A July Wedding on Island of Lokrum

Hi there, just wanted to share couple of photos done by me (yes – no Veronica, Sinisa or other pros this time, :). These I took while preparing the ceremony site on Island of Lokrum.
(ATTENTION: these images were all taken with my mobile phone camera, so please ignore low quality – I know my photographers will laugh, 🙂

The ceremony was scheduled for 4PM (complete civil ceremony, with entire paperwork, registrar’s presence at the site, official translator and all the rest). GIven the summer temperature (around 30 degrees Celsius) Island of Lokrum was a great choice. There is some breeze coming from the sea there, nice green plants protect people from the direct sun rays, and most important of all: the boat ride from Old City Harbour to Portoč harbour on Island of Lokrum comes as a natural air condition.

We coordinated three separate rides to islands. Moms arrived first in their speed boat, guests docked with a bigger wooden boat, while my dear J arrived with another speed boat, just close to the ceremony starting time.

Drinks refreshments started at the ceremony place in Benedictine monastery, continuing with a chill-out at the park close.

OK. Now’s the time to check what followed up in the evening. Again my mobile in action, 🙂

Here is an idea of the Beach Terrace at Grand Villa Argentina. Close to the dinner start at 7PM (TIP: start at that time of later in July).

And to close the post… not need to mention this was again my mobile (this time in terrible quality, 🙂

Dubrovnik Weddings 2012, Part V, This is a Palm Terrace wedding

Tags

destination wedding croatia, weddings abroad croatia

All right, now… well… its so easy to get confused getting a review such as good as these one I got from my dear Michelle. 3 days wedding event with lovely guests, exploring many nice locations here. I think this people really got all the best this nice region has to offer: beautiful historic heritage, amazing nature and great contact with the sea and its crystal clear waters.
Important thing is that Michelle is an UK wedding planning pro, and many of her kind guests are wedding business pros too. The wedding itself was so oriented towards Michelle and Grant’s guests and that’s something I appreciate really a lot – and it is almost a certain sign that:

• I have a very kind couple as clients
• that wedding will be a happy and relaxed
• all suppliers will give “an extra” to make it even more bautifull

So what Michelle wrote me is (the only thing I have edited are article titles – as it was written in one breath, really inspired but it may get difficult to read, hope Michelle understands that – thanks):

(this post originally appeared here: Dubrovnik Wedding Venue Palm Terrace)

As a wedding planner for an Event Catering company in England, deciding to get married abroad was a very big commitment for me. Putting my trust in someone else was going to be difficult – or so I thought until I contacted Kristina (Kike)…

The start

We had searched the internet and fallen in love with a picture on her website of the beautiful Palms Terrace at the Excelsior Hotel set for a wedding and decided there and then on Dubrovnik for our location.
We emailed Kike that evening ( Friday) and by the Sunday evening after bouncing questions back and forth , we were looking at flights to go and visit. Kike had made me feel so at ease through her responses that there was no need to contact anyone else. She was also very open and honest with the pricing and this really helped us in the early stages. We kept in touch and sorted out all of the details over email – I work very irregular hours but could always guarantee that she would email me back within a few hours, or the very next day if it was late. I really felt like she wanted to help me plan our big day, it was not just going through the motions.
The time that she spent with us at this stage was huge- and being in the business I know how precious your time is, and we hadn’t even confirmed a date yet, let alone paid her any money!

Site Inspection

We arranged a site visit for May and spent 4 days in this gorgeous city. We had done a fair amount of research – with Kike’s help – and had a list of a few places to visit. On meeting Kike I was put a ease very quickly, she was so professional and very easy to work with – after emailing so much ( and I sent a lot!!) I felt that I was meeting a friend and that was so important to us both. The venues and places she showed us were amazing and by the end of the first day we had everything booked. It all seemed too easy but as Kike works with a very regular team it was simple to get everything booked and that way we knew we were using trusted suppliers. We met with the hotel Banqueting Manager, Ivana and the Photographer, Vero – and loved them both instantly, we knew we were going to be in safe hands. Planning your big day is not only an emotional time but a huge financial commitment and we knew that they would all deliver the day of our dreams. We tried the food at the Excelsior Hotel and were blown away, the menu was picked that afternoon meaning we could relax and enjoy the rest of the planning without worrying. We spent the next few days getting to know Dubrovnik and we couldn’t wait to get all our friends and family over there to share it with us.

