Emma & Alan's Wedding- a perfect wedding story in Dubrovnik

Interestingly enough, Emma, our Bridal star of this story, first contacted me on my 30th birthday and just a bit less than a year before her big day. She said she wanted nice venues, with old style touch but modern approach, good food and wine and great time for their family and friends. Having said she read great reviews of Dubrovnik Event, the pressure was even greater to find perfectly suitable venues...

Almost a year later....
We met a few days before the wedding for the pre-wedding meeting and to finalize every detail. Emma was a bit nervous as the weather wasn't too good the day they arrived but Alan's calm spirit and our detailed wedding chit chat have made Emma her old self- positive, perky and cheerful person, very much looking forward to her wedding! It was great getting to know them after a whole year of wedding planning without ever meeting in person!

When I came up to her bridal suite in Hotel Excelsior a couple of hours before the ceremony time, Emma's hair and makeup were done and she was breezing though the suite like a fairy. She was beautifully calm and happy.
It was a perfect day.
Just when I expected her to start putting her dress on, room service knocked on the suite doors and the waiter came in with what looked like a dozen sandwiches!
I always stress out the importance of breakfast for the wedding day as due to excitement and adrenaline, lack of food can never be good, but this was a (positive) shock even for me. This meant the whole wedding party was laid back and in a very good mood. Champagne was flowing and the ambiance was fantastic, and I really look forward to seeing some cool photos from this part of the wedding!
Shortly afterwards, time has come to go to the Old town and meet her husband to be.

Meantime, Alan and his groomsmen party were already gathering at the Sponza Palace. Piano and cello were playing their selected tunes while the whole wedding party awaited for the Bride's entrance.

Emma and Alan got married in one of Dubrovnik's trademarks- the fabulous medieval Sponza Palace. This choise was only logical as it was everything you want from your wedding ceremony venue- it is celebratory, monumental, grand and absolutely stunning.

When we had everyone seated, right at the church's bell tower rang 15:30hrs, the Nessum Dorma started playing and we let it play for a few seconds before we opened the doors for Sarah, Emma's sister to walk down the aisle before Emma and Jack, her father who proudly took her down the aisle a couple of minutes later.
The ceremony was perfect- personalized with a couple of readings and marked by some laughter of Emma and Alan. It was amazing looking at them so laid back, being pronounced husband and wife- at last!

While enjoying a glass of fizzy and laughing out loud chilled and relaxed, they took formal shots of family, friends and colleagues and a group shot too- always a lot of fun, followed by some famous Dubrovnik ice cream in the Old town harbour after which a cocktail reception followed on the paniramic boat cruise. As Emma put it, the sea was a bit choppy but hey everyone is still raving about how much fun they had and they would never change a bit. Cocktail and canapes were served on the boat and then the wedding party strolled through the old town city walls to the restaurant terrace of Hotel Excelsior for yet another few drinks and wedding dinner.

Atmosphere was fantastic, and it didn't rain just until we reached the hotel which was a good sign as all plans of the big day were laying out perfectly. After everyone was seated, short but excellent speeches were held and it was time for dinner.

Chicken canelloni everyone is still talking about , followed by option of either  fabulously cooked beefsteak or beautifully made John Dory fish fillet and nicely flowing Croatian wine told us it was time to cut the cake and serve it indorrs as it was getting dark and a bit chilly too.
The cake Emma chose was one of the most original I have ever seen and the hotel made a perfect replica of the picture sent.

We slowly moved indoors where the party started with Emma and Alan's first dance and some partying till morning hours... It truly was a perfect Dubrovnik wedding, set off by a perfect wedding couple, happy, laid back and married to live happily ever after....

Thank you Emma and Alan, for the trust you have put into Dubrovnik Event and our wedding planning skills without knowing us or meeting us before the wedding week. We are honored that we had the pleasure of taking part in your special day. Wishing you days full of joy....

