Weddings Abroad in Croatia

Legal procedure and validity of your wedding abroad

If you decide for a wedding abroad in Croatia - no matter from where you arrive, you will be issued an international wedding certificate. Documentation details vary from country to country, however: birth certificate, no impediment statement and yours and witnesses passports are generally enough for a full valid civil marriage in Croatia.
Compared to some other European countries there is no need to stay in Croatia more than two days before your wedding day. This simplifies things a lot, actually the only thing you have to do personally before your wedding day in Croatia is a very short interview (about 10 minutes).
Ceremony is performed according to Croatian law and it cannot be interrupted. Custom readings that are sometimes required by couples may take place only before or after the official part of the ceremony in over.

When to plan your wedding abroad in Croatia

Regarding the weather: any time from April to early October will be fine. For really stable weather (almost no chance of rain) head for a period between 15th June and 15th September. For still-good-weather-period go for April, May or late September or early October.
If you decide on a wedding in Dubrovnik and you like concerts, plays and other events go for July or first half of August when there is a Dubrovnik Summer Festival taking place.

Spend your honeymoon in Croatia too 

Wedding abroad in Croatia would not be such a good deal without this option. Suppose you are getting married in Dubrovnik and you spend there a few days. Best thing you can do is to head up north for your honeymoon: Island of Mljet is amazing (national park), Islands of Lopud or Sipan are close to Dubrovnik - very nice. Korcula and Hvar are theri own worlds - each worth of 5 days stay.
Head up to island of Pag if you wish to party day and night.

You had enoghh sea already? head to Plitvice Lakes up north and spend a few days there (brings a great refreshment in summer) - this  way you may take the plane trip back to your land from Zagreb.

Pre-wedding and post-wedding events

Explore the region (and Croatia) diversity. Let's suppose you have a wedding ceremony on one of the historic places like Sponza Palace (or churches?). The day before you can go for something completely different: a nice full-day cruise through Elafiti Islands (with a lot of sun and good baths at places that will be for you and your guest only. E.g. after the Wedding day in Dubrovnik you may organize a nice BBQ or relaxed dinner someplace in Konavle region (south from Dubrovnik, half hour ride).

Find a good wedding planner 

Unless you have a great deal of time and at least some basic experience of organizing an event (bigger than a birthday party, :) you can do without the planner. An average wedding has at least 15 different suppliers that need to be selected. Any wedding planner that is in business for a longer time has a list of proven partners able to carry out their part of duty without a mistake. Wedding planner will close the bookings for you, settle the bills, will be on the filed making sure it all goes well - and you can have a relaxing day. Wedding planner will not permit herself bad job from suppliers and suppliers will go for highest quality of their services because  they need wedding planners to get them 

Book your guests at least a short boat ride 

In Croatia it's all about the sea. Crystal clear waters of Adriatic is something that attract the travelers here for the big part. For your wedding abroad in Croatia, book at least 1-2 hours ride, with a few glasses of drinks - you may do this always between your wedding ceremony and reception event.
Some of your guests may get sea sick? Rent a small boat for you to arrive at the reception place after the ceremony or pick a nice night ride that will bring you back to hotel after the wedding reception is over.

How to reduce costs of your wedding in Croatia

 This is a tip-list of its own. I will list how-to-reduce-costs-tips here in order of importance:

1. Avoid high season months: July and August: you'll save on accommodation
2. If you cannot afford 5*. search for 4* places - e.g. in Dubrovnik there are a few very decent 4* 
3. Chase group accommodation discounts (the best is to do so in collaboration with your planner so she/he can take care of bookings, additional info, etc... and the price you will pay will stay the same or lower than when booking directly - so you get support for free.
4. It's not a problem if you cannot afford 4* place - go for good self catering apartments - there are plenty of them in Dubrovnik
5. For you dinner reception do not order wines in restaurant, go for out-sourced wines and corkage fee
6. Book early, both: accommodation and flights

What will make your guests to attend your wedding in Croatia

Wedding abroad in Croatia, brings an extra value compared to other Mediterranean countries. Croatian coast is not devastated by mass tourism resorts (like Spain), has lower prices than Italy or France and diversity and rich historical heritage that you can compare even to Greece.

What sorts of wedding venues there are in Croatia

From sea view terraces with 5* or 4* service, nice gardens, forts, boats historic palaces to relaxed beach wedding venues.

