelpful service, including the banquet team.

Tbilisi and Mtskheta

Tbilisi is the easiest place to marry fast: several registry halls sit near the Justice House, including Wedding Hall No. 1 inside it, and you pick the hall, date and time when you file (T-Zh). June to August brings 28 to 33°C in Tbilisi (WedInGeorgia), so city ceremonies are easier in spring or autumn.

Jvari Monastery, on the hill above Mtskheta, is 22.9 km from the Tbilisi Public Service Hall, about 30 minutes: the classic photo stop after a morning registration.

The National Botanical Garden in Tbilisi is a popular ceremony spot, but several September 2026 reviews report the upper garden, the waterfall path and the visitor centre closed for works.

In very few places. The other hotels in this guide have 100 to 310 rooms each, and a small wedding shares them with everyone else staying there. Two venues in this guide give a small wedding the whole place: Glamping Tago, booked whole for every wedding, and Eco House Merisi with a full buyout.

The difference is the weekend, not the evening. At a buyout venue your guests arrive the day before, share a welcome dinner, get married the next afternoon and have breakfast together the morning after. Many couples ask us for exactly that programme: a welcome dinner the day before, then the ceremony and banquet. In a hotel the wedding is one evening in a shared building.

By car from Batumi in about 2 hours: 85 km of asphalt to Khulo, then 8.7 km of 4x4 road up to Village Tago. Batumi airport is 86.5 km away, and Kutaisi airport about 5 hours 30 minutes by private 4x4 (how to get to Glamping Tago).

For a wedding our drivers bring guests up and down between the camp and the village guesthouses. Driving yourselves? A normal car is fine as far as Khulo; rental "jeeps" are not always 4x4, so park in Khulo centre and take the 4x4 taxi for the last road.

A do-it-yourself registration costs under 500 GEL in state fees and translations. An agency elopement with a ceremony and photos runs about $850 to $1,800, an all-inclusive mountain elopement $2,600 to $4,875, and a micro wedding with 20 guests about $9,800 to $11,000 through an agency.

The agency packages come from Lotus Wedding (wedding for two from $855, mountain for two from $3,355), Violet Weddings (paperwork from $390, outdoor registration from $1,400), Kate&Co (outdoor registration from $1,800), Casa di Gudo (from $550, Mountain from $1,800) and Shu Wedding (Elopement from $3,000). State fees are often extra, so ask whether the 255 GEL registrar is included.

For a couple on a tight schedule, a Tbilisi agency handles the translations, the witnesses, the booking at the hall and the apostille. Planners charge either a package or a share of the budget: Tbili Weddings takes 9% of the budget with a $600 minimum, and at Glamping Tago our own planning costs a fixed 3,000 GEL, coordinator included (organiser page).

May to June and September to October. Venues and planners name those months for small weddings (Eco House Merisi, Plana). September is the peak and the most expensive month, and October is quieter and cheaper (Mandarini).

In Kazbegi the trails open in June and the high roads shut in October (The Georgian Guide); in winter the Jvari Pass (2,379 m) closes without warning in heavy snow, sometimes for days (Georgia Journeys).

The rain plan is simple: the registration address is fixed in the application, so the covered option has to be at the same venue. At Glamping Tago the ceremony moves under the event tent; Eco House Merisi has its 100 m² covered space; hotels move you indoors. Mountain nights are cold even in summer, so pack a warm layer and an umbrella (our tents are heated).

Yes, if you are both baptised Orthodox, and only after the civil registration: the church wedding has no legal effect on its own (Wedding in Georgia). The service takes 45 to 60 minutes, and churches do not marry during fasts such as Lent (Georgia Expats).

• Witnesses must be of the same faith; an unbaptised partner can be baptised first (Vowly).
• Bring baptism certificates, cross necklaces and two baptised witnesses. The bride wears a dress to the knee or longer, shoulders covered, and a head covering (Kate&Co).
• Agencies charge from $250 (Lotus) or $350 (Kate&Co) to organise it; Vowly puts the total at 170 to 330 EUR including the donation.

Any drone of 250 g or more must be registered, with its operator, on uas.gov.ge with the Civil Aviation Agency. Registration and the online pilot test are free; you fly within 120 m and in sight. In the open category a drone never flies over a gathering of people, so a drone shot over your seated guests needs a special permission (GCAA).

• At Gergeti a drone needs a permit, and photos inside the church are up to the priest and never allowed during a service.
• Photographers based in Tbilisi charge for travel: Irakli Shelia adds 30% for Batumi and Adjara and has a 1,500 GEL minimum for Gudauri and Kazbegi.
• Video: Irakli Shelia charges $40 an hour for event filming. Our partner videographers at Glamping Tago charge 650 to 2,000 USD with drone, 650 USD for a 5-hour clip.
• Kazbek hides in cloud for whole days, and mornings are clearer than afternoons, so plan two nights in Stepantsminda for the photos (The Georgian Guide).

1. 6 to 12 months ahead: book the venue if you want a June to September weekend. High-season dates at Glamping Tago go that early, and Kakheti's premium hotels fill August and September by January.
2. 2 to 3 months ahead: book the planner or agency, the photographer and hair and make-up. A small wedding needs about 2 months of planning (Shu Wedding); a couple-only registration can be arranged in days.
3. Before you commit: check how your home country recognises the marriage and whether it wants an apostille. The UK publishes recognition letters by country, £50 for a stamped copy (GOV.UK). Russia, Belarus and the other Minsk Convention states need no apostille, only a notarised translation.
4. If you were married before: apostille the divorce or death certificate at home and get the notarised Georgian translation.
5. 2 weeks ahead: have the agency file the registrar application with your power of attorney, or plan to file in person at least 3 days before the date.
6. Before the flight: buy the 30,000 GEL health and accident insurance.
7. 2 to 3 days before: arrive, buy a Georgian SIM, meet the planner, walk the ceremony spot. Our couples usually arrive 2 to 3 days early.
8. After the wedding: order the apostille and translation. PSDA translates the certificate from 30 GEL a page and apostilles its own translation.

Glamping Tago for this

An elopement or micro wedding weekend at Glamping Tago

We host one wedding at a time in the mountains of Adjara: you book the whole camp, your guests sleep on the ridge and in the village below, and the registrar comes up to the meadow for the 255 GEL state fee.

Our recent weddings were small: 17 to 38 guests in 2025 and 2026. Couples come 2 to 3 days early, hold a welcome dinner, get married on the meadow and dance in the yurt after midnight.

Plan it with us for a fixed 3,000 GEL with a coordinator, with our partner planner, or with your own.

Guests

Up to 100; recent weddings 17 to 38

Beds on site

33 in 12 Lotus Belle tents and a dormitory dome, more in village guesthouses

Whole camp from

3,258 GEL a night (April), 5,041 GEL (June, September), food extra

Registrar on site

255 GEL state fee

Drive from Batumi

About 2 hours, 92 km; 4x4 transfer 265 GEL per car

Wedding season

May to mid-October

Plan your weddingContact us