To the rest of you- happy planning :)

http://www.dubrovnikevent.com/

our first 2011 wedding in Dubrovnik- Marie-Therese & James

Last October Marie and James were traveling and read about us in an in-flight magazine, when they decided to contact us about planning their special day in April in Dubrovnik. after a few emails and a couple of phonecalls they informed us we will have the honor of being their chosen wedding planners. we were absolutely thrilled. and the story began....

It was an intimate gathering of their closest ones- they said it would be an either extremely large or extremely small wedding so decided to do a family affair in Dubrovnik with an after party in England.

Marie-Therese was getting ready in a beautiful apartment in Old Town, overlooking the church where should would say her wovs in a few hours time. Yes, you could tell she was a bit nervous, but hey, every Bride is and with her it was sort of cute as well as she really is an adorable lovely girl who stayed really kind every second of her big day, while being a Bride having every right to go a bit crazy :)

Flowers arrived just in time and Marie-Therese loved them, a perfect combination of whites, creams, and blues and a hint of a sweet peas as well. They suited her just ideally, same as her wedding dress and her incredibly stunning funky blue shoes.

Hair and makeup girls did their magic, though Marie Therese really didnt need much of it being truly naturally beautiful. Finally her Mother pinned her veil onto her amazingly styled hair and she was ready to meet her husband to be...



James was already with Veronica, the photographer at that time, with his brothers and parents and one of his brother's fiance who I am sure thought at least for a second how will she ever beat this Dubrovnik wedding magic :)

James is a graphic designer, a really cool guy who is genuinely nice, funny and calm in the same time. a fantastic combination, and they truly do match each other perfectly. James' mother prepared them a wedding cake she brought all the way from Ireland and when we took some pictures and placed cake at the restaurant's safe fridge it was time to slowly start gathering at the church, as the ceremony was scheduled to be at 1500hrs.

As the time passed, the anticipation rose as violin and piano played selected tunes of Marie-Therese and James, who had a very extensive and specific music requirements for the church music, carefully selected by their professional family friend who is a musician.

Just when Marie-Therese stepped in front of the church, greeted and cheered by dozens of tourists walking the streets of Dubrovnik, the moment was at its peak. James was ready, along with their guests to gaze at his Bride and marry her at last.

When first tunes of Pachebel's Canon in D played, I am sure I saw a tear in the eye of my First 2011 Bride, and I knew it is perfect time for her walk down the aisle, with her father giving her away.

If you ask me this is my very favorite part of every wedding and it never fails me , the emotions are at their peak and the wedding too, really starts her in its formal but such warm and personal way.

Marie-Therese & James exchanged their vows, rings, as well as silver coins and the priest read out the Pope's blessign they got a couple of weeks prior to the wedding. The ceremony was just perfect- intimate, emotional, funny at moments and entirely personal. It truly was one of the most memorable and beautiful ceremonies we had the honor of coordinating and attending.

After the church ceremony we took the guests for drinks at a nearby bar when the couple went with the photographer for a small photo session around Dubrovnik's Old Town after which they joined their guests for a few drinks and nibbles too. Look at the tractor Marie-Therese just fell in love with during her walk and out of pure joke they made it happen and captured for good- when is the last time you saw a Bride on a tractor? :)

The wedding party of Marie-Therese and James continued with a fabulous dinner at Gil's Cuisine and Pop Lounge (http://www.gilsdubrovnik.com/ ). They loved every second of the pampering at this very special place where truly all of your senses will be overwhelmed. in a positive way of course.

It has truly been a pleasure planning, organizing and coordinating their wedding, and we can only thank Marie-Therese and James for honoring us with having a part in their special day.

For your wedding offer please contact us at info@dubrovnikevent.com

Happy planning!