Wedding planning

The next 12 months was a constant stream of emails to get all the details right ( I am very fussy) Kike was so patient with us as the plans and the budget changed constantly. She was on hand to answer every question and help with anything we wanted to achieve. Including helping with the ceremony paperwork – which was the tricky bit! The time passed so quickly and before we knew it we were leaving for the airport. We were all so excited and nervous as we were taking 70 guests over with us to spend 4 days celebrating.

Arrival in Dubrovnik

On the day we arrived we met with Kike to run through everything and everything was under control – she had arranged for us to meet the suppliers that day so that we had some time to ourselves too. It was great to see everyone again and go through all the details. By the end of that day we went for dinner knowing that we were in such safe hands. Kike had arranged our meeting with the Priest, a hair trail at the salon, a makeup trial at our apartment and a trip to her flower shop to see the flowers – it was all being to feel real and I was so stress free that I could really relax and enjoy the few days before the wedding with our friends and family.

The day before

On the evening before the wedding we had arranged a dinner at the Dubrovnik Terrace Restaurant – a recommendation from Kike and it was amazing – the food and service was awesome and it was the perfect way to spend the night before our wedding. Kike was there to check that everything ran like clockwork and with 70 guests that wasn’t easy. My sister and I then left for the hotel – only to find when we were there that Ivana had upgraded us so that we could be in the same suite the night before to make it easier for getting ready the next day. This was such a nice addition to the whole experience.

The wedding day

The wedding morning flew in a whirl of hair and makeup from Kike’s brilliant team, tears and laughter with my four Bridesmaids – all overlooking the beautiful sea view from the wonderful suite in the hotel. In the middle of this there was a knock on the door as Kike delivered the Bridal flowers – they were beautiful and I was again blown away. She had understood what I wanted perfectly and I was over the moon. It was time to leave for the church and Kike was on hand to arrange taxis and help with the dress too. Vero was with us at this stage and I enjoyed every minute of walking through the town with my gorgeous ladies. Kikes team had made sure that everything was running smoothly at the church and that all our guests and the Groom were in place. St Blaise is an oasis of calm in a busy town and we had the most beautiful service. We came out of the doors as Husband and Wife to a huge crowd of well wishers and we even had our picture taken by the local press! As Grant and I went off to have our pictures taken with Vero – Kike and her team where ensuring that our guests were looked after. They arrived at the Palms Terrace to be served drinks and canapés. The best comment on this was that “It looked like something from a movie” The tables were set beautifully and the flowers took my breath away. The whole setting was amazing and it only got better as the sun set and the candles were lit , we had the most magical and romantic 5 course dinner – it truly exceeded our expectations. Kike and her team were on site thought the whole time – having them there was very reassuring for me. The evening went without a hitch and we were soon moving down to the East / West night club on the beach ready to dance the night away. We had the best day and night of our lives and that was down to Kike and her team.

The day after

We really wanted to do something with our guests the following day and its was Kike’s idea to take them all over to Lokrum Island for lunch. The staff at the restaurant there really looked after us, even through some of the guests were a little jaded!! We all enjoyed a hearty lunch and then took a dip in the lagoon or just sipped cocktails under the trees. Kike again was on hand to check that everything was running smoothly. It was such a lovely way to spend the day after the wedding. The following day we bid farewell to this beautiful city and were very sad to go home – as where all our guests. I can still remember hearing the moans of disappointment when we landed in Manchester.

