The question of all questions, is a wedding in Croatia expensive?
In short, no. But, it’s also not cheap. In detail I would say this:
A couple of years ago destination weddings became a huge trend.
And I do get it, destination weddings are fun. Traveling from the USA to Europe to get married with your close group of friends and family is more exciting then doing it locally.
But, somewhere along the way destination weddings in Europe began to be marketed as cheap.
So did the weddings in Croatia. Is a wedding in Croatia expensive? Compared to Italy and France, it is not. Compared to package deals in Mexico, it is.
And yes, compared to a big wedding in NYC, LA or even London, destination weddings in Europe are cheaper.
Cheaper, doesn’t necessarily mean cheap.
Other then Croatia some of the popular destinations in Europe to get married in Europe are:
- Italy
- South of France
- Greece
We took those three in account and made a comparison by average pricing, so we can answer the question:
Is a wedding in Croatia expensive?
A destination wedding in Croatia is cheaper then most places in Italy, and South of France.
When it comes to Greece, Croatia is more expensive, but when I digged a bit deeper, the prices became competitive.
You see, it’s not the same if you get married in a popular destination spot in Greece, or in a less popular place.
And in most posts on social media about weddings in Greece, the couples managed to plan a cheap wedding in a less popular place, without all the glitz and the glam.
The same applies for Croatia.
Dubrovnik weddings are notoriously more expensive then other places on the Adriatic coast.
It’s not the same if you plan your wedding for 15 people in a local tavern (not just in Croatia but anywhere in Europe) or you plan a wedding for 90 people in a historical venue.
Smaller weddings on a budget you’ve seen on Facebook wedding groups, and forums, are usually without decor, with the music playing for a short amount of time, photographers are booked only for 4 hours etc.
In that sense, yes, you can have a budget friendly destination wedding in Europe.
And in that sense the answer to the question is a wedding in Croatia expensive? I would say no.
But most couples see tempting prices online, and then look at Pinterest and get inspired by very luxe weddings.
Lots of flowers, music through the whole day, 5 course fine dinning meal, open bars, fine art photographers etc.
We quickly get to a budget of 40.000,00 eu upwards.
And in that sense a destination wedding in Croatia is not cheap.
Ultimately it all depends on how much are you willing to compromise, and what is your wedding vision.
I had numerous clients that wanted to keep their budgets within their limit, but asked for a Pinterest type of wedding.
And that just doesn’t work.
Not just in Croatia, but anywhere in Europe.
Here is the list of some common misconceptions, and questions new destination wedding couples have:
- Hiring a LOCAL wedding planner is important. There are wedding planners and travel agents planning destination weddings from USA, UK, etc. in European countries such as Croatia. In case they don’t have a local planner here to help them out, it’s a waste of money. The abroad wedding planner doesn’t know the language, the culture, they don’t have strong contacts they have known for years, and basically they only do the Googleing for you.
Local wedding planners on the other hand, can get you deals (to an extent), know exactly what vendors to call that yould be perfect for you. We know all the laws, possibilites and most importantly the language. Even though most Croatians speak good English, a bucnh of vendors and venues still send offers and contracts in Croatian.
When a hiccup arises the local planner knows exactly how to handle it, because the local wedding planner shares the same cultural style as the vendor/venue.
So, hiring a local wedding planner in Europe is actually saving you money in the long term. But more importantly it’s saving you from a lot of stress.
2. Package wedding deals aren’t going to give you a wedding that’s tailored for you.
Most wedding planners in Croatia don’t do package wedding deals. The reason being, even though they are cheaper, they deprive the couple of any personalization of their big day. If there’s one thing I know from experience, that is that couples want to make the wedding “theirs”. No one wants to have the same wedding as 1000 other couples.
3. The alternative to an expensive destination weddings in Europe (Croatia included) would be to elope.
Elopements are huge atm. If you feel you don’t need a bunch of people (or any) at your wedding, then eloping is the way to go.
Keep in mind a 10 person wedding is a micro wedding. a 2-4 person wedding is an elopement.
4. Prices change year to year. When you send an inquriy for your destination wedding two-three years in advance, no one can promise you the prices will stay the same.
With the crazy world we live in, the cost of transfer, produce etc. constantly goes up. It is extremely hard for vendors to commit to the same price as it’s at this moment.
5. It’s okay to try to reduce the price. But please keep in mind there is a limit. The limit will be communicated by the wedding planner, and when it does, there’s no more bargain room. Forcing discounts beyond the limit will just create stress for wedding planners, vendors, and venues.
6. Be clear you’re looking into other destinations for your wedding. The first stages with any client usually require wedding planners to communicate and give information for free. It is nice when it’s communicated up front, that Croatia isn’t your first and only choice. That way the relationship is build on honesty from the start.
7. Create the list of priorities. Along with your partner, creating a list of vendors and venue types that are a MUST is extremely helpful. It tells us where you would like to spend your budget, and where we can save. Having a set budget and all vendors and add-ons on the list, usually doesn’t work. Most couples that have it all, are couples with really big budgets or the ones that aren’t budget oriented. Having your focus on specific parts of your wedding won’t make it any less beautiful. It can only help you get exactly what you wanted.
8. Most wedding blog prices are incorrect. In my research I have read a lot of blogs, forums etc. What I noticed is that wedding blogs that aren’t written by actual wedding planners, wedding venues and vendors, tend to be very wrong in their average pricing. Per those sites an average wedding in Croatia for 50 people costs 15.000,00 eu (when in reality the price is around 25.000,00 eu depending on many factors), the average price of a wedding in Greece is 10.000,00 eu (also incorrect), for Italy it’s 20.000,00 eu, etc. When you dig deeper you will find that those budgets in these locations, get spent super fast and the math just isn’t working. Unfortunately, there is just no way for us to match those prices that are incorrect from the start.
With all this in mind, a destination wedding in Europe and in Croatia is still a good idea. A more realistic approach can actually help you determine if a destination wedding is the right fit for you, and what you can expect.
To read more about average pricing in Croatia you can hop to this link: https://www.croatiaweddingplanner.com/wedding-croatia-cost/
If you want to talk more about planning a wedding in Croatia contact us here: https://www.croatiaweddingplanner.com/contact/