How to find your true wedding planner - stuff to keep in mind when looking for one

This last couple of weeks I have witnesses a few occasions where a couple's wedding vision and the whole special day were compromized to a great extent due to the fact they had no reliable local contact to ensure all of their wedding vendor communication is indeed agreed upon and set in stone. I couldn't help but think: see, this is exactly why one needs to hire a wedding planner, especially for a wedding abroad.
the questions is- how to find a reliable one, that will indeed work in your best interests and ensure your dreamed of day truly goes as a day of your dreams?

We give you a few tips how to know the professional you hire is indeed an expert professional wedding planner:

1. RECOMMENDATION is the most obvious way to find out if your wedding planner is any good- look for testimonials from other couples and maybe even vendors. Other people's experiences with the person you are looking to hire to plan the most important day of your lives will help a lot in making this decision. Don't ask for reference letters only, but contact details of couples as well, especially those who have had similar wedding to what you have envisioned. It will also help get an idea of what they thought of these choices and how the planner contributed to the whole day.

Ines with Mairead and Neil in front of St Ignatius Church in Dubrovnik, after their wedding ceremony on 20/08/2009

Ines & Marin as witnesses at St Blaise church to Niall & Olivia, 20/10/2006

2. SAMPLES OF PREVIOUS WORK- we all know that any craft is crafted and perfected with practice, so is the wedding planning. Ask for a brief history of the planner's company, how many weddings they have done up to date and pictures of previous weddings. Ideally, if you are asking for references, your planner will supply you with a couple of contacts from each of the previous 3 years of business at least. Also, ask for photos and maybe even videos of weddings that have a similar concept to your own to see the closest picture possible.

Ines & Marin as witnesses to Jessica and Raoul, after their elopement ceremony on Dubrovnik viewpoint on 09/09/2009

 3. PROFESSIONALISM, INVOICING AND CONTRACTING- your planner should clearly explain you how the payment and contracting procedure takes place for your wedding and draft you a contract proposal immediately after your date confirmation, outlining all agreed upon segments, cancellation policy, their fee structure and explanation of potential costs that are upcoming. You should also expect from your planner to issue you another annex to the contract closer to the wedding with every single detail agreed for your wedding with all prices and fees agreed upon, leaving no space for misunderstandings or unpleasant surprises. Make sure you check with your planner any potentially unexpected costs at the initial stages and if they would increase their fees if your guestlist goes up or the scope of their work goes wider. Finally you need to expect to receive a receipt for each deposit you make as well as final invoice for your wedding, outlining each and every item of your wedding.

Aine & Ines, who became very good friends during their wedding planning days, just minutes before Aine's wedding ceremony in Dubrovnik on 10/09/2010

4. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING LOCAL can never be stressed out enough. Local people look after each other and will always have a better relationship with local vendors than a foreigner will, and as much as we say this shouldn't be true, this is an unwritten rule and there are rarely exceptions. By hiring a local wedding planner you will ensure there are no miscommunications either as you wouldn't appreciate the fact that your flowers came purple instead of pink due to the language barrier. Finally, a local will know and feel the region, venues, possibilities, capacities and "hidden" vendors better than anyone else.

5. THE FEELING OF TRUST that you won't miss when you meet your true bound wedding planner. Your personalities will match and compliment each other and you will simply feel like that's the right person to entrust this important role. Everything about Your wedding should have the right and good feel to it, as does your Wedding Planner. They will become your best friend over the coming period whom you will be in touch with more than with anyone else probably, so it has to be a person you feel comfortable with -sharing your thoughts, feelings and asking any questions that pop your mind.
Your true wedding planner will know exactly how to calm you down when needed or nudge you into being proactive if you are not.
Your true wedding planner will make you feel at ease at any step along the way and will indeed plan and make your dream wedding day your reality.

Ines with AnnMarie and Killian, after their wedding ceremony in St Ignatius church in Dubrovnik, 01/05/2010

Dubrovnik Event wishes you happy planning!  

