How to spend 3 days on your destination wedding in Dubrovnik

This one may have actually been called "How an UK wedding planner spends 3 days on her (yes - her) destination wedding in Dubrovnik". This post come pretty much inspired by the recent wedding we've organized back in September 2012 for Michelle and Grant. It was planned for two years, with first email contact in 2010 and the first time we've met that took place in September 2011 (a year before the wedding).

We went very good along. I was curious in knowing what would be the preferences of an UK wedding planner, what would be the itinerary she wants, budget, design, entertainment... all. Perhaps Michelle was curios from a professional side too (how are these guys in Dubrovnik organizing their weddings, what are cultural differences, food, itineraries?). Here are my notes that took on the site inspection in September 2011. I'm listing this to give you a true spirit of wedding planning:

(B means bride, G means groom, of course)

• B&G want a church wedding at the St. Blaise church with the beginning at 4 PM
• they expect 75 to 100 people
• no special decoration for the church except keeping existing flowers at the altar (iif there will be any on the wedding day).  In case flowers on the altar will not be nice, will just remove all - B said that she like very very much baroque altar of the St. Blaise Church
• music at the ceremony, organ player + singer
• gathering point will be Hemingway bar in Dubrovnik at 3 PM, just accross the Rector's Palace
• petals would be great for the church (used as confetti, for exit)
• B&G want a group photo on the main entrance (stairway) to the St. Blaise Church
• no posing, no special photo session with the photographer, only documentary style photos for this nice wedding in Dubrovnik, to be able to track later what was really happening on the day
• after the church, guests will be heading directly to Plam Terrace at Excelsior hotel, without the boat ride, without a coktail in town
• B&G and Veronica (our photographer) arrive at the terrace using a small boat docking directly at Excelsior
• guest will be served sparkling wine, 3 glasses per guest + canapes, it will all be arranged directly at the entrance ot the Palm Terrace ( Prosecco wines will be served)
• set up for the dinner includes the main table for 18 people, sitting from both sides + round tables, as many as needed
• guest will be paying their drinks directly, M&G provide decent amount of wines, water, sparkling wine, and soft drinks...
• decoration will be  made with cream color flowers in different vases put together in groups of 3, plus flowers on table and small walls near
• menu number 4 and number 5 are defined as near-the-final menus, we'll get in touch about that after via email
• Pošip will go as a white wine and Cabernet Sauvignon as red (these were tasted and loved), put some more wines than usually
• no special music at the Palm Terrace, just iPod, something easy and atmospheric
• on the Palm Terrace there will be only a dinner: no dancing, no first dance - just a few speeches
• after the dinner group will party at the East West club, it wil be hired excusively, party will continue until morning hours, club rental price will be 4000 eur (consumed through drinks), DJ makes part of this offer
• B doesn't have parents any more and G is the only son. with Veronica was agreed 8 hours hooting, big album for the couple and another smaller for G's mum
• beauty services in hotel room, she has a nice blond hair, long, very charming, G is bold (shaves head), they are really cute
• the next day they will have a BBQ at Island of Lokrum, no special boat - using ordinary public line, B&G are buying admittance tickets and paying the food, while guests pay drinks
• flowers: bouquet, bridesmaids bouquet,  12 buttonholes, 8 table decorations, big table decorations, petals for the church
• they have just tried a new dessert in Excelsior called FULL MEDITERRANEO, hey liked it pretty much, this one could perhaps change the dessert at the existing menu....
• checked East West and Revelin. Revelin seems to vbig for this party
• B visited us in decoration shop, seen everything with a great interest
• I suggested to dine in the Dubrovnik Restaurant, they look for a place to gather the day before

One year later: check bride's detailed description of 3 days destination wedding in Dubrovnik.

Have a look at the images below:

Groom gather with his party before central gathering

Guests gathering, Dubrovnik Wedding, 2011

Bridal party heads for the ceremony place - St. Blaise Church

Bride and groom enter the church (was this comment really needed?)

At the wedding ceremony in St. Blaise church in Dubrovnik

Group photo in front of the church - the only posing photo at the whole wedding (thumbs up guys)

Arrival at the Palm Terrace wedding reception in Excelsior

Dinner at the Palm Terrace (check details above)

Groom makes a speech

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.