How to Plan a Wedding in Croatia? Quick tips
- Choose a date – Wedding planning time frame shouldn’t be more than a year and a half in advance.
- Research Croatian regions to find the one that fits you the most.
- Find a wedding planner in Croatia.
- Book a perfect venue.
- For religious or civil ceremonies, start researching and taking care of bureaucracy.
- Book music and photo/video.
- Book other vendors.
- Make a wedding day/days schedule for guests
The wedding season in Croatia lasts from the end of April to mid-October.
The weather is generally really good in Croatia, but unexpected changes happen, because of, well, nature.
You can save some money if you marry off-season, and yes, maybe the sea will be too cold to dive in, but the off-season is amazing because there are fewer people and more privacy.
The end of April and mid-October is still considered off-season here for most venues or vendors.
When our clients think about how to plan a wedding in Croatia, often they think it’s important to start planning their wedding a couple of years in advance. The truth is, a lot of Croatian venues/vendors don’t even take bookings that far in advance.
When looking into Croatia as your perfect wedding destination, you need to understand the Croatian state of mind.
Depending on the size and expectations of your wedding, we work mostly on these three-time frames.
How to Plan a Wedding in Croatia? Timeframes
1 year in advance planning: This will give you more than enough time to plan a big wedding, with all the best vendors. This is the best guarantee you won’t need to compromise on your wedding date.
If you book a wedding planner, expect to plan your big day piece by piece, with some time off between bookings.
6 months in advance planning – This is a perfect time frame for big to middle-size weddings. There might be some compromises on the desired wedding date, but you should not expect it to be anything drastic.
The planning is more fast-paced than in 1 year in the advance category.
3 months in advance planning – A perfect time frame for mid-ranged to smaller weddings.
Even though we planned bigger weddings in this time frame, we noticed our clients got a little stressed because they felt the time went too quickly.
It all turned out well in the end.
3 months or less okay for smaller weddings and elopements.
It might be stressful and require compromises for middle ranged and big weddings.
In this time frame everything is about expectations, and thinking outside of the box.
Pro tip: If your desired locations/vendors aren’t available on your wedding day, big chances are they will be available around that date, usually during the week.
You can easily solve your problems by moving the wedding day just a couple of days before/after the desired date.
Longer planning time frames
2 years in advance wedding planning tips: If you’re keen to plan your wedding this much in advance, be patient! A lot of venues/vendors will ask you to wait with your booking and will be responding slowly since they feel as if they have a LOT of time.
Be prepared that your wedding planner will take the planning slowly, and we might respond in a slower pace during the wedding season.
How to Plan a Wedding in Croatia? Bookings of venues/vendors
This depends on your priorities and is prone to change.
- Finding the perfect planner – Take your time with this, The person you pick will be by your side for a couple of months, and you should really feel comfortable with your choice. Even though deposits are paid, if you don’t feel like you chose correctly, consider switching planners if possible.
- Finding the perfect venue/location – Unless you already know the perfect venue you would like to have your wedding at. This takes time. For more information about venues, click here: https://www.croatiaweddingplanner.com/wedding-venues-in-croatia/
- Don’t be impatient and make rash decisions, because like we said, the location usually eats a big chunk of your budget.
- It’s important to find several options and pick the best ones.
If your picked location doesn’t offer food while deciding on the definite date, you should know free dates for catering and music so, in the end, you get a date that works for all your preferred vendors.
- The planner will find out the free dates and give you options for the best vendors.
- Pro tip: We encourage our clients to pick the destination based on the best value for money, the reviews of past customers, and how responsive they are to emails.
- Music – Like we said, music gets booked fast. As soon as you have the location, music should be picked up and booked.
- Photo/video – If this is your priority, then it should be booked next.
- Lights & flowers – This is usually booked right after the photo & video
- Cake, Hair, Makeup, Symbolic wedding celebrant, Boats, Additional musicians, and all the rest you need is booked based on your wishes and preferences.
What to expect
Croatians are laid back and you’re gonna love it once you come here. But when you’re anxious to get an email response to something that matters a lot to you, be patient.
It’s always good to have a wedding planner by your side because of the possible language issues and different time zones.
Croatians generally don’t like to drop prices just because someone is pressuring them to do so.
The price you get in your quote is usually the definite price of the service.
Croatians don’t expect tips, so you’re not pressured to tip all your (if any) vendors. If you would still like to do so, you can.
You can let your guard down. As I said, we are mostly laid-back and natural as a nation, you don’t need to be super professional if you don’t feel like it.
So in conclusion, how do I plan a wedding in Croatia?
Do your research, find the perfect planner, and relax.
If you want to start planning your wedding in Croatia today, fill out our form here:
Form
If you want to learn more about Croatia, visit our national tourist board:
Or contact us directly: contact@tietheknotcroatia.com