If you would like Ines & Marin of Dubrovnik Event to be your wedding planners, for your personalized wedding offer please contact us at info@dubrovnikevent.com
for more info about us and more pictures please visit www.dubrovnikevent.com

Top 10 reasons why get married in Dubrovnik

1.      Dubrovnik’s beauty has long been inspirationally known and world renowned, even the famous poet Bernard Shaw said it himself: “Those who seek Paradise on Earth, must come to Dubrovnik”. This says it all and surely you will know what he meant once you visit and experience the picturesque sites this amazing city has to offer. You will be enchanted by its clear blue sea, pristine beaches, hospitality of the locals and that familiar feeling like you are at home, at a first glance. You will always want to come back to it.

2.   Dubrovnik is also known under its alias “Pearl of the Adriatic”, as it truly offers you and your wedding guests absolutely anything you may need and want while leaving you without breath with its natural beauties, rich history, culture and romantic alleys. It has been a vacation getaway location for many celebrities including Beyonce, Paris Hilton, Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke, Nick Nolte, Steve Buschemi and Roger Moore, to name a few.

3.   Today, you can directly fly to Dubrovnik for your wedding from most European and world cities, including New York from 2011! You can also fly to Dubrovnik’s local airport from England, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland and Austria, to name a few. This definitely saves a lot of time and money for your guests, making it convenient, easy and even more desirable as a destination wedding location.

4.   UNESCO has placed Dubrovnik and its famous city walls in 1979 as a city under their protection due to its incredibly rich cultural and historical heritage and the preservation of the mentioned. You will surely have lots to do around here- from learning about our rich history and culture, to, for some more fun stuff, such as paragliding, water sports, diving, kayaking, or simply sun bathing with an occasional swim in the clear blue sea. And you wont even have to look very closely to see the fish swimming around you- the sea is just that clear!

5.   While walking through streets of Dubrovnik, you will be able to pick a lemon for your morning freshly squeezed lemonade, a tangerine to have for breakfast, some pomegranate for snacking fresh and healthy at the beach; and pretty much wherever you go- to a local tavern or your private accommodation Bed and Breakfast, you are most likely to be served mostly homemade and home grown produce. Croatians take pride in this so enjoy the organic fruit and vegetables at your hand’s reach.

6.  Dubrovnik has 2554 sunny hours per year in average. looking for a sunny destination wedding location? You can't beat that!

7. Dubrovnik has been a host to Dubrovnik Summer Festival for over 60 years- concerts under the stary skies, theatrical plays in most amazing lcoations you can imagine and medieval costumed festival on each cobbed corner! Your guests will have loads of options to choose from on their list of "what to do while in Dubrovnik".

8. Dubrovnik's accommodation and restaurant/bar offer reached an enviable assortment of all different kinds and categories of the properties, so you can stay and offer your guests to indulge at a 5 star hotel overlooking the famous Dubrovnik's city walls while enjoying a relaxing massage with a glass of champagne, or enjoy the authenticity in one of the local B&Bs in the Old Town up in the cobbled streets. Or maybe a Villa with a pool for your guests, there are loads to choose from! Whatever their budget and preferences are, we assure you Dubrovnik has it all.

And when it comes to dining and wining in Dubrovnik, you are in for a treat! We will happily send you a list of must visit places to taste the very best of Dubrovnik.

9. Your guests will be happy to visit a place for your wedding week where they will be able to make a vacation out of it- there is a bit for everyone's tastes in this beautiful city. Also, Montenegro is half hour away and Medjugorje is only 2 hours away if your family wishes to do a pilgrimage trip.

10. After a couple of days walking through Dubrovnik streets and visiting local bars, you will feel like home, already getting exciting at the thought of coming back, and you will leave with so many beautiful memories and locals' contacts who will truly be in touch with you for years to come.

Indeed, Dubrovnik is a very special place for Your very special day.

***for your personalized wedding offer in Dubrovnik , please visit www.dubrovnikevent.com or email us at info@dubrovnikevent.com

we look forward to hearing from you and making your dreams come true!

