Introduction
Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, but one trend that’s been gaining traction is the micro wedding—an intimate, scaled-down version of the traditional big wedding. The ongoing trend of small weddings and elopements really gained a new popular best friend – Micro.
This is just you and Dubrovnik.
We understand why someone would choose to come alone and enjoy this breathtaking city and have the best memory ever – eternal love. To help showcase the beauty of this trend we have decided to share one of our lovely clients’ experiences with you.
Today, we’re thrilled to sit down with Devin, who recently had a micro wedding with her husband, John in Dubrovnik, to dive into the details of their unique experience.
This blog is designed to be interactive —I’ll ask Devin specific questions about their journey, and you, our dear reader, can think about how you’d answer them if you’re planning your own micro wedding. Let’s jump in!
The Start
Photo: Fabijan Drnas
What Initially Drew You to the Idea of a Micro Wedding?
We were initially drawn to a micro wedding due to the financial gain of not spending $50-100K in the US to have a wedding and the positive of being able to immediately go on our honeymoon and create such a combined, special experience for just the two of us! I loved the idea of the micro wedding because we took most of a year to tell everyone what we were doing, get them used to or excited for the idea and were still made to feel like a bride and groom the entire experience! I feel like an elopement typically has a hidden component to it. There were components that I felt were necessary for me to feel like we had a wedding which you all were able to assist me with coordinating and creating. Including florals, live music, hair and makeup, photography and videography etc.
Devin, there is an idea of what a wedding is and ‘needs’ to be in our society, it differs in cultures and religions and sometimes even in family opinions. What is a ‘wedding’ to you and what are some of the biggest decisions that you made to make it YOUR wedding.
A ‘wedding’ to me is the opportunity to create beautiful moments, isolating that you have chosen to spend your life with someone and being able to capture that special time. I think the concept of choosing to spend your life with someone is often forgotten with a wedding and the wedding becomes more about what a family wants and needs for the day rather than what you as a couple want. We strongly refused to allow that to happen for our wedding. Some of the big decisions we made were the dress, the veil and the tuxedo. Customizing our own wedding bands and choosing a location that encapsulated European architecture, the beach without sand and gorgeous photo opportunities.
Photo: Fabijan Drnas
I loved your wedding dress and your overall style on your wedding day! It really showed how much time you invested in the wedding to be a special moment for you without having to sacrifice anything or any part of you. Was this really important to you? To find the right dress, shoes and makeup stylist to help bring this idea to life on the wedding day?
Thank you!! Yes, the dress was pivotal to me for our wedding. I think every girl dreams of their wedding dress and just feeling gorgeous on that day so I was sure to make sure I loved it. I bought the dress in November 2023, it arrived in July 2024 from Australia and was handmade. Had it altered and carried it by hand to Dubrovnik from Texas. The drama of the dress was perfect for the stunning setting of Dubrovnik, in my opinion. Shoes wise I went for comfort because of the cobblestone and lots of walking. Makeup styling, I really wanted to lean into warm colors as that’s what matches my skin tone best. I brought some Pinterest inspiration to the team in Dubrovnik (Salon Up – Barbara) and she absolutely crushed it.
Photo: Fabijan Drnas
How did you and John choose Dubrovnik as your wedding destination? How did it differ from what you would have picked for a larger wedding?
We chose Dubrovnik due to the stunning architecture, the access to seafood and the beach with no sand but crystal clear water. The combination we knew would make for stunning photos and videos. Dubrovnik is so beautiful and really Google/online photos don’t even do it justice. It is just a place you have to see in real life and is so magical for a wedding. Since it was just us two, it was so much easier to plan the travel and coming so far from Texas. If we had done a bigger wedding, we would’ve done a destination wedding with a closer destination to Texas to ensure parents and friends could spend less $ on travel and it would be more convenient travel (less time). A prime example of a wedding being about guests/others and not the couple :).
With a smaller wedding, you can potentially save in some areas and splurge in others. How did you and John decide where and how to allocate your budget?
We 100% saved with the decision we made to have the micro wedding and honeymoon combined. I know for a fact we spent 1/4th of what we would’ve originally spent to have a wedding and we got the trip of a lifetime out of it simultaneously. It was a no brainer for us! We chose areas that were important to us to splurge. Our outfits, our custom rings, florals and photography/videography were most important to us and we spent the most money on those things. My dress cost more than both of our round trip flights to Dubrovnik. In total for the wedding and the 12 day trip of a lifetime with stays, excursions, eating, in-home care for our dogs, literally every single expense- we spent $20K and are very happy with that.
Photo: Fabijan Drnas
Now, having done your beautiful ceremony at the Viewpoint with just the two of you, would you change anything about it? Tell us about the moment that was ‘perfect’ in the ceremony for you.
I honestly wouldn’t change anything about the day, except something that is unchangeable, which was the weather the day before our ceremony. The intimacy of our ceremony left us time to focus on just us, which was really special and so rare with a wedding typically. We had zero distractions, frustrations, quarrels, drama- just a wonderful day. My perfect moment was when my chosen song started playing via violin and cello, I saw our beautiful venue and my perfect floral arrangement waiting for me and I was walking down the aisle. I immediately started sobbing!
We had record rain on Monday for Dubrovnik in September and our ceremony was Tuesday. We couldn’t get to Old Town on Tuesday due to the flooding and extreme traffic issues so we had to do the photo shoot Wednesday morning. Ora’s on the spot pivot in plan and getting everyone on board was the reason it was so successful and turned out just fine! I would recommend dealing with more heat and doing April-August for the wedding, if I were to do it again!
From Dubrovnik With Love
Since you had a longer vacation in Dubrovnik, let us know what was your favorite part? We spoke about having a ‘local’ experience, and I shared my Dubrovnik with you, now share yours with us!
My favorite parts were the setting, the Dubrovnik Event Team and your vendors and the excursions we chose to go on and experience. We really had such a wonderful time all around, it’s hard to give one favorite. The setting component- seeing Old Town was, of course, really cool but we also really loved the Konavle area. We got to go horseback riding there with Kojal and the team. Our vendors- Ora, you were a highlight of the trip and created the memories of a lifetime for us. Truly forever grateful. We also loved Fabijan and Ivana- our husband and wife photography and videography team. They were effortlessly our friends from the moment we met them. They were able to coach us properly to get such natural but beautiful photos. We’ve seen 11 in a sneak peak and are already so happy with them. All our friends and family are saying they are magazine worthy! Excursions outside of horseback riding, we zip lined over Old Town with Panoramic Zip line and loved it! We also went to Lokrum island which was really cool for the day. So much to do and see in Dubrovnik!
What Advice Would You Give to Other Couples?
Finally, Devin, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give to someone considering a micro wedding in Dubrovnik?
Trust the Dubrovnik Event Team and their vendors! Do not try and do a micro or macro wedding on your own, if you’re not natively Croatian. They were pivotal to the success and happiness we have around our wedding. Oh and carry your dress, ladies! If you are traveling, do not risk checking it and losing it!
What Was the Most Surprising Thing About Having a Micro Wedding?
For Devin: “Was there something about the day or the planning process that caught you completely off guard?”
How completely comfortable I was just going with the flow. I completely remember the day with pure joy. I was surprised at how not super stressed I was because I knew I had the perfect team to rely on for any issues! Our only issue was the weather and we had an immediate solution all thanks to Ora.
Photo: Fabijan Drnas
Devin and John’s micro wedding is a perfect example of how you can create a truly meaningful and intimate celebration in our Dubrovnik! Devin, thank you for being a part of this amazing story, have a lifetime of love and laughter!
What do you think dear reader?
XO
DE