Overall

To say that we had an amazing time is very much an understatement, all of our guests had the time of their lives, we were able to enjoy the whole experience of getting married in such a gorgeous place and we couldn’t have done that without Kike. Not only had she given us the perfect wedding but the perfect memories – to us that’s priceless.

Michelle B., Sept 2012

Dubrovnik Weddings 2012, Part IV, ceremony at St. Blaise, Wedding in Neptun

Tags

dubrovnik wedding, wedding planning, wedding venues dubrovnik

We get a lot of good feedback for 2012 season, thanks to good work of all our suppliers, but this review impressed us maybe the most (here is the Dubrovnik Neptun Wedding post), here I’ll post just a few pics more to give a better idea of the itinerary.

Wedding in St. Blaise church, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Hugh and I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the most amazing wedding day imaginable. Our family and friends said it was like a fairy tale and it truly was. The team was utterly fantastic and we were made to feel that nothing was too much trouble, the organisation was perfect and the whole process from start to finish was a great experience.

Wedding in St. Blaise church, after the ceremony, Dubrovnik

Kike & Nike

From the first email to the day itself Kike really listened to our wishes to make sure that we had the day we both wanted whilst also making fantastic suggestions to enhance the whole experience. In particular the BBQ the day after which was the perfect relaxed day after the wedding. Kike and Nike made sure everything ran so smoothly, we didn’t have to worry about a thing and this allowed us both to really enjoy every minute. They are simply worth their weight in gold.

In front of the St. Blaise church, Wedding in Dubrovnik

Hotel Neptun and Visnja

The tables laid out in all their finery and the beautiful flowers and the sun setting over the Adriatic sea as we enjoyed our meal, this setting is breath taking. The food was delicious (and plentiful!) and the cake was outstanding, I wish I had eaten more but after five courses there was no room! The waiting staff and Visnja were attentive and professional and very kind when we took over the beach bar, allowing us to play our tunes, staying there till late.

Rudi

As well as doubling as a brilliant assistant photographer Rudi the sommelier helped us to pick and purchase the wines. Neither of us know a lot about wine we were a little nervous. One of our favourite memories of our first visit to Dubrovnik was sitting in a café with Rudi talking about Croatian wine, it was so interesting and the tasting was very good indeed. A few of the wine connoisseurs amongst our guests complemented us (well Rudi) on the wine. 

Wedding in Dubrovnik, after ceremony boat ride

Veronica

From the moment we met Veronica we knew she would be a fantastic photographer, huge smile and such enthusiasm, this is not work for Veronica, she genuinely loves weddings and it shows! On the day itself she was discreet and efficient, I’m sure she has captured many special moments we aren’t even aware of, every now and then we would spot her out of the corner of eye. This was perfect; there was no standing around for hours in the sun doing group shot after group shot. We can’t wait to see the finished photos and the beauty of Dubrovnik as a backdrop cannot be understated.

Dubrovnik wedding, Hotel Neptun, dinner

Teo and his band

What a talented band and brilliant singer, it’s a bit of a risk hiring a band you have never heard, but it paid off big time. The mix of music was great, every single guest got up on the dance floor, they even played some old dance classics much to the delight of the younger crowd. My Dad asked them if they knew Baker Street as it’s one of his favourites and they immediately started playing it, much respects to the Saxophone player!

Dubrovnik wedding, Hotel Neptun, party

Don Frano (St. Blaise Church)

The ceremony itself was conducted in St Blaise’s Church in English by Don Frano a very spiritual, sincere priest, his words were inspirational and very special and will stay with us for the rest of our lives. We simply cannot believe this was our wedding, it’s a day both us and our guests will never forget, Dubrovnik is too special for words.

Dubrovnik Weddings 2012, Part III, Dubrovnik Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids attending a wedding in Dubrovnik have duties like anywhere else in the world:  helping the bride to get ready, helping any younger bridesmaids or flower girls to get ready too and try to keep them entertained, bridesmaids will either walk down the aisle before the bride or follow her down the aisle.