Children at Weddings - your Wedding can be screaming free if you manage to keep them occupied...

Some of you may not know this- I have a 9 month old son who is the greatest light of my life. Well, most of the time :)
I will start this blog post with this great picture of a wedding of Helen and Paschal a fantastic couple with 2 adorable sons, and the whole wedding was with lots of kids, a wedding that took place symbolically enough on the day I gave birth to my precious one...

My husband and I are invited to a wedding out of town (it is actually the very 1st wedding abroad I will attend that I didn't plan and won't be coordinating (well maybe just a little :)) in May and I started thinking about the "kids at weddings issue" from an entirely different perspective. So far I was looking at it from the Wedding Planner's perspective, but since recently, I have a Mother's perspective as well, putting things in a whole new point of view!
After a lot of thinking and discussion, we decided we will leave our little precious one at home with grandparents for those 2 days that we are leaving for. If it were for longer, I am not sure we would do so. And surely if we did take Luka with us, I would be looking into an option of babysitter for the evening. Not really sure any parent can relax and entirely enjoy a wedding event while their child is either running around a new unexplored area or while their baby is requesting their undivided attention.

The key is keeping children occupied at weddings. I am delighted to tell you that for most of our Dubrovnik weddings we either have babysitters (especially for smaller children and babies) or some sort of entertainment for kids. Special thanks to Kim Rix (http://www.yourlondonweddingplanner.co.uk/) for some of her ideas and suggestions in the words that follow!
Some recommendations follow:

1. Give kids a role at the wedding- if they are old enough (probably 5+) and feel comfortable enough, have them as flower girls and paige boys, they will feel so important, and almost adult and surely behave much more adult than you would ever anticipate them. Do make sure they know exactly what to do and their parent/guardian is closeby in case the child suddenly decides to change their mind, which often happens. When you put them in front of an aisle and 100 people look at them, smilingly, not all of them will feel comfortable, well - would you? So do hope for best scenario but also be prepared for the not so good one too. Worst that can happen is that they will walk down the aisle with someone adult or not walk at all. Surely your (Dubrovnik Event) wedding coordinator will adapt to that and make sure nobody noticed anything.

2. Garden Games
If you are having your reception in a venue which has an outside area, garden, or grounds, then you might want to consider hiring a few garden games. If you are not Croatian, bring games children at your wedding will be familiar with and will know how to play them without too much explanations.

3. Kids Fun corner
We can set up a small table for the children in a corner of the reception. Provide some colouring books, crayons and ‘dry’ art materials so they can colour, make and play. You might consider some ‘wedding’ themed crafts like decorating a lucky horseshoe or designing a wedding dress. There are plenty of ready-made sets out there so you don’t have to make activities up yourself!

4. Candid Camera

If they are old enough (5 or 6 years +) then you could consider buying a couple of disposable cameras to allow them to take a few pictures themselves. You could set them a checklist of images to shoot or things they have to find. They will feel really important and you will get lovely pictures from their view of the wedding.

5. Special Treats

Young people have great fun pretending to be adults. They will see your guests sipping on champagne, eating canapés and nibbling on decadent treats. Ask your venue or caterer to create some children friendly treats and cocktails. Ask them to make sure they are healthy and low in sugar (so they don’t get too hyper) and lay them out specially.

In the end I would like to say that you as Bride and Groom will need to address this issue, one way or another. Want to make an adult only wedding? A challenging task, I will tell you that, as not all parent will be understanding of this, but if this is your plan- make sure you personally speak to the parent and explain them easily, but also make sure that you tell them how happy it would make you that they attended the wedding.
If there will be children at your wedding, speak to your wedding planner to provide entertainment ie clowns (if budget allows), or make kids corners with art and crafts. Any parent will appreciate your efforts and you will not see children running around your wedding reception and stumbling upon your feet during your first dance. We assure you- Kids at weddings can actually be a lot of fun and absolutely great in pictures!

