Wedding in Dubrovnik, Croatia?

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Thinking of having your wedding in Dubrovnik, Croatia?

Guide2Croatia finds out how to plan your dream wedding...

Often in Dubrovnik for work, we got talking to Ines Nanic about her wedding planning company "Dubrovnik Event" based in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and was surprised to hear that 80% of weddings she organises are for foreigners...

Why we should be surprised we don't know. It seems that many couples who visit the beautiful medieval sea edge town of Dubrovnik love it so much that they decide to get married there. It is idyllic indeed, only 2 and a half hours from the UK, sophisticated but yet so small and personal that you feel right at home. It is so quaint and pretty that you can't help falling in love with the place, and of course, the balmy Mediterranean climate helps too...So, with such demand taking place, we thought we would quiz Ines on what it's like to organise, and have a wedding in Dubrovnik...

So Ines Nanic (who, right now has a whole host of weddings coming up) is well known about town! She went to university in Dubrovnik and worked as an event planner for the Dubrovnik Palace Hotel for some years, before deciding to take her expertise and local knowledge to the next level and set up Dubrovnik Event in 2008. She runs the company with her husband who also has a huge experience of 5* event management and who, incidentally and very romantically, she met whilst wedding planning! So she has the perfect credentials it seems!

Having organised many many weddings in Dubrovnik since then, you would think that planning her own wedding would be the last thing she'd want to do! But when I put that to Ines she said that to the contrary, it actually made her job much easier when she got married herself - she knew all the options inside out and how to go about making them happen, and she had access to all the best contacts and suppliers.

Where do you start?
She explained that having a wedding planner as a foreigner is more or less a necessity rather than a luxury and can actually save you a lot of money and effort. Costs are more or less the same as they would be in the UK - wedding planning fees, documentation and admin fees, flowers, transportation, a champagne reception on a boat maybe, food and drinks....  Ines told us that they make tailored offers most suitable for each couple based on their wishes, number of people and preferences, and said that it all depends on the couple's wishes, as each wedding truly is unique. She explained that they have chosen to stay away from creating packages for this reason! We start to see that as your excitement runs away with you, a wedding planner can keep you focused on the budget and advise you on what is possible. Apart from being a wise move from that perspective, it's clear that the knowledge of what works and what is possible in a foreign country, is priceless!

The added bonuses...
Getting married abroad can be a great option with many guests choosing to turn the occasion into a holiday too. Indeed, this is a big part of making the wedding a success. Booking early means a wide price range of accommodation is available to suit most budgets. And feedback from family and friends on the whole experience is usually wonderful, says Ines. One grandmother who recently attended her grandsons wedding in Cavtat, near Dubrovnik, told us how magical the whole day was and that the fact that all the guests were staying nearby really made it special. She told us how they were married in a little church and then they all walked down around the bay to the reception which took place in a sea edge restaurant. In having your wedding in a different country, it inevitably cuts the guest list down and normally the group who attends the wedding are the couples special friends and family so strangely, all of these things can make for a less stressful wedding experience all round!

Locations..

But it is when Ines starts to talk about wedding locations that we really see the possibilities! It is worth mentioning that religious weddings can only take place in churches, and not in any outdoor location. But Civil ceremonies can take place in outdoor locations so you could get married with the sun setting over the islands with the sound of the sea lapping in the background or at a wonderful viewpoint maybe, the sumptuous Sponza palace, the medieval town walls, or even a boat! The photos to the right show some of the types of things that couples have done already. You could get married literally anywhere in and around Dubrovnik! Endless creative possibilities abound!

...And details
Ines suggests, you could have romantic guitar music playing in the background, a string quartet or a jazz band to name but a few ideas...or if you have a church wedding, there are some beautiful ones to choose from - big or small and intimate, whatever type of wedding you have in mind, there are a range of options. Other details are all there for the choosing - Ines explained that they have a portfolio of possibilities ready to be tailored to the couples desires - a wedding day breakfast massage? Beauty professionals to style your look, florists to ensure the perfect backdrop. And the fabulous architecture and natural environment make photographs exquisite. Ines continues on to the reception. She says that most couples are impressed with the options; Exclusive restaurants or a local taverns, VIP Beach or a village ranch, naturally scenic viewpoints or a private villas. It does all sound pretty nice! And if you know Dubrovnik, you can imagine it would be. We were just left wondering where you would go for your honeymoon that could possibly top the wedding??

Planning

Ines suggests that even if the couple have been to Dubrovnik, they should try to do an inspection visit at the same time of year as the wedding will be so they have a good idea of what it will be like. Indeed, Ines says, and I totally agree, that there is really nothing like coming and visiting the possible wedding and wedding reception locations and getting a feel for what you like. She says that of course prospective brides and grooms have lots of questions about what they could do and what it would cost. But standing in the actual locations and seeing how everything could fit together is just the best way to discover what captures their hearts and that's when the real planning begins! Ines says that really anything is possible in terms of timescales and budget, but as a guide, she would suggest starting to plan your wedding around 1-1.5 years in advance. She told us about a recent overseas wedding for 50 guests which she arranged in less than 6 months. But she gives a reminder that the necessary paperwork usually takes around 3-4 months, so it's best to try to give yourself a reasonable amount of time.

Paperwork
Ines explains that her agency takes care of all the paperwork so that the marriage is legally recognised in the couples home country. This side of things is therefore quite straightforward for the couple and so shouldn't daunt anyone who wants to marry in Croatia. Paperwork requirements are set out at the time of booking and would involve quite a lot of hard work if couples were going it alone without the help of a wedding planner; She explained that whether couples have a civil or catholic wedding they need to supply various documents which then need to go through the standard legalization process. Any English documents also need to be translated into Croatian. Yes, we can see the benefit already of having Ines to deal with all of that!

So we leave her as she plans her trip to a nearby island for a location reccy in a couple of days time, and to meet a couple in town to look at locations for their big day next year. And we make a mental note to attend one of these weddings to see what they're like because they sound amazing! If you want to find out more, then have a look for yourself. Ines has a fab website  and would be happy to have a chat. You can also email her from this site (click "Contact" below) or give her a call on 00385 98599030.