On the images below you may check different moments at beautiful Dubrovnik Wedding Venues, checkout various dresses colors too.

Bianca is getting ready at Hotel Lapad with help of her Bridesmaids

Carolyn’s Bridesmaids at Dubrovnik Wedding (ceremony at Sponza Palace, reception on a terrace in the Old Town)

Cavtat Wedding bridesmaids on their way to reception place

Sponza Wedding in Dubrovnik, bridesmaids at Stradun

Dobrovnik Wedding at Dominican Monastery, wait… one, two, three… eleven bridesmaids

Grand Villa Argentina, Dubrovnik wedding Bridesmaids a few moments before heading to the ceremony place

Dubrovnik Wedding bridesmaids on a post ceremony boat cruise with our dear bride Petra

Dubrovnik Weddings 2012, Part II, Photography

Tags

destination wedding croatia, weddings abroad croatia

Perhaps it is a good moment to give an overview of work of our team of Dubrovnik wedding photographers throughout the wedding coordination season 2012. Let’s start first with Veronica Arevalo that has been with us from early days (from the very first day actually). Always with a smile and ease, modest and cheerful she followed our Dubrovnik weddings in Dubrovnik itself, on all nearby islands, coast south or north, country weddings and on many other wedding venues. She went with our dear brides and our wedding coordinators for shootings on all possible sort of places. From this year her and Rudi are known as Svadbas Photography that became a brand already now.

Sinisa Stambuk, that’s working clocely with us again this year, did a great job in with his pure documentary style without compromising the flow of an event, a wedding photographer in Dubrovnik you don’t notice until his great work arrives to your home address couple of weeks after the wedding. Wedding planning includes a meeting with our photographers before hand, so our wedding couples get a good chance to express what is important to them in terms of style, accent of photos, dynamics and processing.

Rudi Papac, that joined our team last year, started conducted and supervised by Veronica Arevalo, created his own style which we like really a lot. He went with our brides and us on numerous wedding venues and did great shootings. he works under Svadbas Photography brand – same as Vero.

Dubrovnik Weddings 2012 – part I

Tags

travel, villa argentina, wedding

We’re getting closely out of the peak season. Time to summarize where we’ve been and what have we been doing? Here are a few events on different venues so you can get an idea (there is more to come – these images were taken only until mid July.

May wedding in Dubrovnik in three beautiful steps

Started out in the Town (Dubrovnik is the only town in Croatia for which the ‘t’ in word town is written uppercase!!!) at Grand Villa Argentina: next to the sea ceremony on a bright and ward day in May, followed by a nice cruise on a galleon boat and outside dinner reception, day closed with relaxing party at the terrace with a skillful DJ.

Wedding ceremony in Dubrovnik

Boat wedding in Croatia, Dubrovnik

Wedding reception in Dubrovnik

Tony and Anna – thank you for choosing me to be your wedding planner in Dubrovnik.

Sinisa, thank your for these great photos.

Something completely different: An Island Wedding in Croatia

Could stay with these guys working at their wedding day after day continuously: such a nice people, such a beautiful places. Wedding on Island of Lopud was meant to be demanding, with many organizational aspects (costs too!), many people involved with a tough timeline – and it ended all so smoothly and relaxed. Apart from hard work of everyone involved it is my couple (The Couple) that brought a very good spirit, optimism and used any moment to enjoy what’s there to be enjoyed and it is all: climate, beautiful day, dolphins came to us while we were preparing the ceremony place (!), great food, olive oil, wines, music and most important of all great company of the dearest guests.

Let the images speak for themselves:

An island wedding in Croatia

Island of Lopud Wedding in Dubrovnik Croatia

Wedding in Dubrovnik, Island of Lopud

Thank you guys that you opted such a beautiful wedding in Croatia.

Vero and Rudi – great work with images, thank you once more.