Happy planning!

Marry me in Dubrovnik this year! there is still time to marry abroad in 2011!

Funnily enough when I spoke last time how I missed out on the new trend of last minute booking, sure I got some in the past couple of days. A couple for September for which basically we still have plenty of time to plan them. But one of them for May, which really is a last minute booking for a destination wedding, only 2,5 months from the wedding date.
Luckily enough, the couple is being really prompt on the paperwork side of things (some of you may not know this but the deadline for paperwork is 90 days from the wedding date, and in case of a civil ceremony, we as your Dubrovnik wedding planner have to submit the original paperwork along with translated copies to Croatian to the registry office no later than 30 days from the wedding day), and we managed to choose everything in just 2 days of emailing, so we give you a peak of their Dream Wedding Day in Dubrovnik, just a couple of months away:
The ceremony venue:

This is one of my favorite hidden gems of Dubrovnik's lcoations for small ceremonies. it is a small viewpoint in Lapad Bay just above the sea and the rocks, off which the waves hit with those fabulous sea cliff sounds as you get married. Astonishing indeed. After the short ceremony, the couple and their closest family (there is only a few of them) will enjoy a glass of champagne while being entertained by an authentic Croatian "klapa" band, a trio of musicians playing local tunes on mandolines and guitars dressed in traditional Dubrovnik costumes. you can see them here playing in the medieval Sponza Palace during one of our last year's ceremonies:

Back to our very last minute booking- after the champagne cocktail , the wedding party will head down to the terrace just to themselves for a fabulous 7 course dinner, enjoying the sun setting over the sea in May. Is this beautiful or what? Do you see yourself getting married here? contact us at info@dubrovnikevent.com

We hope you like their dream wedding scenario. We love it. One of our very first couples and dearest ones for sure (greetings to Sonia and Benoit and their two beautiful boys- Mikael & Dorian) a few years ago had their wedding with the same scenario- we thought it was original, breathtaking and stunning, but it didnt repeat till now! Looking forward to it!

We wish you a fantastic start of the week, many happy moments and for those of you engaged to get married- happy wedding planning (in Dubrovnik hopefully :) and with Dubrovnik Event of course! :))

2012 wedding booking start

greetings from sunny Dubrovnik- again, and back to normal :)! amazingly enough, we had snow yesterday, all day long. none of it stayed, but it was falling which in these areas happens once in a decade, so it was interesting to witness to the white backyard when I woke up. This is a picture of Dubrovnik taken this morning, who would say we had a snowy day yesterday :)

Good news is that 2012 is starting to book up. We have some fabulous new locations in store for you and you can check photos at http://www.dubrovnikevent.com/
It is time to do our annual maintenance and revision of our website so I am really looking forward to it, adding more photos, more references and making a mobile version of it.
Another great news is that there are some fantastic villas being done these days and we look forward to incorporating them into our offer. check these photos out- wouldn't you want your special wedding day in Dubrovnik to have this sort of a setting? amazing, isnt' it?

I love the excitement of a pre-season time, when spring knocks on our doors and couples from all over the words fly in to Dubrovnik to look for that special place and that special venue that will capture their heart and so to start their very special day planning, be it this year, next year or even 2013 for which we already have a great interest! I read somewhere that new trend in wedding planning , especially for destination weddings, will be last minute bookings. I must admit I haven's noticed this happening, quite the contrary, and if anything, booking start earlier than ever! Reasons for that are numerous and surely we understand that you wish your most important day of your life to be safely locked while you enjoy the perks and steps of wedding abroad wedding planning, allowing yourself time to absorb each and every detail in making sure it is just the ONE, like The One you are marrying....

We look forward to hearing from you and assisting you in making your dream wedding come true. we can always be reached at info@dubrovnikevent.com and feel free to skype us at dubrovnikevents, or phone at 0038598599030.

Here is to great wedding planning, be it ultra early or last minute! We look forward to it!