Boat Wedding in Croatia

There's an island to suit every taste: nearby Island of Lokrum with amazing Mediterranean plants and a few historic sites, Island of Kolocep (the nearest of Elafiti islands, very suitable for wedding receptions), magic island of Lopud that's been home to Dubrovnik captains in ancient time of Dubrovnik Republic (wedding ceremony and reception may be planned there), Island of Sipan which seems like end of the world place (ceremony, reception and accommodation options), green Mljet which further north and best known for surprisingly nice nature. The best approach to hopping between islands is to hire a private boat for a wedding day. Thus you may have all in one place: wedding ceremony, relaxing time on hidden beaches, wedding BBQ or dinner, with a part afterwards.

No matter what is the size of yoru wedding party, you may talk to your wedding planner who will propose you the best vessels good for a boat wedding in Dubrovnik exactly matching the size of event you plan. She (he) will take care of on-site (well, on-boat) wedding coordination too and create you timeline ofr the day.

Depending of your preferences you may just go for a shorter one hour cruise for the post ceremony refreshment with view, a longer cruise with snacks and drinks catering, you may add entertainment for your guests such as music or you can go for longer half-day or full day boat wedding.

Wedding on boat or post ceremony cruise is a great choice for making a nice photo shooting, with great colors of sunset, nice historical background, capturing turquoise Adriatic Sea and beautiful islands.

120+ vessel for a boat wedding in Dubrovnik

Boats may also be a transport means to get to the venue. Check out below a few shots from wedding events in Dubrovnik and brides taking boats accompanied by bridesmaids or family.

Arrival at the wedding ceremony on Island of Lokrum

Wedding on Island of Sipan, bride with her bridesmaids arrival at the ceremony place

Some third (or fifth?!) option may be to use a boat to get back to the place where you are accommodated after the wedding reception is over. Check out below a beautiful boat that may be used for the occasion.

Getting back to accommodation place after the wedding reception

Best Croatian islands weddings near Dubrovnik

So you would prefer a nice and romantic wedding venue on the Croatian island instead of a coastal terrace or historic venue? This is a common (sweet!) dilemma for our couples getting married in Dubrovnik Croatia. If you are more nature lover than history lover, more thrilled by a relaxed island setting rather than a formal 5* service on a terrace with historic views and willing to take a boat ride on your wedding day giving your guests unforgettable experience - an Island Wedding near Dubrovnik waits for you (follow up to the last post about and Island of Lopud wedding).

Let's start with the closest one (at just 10 minutes from the Old Harbor): beautiful island of Lokrum. There you can choose between couple of nice ceremony places. Take a look at a few images to get an idea:

Benedictine monastery wedding Island of Lokrum, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Olive trees venue, Wedding on Island of Lokrum

Wedding on the lake, Island of Lokrum

Hey, lake on island? Yup, it's a unique natural beauty of Island of Lokrum - a small lake inside of it, incredibly romantic.

Island of Kolocep

Apart from a few nice small churches, and the beach there is Villa Ruza with beautiful terrace extending along the sea. Great cuisine, nice sunsets,a real summer wedding in Dubrovnik at its best. Check images below:

Villa Ruza entrance, Wedding on and island in Croatia

Villa Ruza terrace during day (without wedding setup on this pic), Island wedding in Croatia

Villa Ruza wedding reception, Island of Kolocep, Dubrovnik

Island Wedding In Croatia

We’ve just got back from our wedding on the island of Lopud just off the coast of Dubrovnik. After looking and almost booking our wedding in the UK we decided to look abroad as we feel the wedding industry in the UK is tired and many of the wedding venues we looked at seemed to lack the personal touch we wanted so much for our wedding day.

Croatia seemed an obvious choice as it is a country my parents visit often and speak highly of it. One rainy day I randomly typed weddings in Dubrovnik into a search engine and the website http://doyouwed.me/ appeared. I sent a quick email enquiring about whether the company knew of the island Lopud and the response we got was phenomenal.


Right from the start Kristina Skvrce the main wedding planner and company director couldn’t do enough for us. She answered all of our questions (and trust me there was a lot) many in the evenings and weekends. Now we were very fortunate to be able to visit Dubrovnik and meet Kristina before we made our final decision about booking our wedding with her, for couples who are not lucky enough to do this we cannot speak highly enough of Kristina and the do you wed team.

Planning a wedding in any country is not easy but I can honestly say Kristina made the process almost stress free. Every detail of our wedding was planned down to the smallest detail beforehand and the day ran so smoothly.

All the services recommended and provided by Kristina and her team where of an impeccable standard. The hairdresser and makeup artist, the flowers and decorations, the boat and crew, the fantastic photographer Veronica Arevelo, the hotel Villa Vilina everything was perfect and coordinated down to the last minute.