Dubrovnik Wedding images, season 2011, part V (Island of Lokrum wedding)

Tags

destination wedding croatia, dubrovnik wedding images, wedding in dubrovnik, weddings abroad croatia

Wedding decoration Dubrovnik 2011

When it occurs that in the middle of the wedding ceremony a butterfly lands on your wedding bouquet than it’s 100% sure – you have the most colorful, the most scented wedding bouquet made of local flowers and aromatic flores, that even the most fragile and frightened creature couldn’t resist.
Exactly that happened to our dear Kate on her romantic Lokrum Wedding – an unxepected guest has arrived. That was a nice small wedding, frankly without too many activities regarding decoration. We’ve been using all of the beauty of Island of Lokrum and tried to fit the bets we could. Natural greenery of Island of Lokrum are the best decoration you can imagine.

Dubrovnik Wedding images, season 2011 part V (Dubrovnik weddings in St. Ignatius Church)

Church wedding in Croatia, Dubrovnik – St Ignatius Church

Ignazzio Pozzo architected the church between 1667 and 1725 and like most Jesuit churches of the period it was modeled after Rome’s Chiesa del Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuits. Both the stairway (designed by the Roman architect Pietro Passalacque in 1738) and the square in front of the church are used as venues at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.

Position

Baroque stairway (modeled after Piazza di Spagna in Rome) from Gundulic Square ends up at another small square uphill where St. Ignatius Church is located. Off the main tourist route, intimate and calm, with a great photo shooting place at the stairs.

Baroque stairway below the St. Ignatius church, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Size

One of the greatest churches in town, very nice even for smaller (20+) weddings.

Tip

Good for any period and for almost any wedding size. The best choice for high season.

Irish wedding in Dubrovnik Croatia, St. Ignatius

Our dear Irish couple E and P from Dublin that got married in June 2011. Church weddings in Croatia are fully recognized in Ireland.

Dubrovnik Wedding images, season 2011, part IV (church wedding in Croatia)

Tags

destination wedding croatia, weddings abroad croatia

There is a wonderful choice of church weddings in Croatia. Dubrovnik area bursts with great church wedding options. Here are some example churches:

Wedding in Croatia – St. Blaise Church, Dubrovnik

The St. Blaise church, centrally located in Dubrovnik at main Stradun street. Ideal for mid size weddings

Church of Sveti Nikola Wedding in Cavtat.

Catholic weddings in Croatia must be held in a Catholic church

Catholic church weddings in Croatia – Catholics must obtain permission from their local priests to get married in a catholic church in Croatia.

Church wedding in Cavtat, Croatia – a ceremony detail

Protestant church weddings in Dubrovnik area are possible as a limited option – the local priests in Croatia allow the use of several catholic churches for catholic ceremonies only if AT LEAST ONE OF PARTIES IS CATHOLIC..

Nearby islands (island of Kolocep, island of Lopud, island of Sipan) have great churches, have a look at few Lopud shots:

Island of Lopud church wedding in Croatia, June 2011

Orthodox church wedding Croatia, Dubrovnik, October, 2011

Island of Lopud wedding, Church Wedding in Croatia

Dubrovnik Wedding images, season 2011, part III (decoration)

I’m sure that the Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik never seemed like it seems back in October the 1st 2011. Solemn and elegant for a wedding of Anna and Tom. While my guys and were preparing the decoration people passing by kept asking: “who’s the bride: someone famous, someone very very rich, someone VIP for sure?”. Very rich arrangements  with white peonies, lilies, lisianthus, luxorious as being from movies in interior recently renewed orthodox church. Anna didn’t left anything to chance, very carefully choosing , rethinking each detail twice. The result: elegant and sophisticated decoration with combination of flowers where “queen of flowers” hold a main role. Well done!

Wedding decoration – bouquet, Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 2011

Wedding cake decoration, Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 2011

Church Wedding Decoration, Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 2011

Wedding Decoration, Dubrovnik Croatia, October 2011