Now I am a person who is often described by family and friends as a control freak and rather stress full lady. People commented how calm and relaxed I was in the run up to the wedding and on the actual wedding day. This was down completely to the confidence I had I Kristina and her team.

I am so unbelievably happy we stumbled across the website that day. Anyone wanting a recommendation about a wedding in Dubrovnik only need to speak to us or one of the 30 guests that joined us for our wedding day.

Review source: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g295371-i1555-k3525152-o20-Weddings_planners_in_Dubrovnik-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html#4170

Beach weddings in Croatia (part II)

Here is the follow-up on two years old Beach weddings in Croatia post.

So here are a few images-speak-louder-than-words to describe best what was going on in the meanwhile:

No one there ( A and C wedding, Sep 2011)

Peninsula Peljesac and island of Mljet in the background.

 Beach ceremony detail

And now a few shots to describe how the reception looks like:

Wedding dinner tables setup

Next-to-the-sea wedding dinner

Wedding party

Church wedding in Croatia

Our church weddings in Dubrovnik last year were hosted on various venues: a few town locations, a few islands and a few Cavtat weddings.

The central Dubrovnik venue is the St. Blaise church.

Church wedding in Dubrovnik, St. Blaise church  

Other really good in-town alternative is St. Ignatius Church. Architect Ignazzio Pozzo was inspired after Rome's Chiesa del Gesu.

Church wedding in Croatia, Church of St. Ignatius, Dubrovnik
(our we loved-so-much-bride E.R. from Dublin)

Out of town churches we like the most are St. Nicholaus Church in Cavtat. It's a typical Mediterranean church, charming and very intimate located right in the center of small coast town of Cavtat:

Irish church wedding in Croatia, wedding in Cavtat 2011

Church weddings in Croatia are fully recognized in Ireland. Check some further info at church weddings in Croatia.

Now something really special. A wedding on island of Lopud in Croatia, close to Dubrovnik (June 2011):

Church wedding on island of Lopud

Check here for civil weddings on island of Lopud, Croatia.

Make sure to check an excellent post from the blog by Dick and Jane in which they cover many Dubrovnik churches through great photos.

Wedding ceremony in Croatia

Just stumbled upon this nice video of Alice and Michael. Their wedding in Croatia took place in beautiful Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik last year.

Here you may check how the wedding ceremony in Croatia looks like. Ceremony excerpt you can follow is completely translated in English by an authorized interpreter. Duration of the official part of the ceremony is about 20 minutes.

Complete paperwork is handled by a wedding planner, through local Registry Office. General list of documents that are required is (example for UK citizens):

• A copy of a birth certificate issued within three months of the date of submission (if UK birth certificate the long version is required);
• A valid passport;
• A confirmation by each party of No Impediment to Marriage issued by their respective domestic authorities. This is a confirmation that a couple is free to enter into marriage, must show a name and citizenship of the intended marriage partners and ensures that a marriage in Croatia will be recognized as valid in the UK

(this is not an official list of documents as in certain circumstance additional paperwork may be required)

For a U.S. citizen to marry in Croatia, Croatian authorities require the following:

• Valid U.S. passport.
• U.S. birth certificate translated into Croatian by a sworn court interpreter (PDF 851 KB); the U.S. birth certificate must bear the apostille of the competent authority of the issuing U.S. state and must be a new copy issued within the past 90 days. Obtaining the apostille and/or new birth certificate may require several days or weeks, depending on the state. For addresses of relevant state apostille authorities, click here.
• A sworn statement, made by the American citizen before a U.S. Consular Officer, stating that the person in question is an American citizen, that he/she is free to marry, and that the marriage contracted in Croatia will be regarded as valid by U.S. authorities. This document is available at the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb upon presentation of an American passport. The fee is $50 payable in cash (dollars or kuna equivalent) or by major credit card.
• The document supplied by the U. S. Embassy also must be authenticated Consular Section of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, located at Petreticev trg 2, 10000 Zagreb. The contact number at the Ministry is +385-1-4599-410. The government fee (biljeg) is 60 kunas (approximately $10).
• If an American citizen does not speak Croatian, he/she will have to obtain the services of a court appointed translator for the marriage ceremony. A list of court interpreters is available by clicking here (PDF 851 KB).
• If one of the marriage partners is divorced or widowed, proof of the dissolution of previous marriage (i.e., divorce decree or death certificate) is required; similarly, an apostille is required on those documents.

Source: Embassy of the United States in Croatia

(this is not an official list of documents as in certain circumstance additional paperwork may be required)