1. Why do I need a planner ie won’t I be better off contacting the vendors directly and trying to cut deals with them?
With a wedding planner, you still plan your own wedding…but with experienced team that will help you in the whole process! A wedding planner will not take the options out of your hands but will give you more – and all decisions are totally up to you! If you wish wooden chairs for your ceremony and/or reception, we can provide you with the information for at least three different companies. We have already reviewed their terms so there will be no surprise costs or unsuitable expectations. And let’s not forget the ease of mind you’ll have on the wedding day, knowing we are dealing with everything and everyone, as you are about to see- that’s the priceless part.
2. What area do you serve?
We are working primarily in Dubrovnik area, but also operating and planning weddings on nearby islands, including Kolocep, Lopud, Sipan and Mljet as well as nearby towns such as Cavtat or even Motenegro.
3. How involved will I be in the planning process?
We are agency specialized for full wedding planning and only full wedding planning is what we do – and with that approach we are sure that wedding will go as planned with attention to the details. You will have a full control of the vendor choice and every single detail of your most special day. We will never ever make a decision for you. It will always be your wedding but you will have a fairy godmother to help out with everything 🙂
4. Can you work around my budget?
Honestly- as long as it is realistic, we can. We are the local expert who will be able to tell you the average costs and what can or cannot be done in the area. If you give us a budget that is absolutely not feasible for this area we will tell you immediately. Yes, we know it’s not the fun part of the wedding planning, but we want to make sure we don’t waste your time.
5. Do you have a payment plan?
Once you have signed a contract we will send you a proposal of and have paid your initial retainer payment towards Dubrovnik Event and reception venue, your date is booked and secured. Second and last payment based on budget plan needs to be paid at least 15 days prior the wedding. Outstanding expenses, such as drinks per consumption during the dinner need to be paid maximum 3 days after the wedding day or upon checkout of the hotel where the reception took place.
6. Will you be there on my wedding day?
Absolutely and by all means :)! Our team attends and coordinates every single wedding or event. We are present from morning until event is done, checking vendors, checking on the couple, and watching all the planning come to realization! Our motto is leaving nothing to chance for a reason 🙂
7. What are your working hours off season?
We often skype and chat with you as we plan, doing so quarterly if we were to find an average. Most of our correspondence will always be on email, so we all have a written track of everything we agree. As this is our job as well and we have families as well, please note that our working hours in off-season period is Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm local time. In summertime, when time management is slightly more challenging, we will do our best to accommodate you and your time as well, but count on most communication in this period to be done over email. This is another reason why we recommend finalizing every detail of your special event at least 2 months prior to it.
8. When do we need to let you know of final number of guests?
Ideally the sooner the better as it is better for you so you have a clearer idea of the costs but officially one month prior to the wedding day.
9. If for some reason I need to change date of my wedding, will my deposit be transferrable too?
This depends on the venue and the answer for most would be yes. When it comes to Dubrovnik event, given that we are available for the alternate date, the answer is yes.
10. How early should couples start to plan their wedding?
Approximately 9-12 months prior to the wedding date is a good time to start planning. You don’t want to wait until the last minute and feel overwhelmed, but you also don’t want to be planning for too long, which often leads to A LOT of decision changing :).
11. Am I obliged to pay for wedding staff meal costs on the day?
You are most definitely not obliged. However, it is customary to show respect to your planners, photographers, musicians and technicians with a small meal as most will be with you majority of the day. Some of them may actually leave the event to grab a bite if this is not covered. You most definitely don’t want “hangry” wedding staff 😉 and keep in mind it is usually a cost of 20€ per person and keep in mind we’re people too :). A simple meal goes a long way…
12. What additional types of events do you service?
Anniversaries, Birthdays, Bar and Bat mitzvas, Engagement Parties, Hen & Stag Parties and Foodie Events. Pretty much any kind of private celebrations 🙂
13. Do you work only with specific vendors or are you open to suggestions?
We have worked long and hard to create a superb team of professionals that surround us and that we will always recommend to our clients. However, if you have found a photographer that captures the moments just as you envisioned it or a band that perfects matches to your music taste, of course we are happy to have them as part of our team for your wedding. However please keep in mind we cannot be held responsible for them being on time or following the lineups. Just to explain the procedure of booking vendors: we will speak to you on which vendors you will need for your wedding and then send you a selection of a few we have checked and worked with for a while so you can compare and find the best solution for you that fits your style and vision. You will never be forced to choose one single vendor. It’s your wedding and your decision, every single one 🙂
14. Who would we be dealing with on the day of our wedding?
Since we are a small family owned business that creates memories together with you, it is very likely you will see all of us at your wedding, if not more of our coordinators, depending on the size of your wedding. As a rule of thumb, Ines and/or Matea will be your wedding planners and coordinators.
15. How many meetings will we have, how many emails, calls etc?
There is no rule of thumb here or certain limitations. Of course we kindly ask you to respect our private lives and not to insist on weekend or evening calls (for example a lunch break at your work is ideal for us!), but in general we are here for you!
16. How are the payments handled, ie can we pay by card?
We can only accept payments by international bank transfer. Some hotels may be able to take cards, but generally, count on bank transfers for payments. Your food and beverage services you will pay directly to restaurants and hotels while other costs and payments (photographer, videographer, flowers, music etc) will go through us for ease of communication and reducing number of transfers hence saving on bank fees too. Of course you can pay everyone on your own if you will prefer.
17. Will you handle our wedding website, invites, thank you and save the date cards?
We are happy to suggest vendors to you for this segment but this is one of the rare ones, along with wedding outfits we recommend you source locally to have a supervision of the quality of work, print, wording etc. When it comes to wedding websites, again- we are happy to assist with photos and check-ups however we don’t offer website design or authoring. Some of our favs in this segment are www.theknot.com and a fabulously rated free wedding website service www.wix.com
Dubrovnik Event service fee starts from 3.500,00€
EXTRA INFO 🙂 :
Please keep in mind that your wedding planner is not:
- Your driver 🙂 – please make sure that all of your local arrangements are done in your own transport coordination if they are not agreed with wedding planner in advance.
- Your bellboy – you pay us to look after your wedding. To leave nothing to chance. To make sure every single detail is in its place and your smile doesn’t fade away. You don’t pay us to carry your overnight bag from point A to point B while there’s a crisis situation in the wedding headquarters 😉 .
- Your guests’ babysitter – and we don’t mean as in sitting for the kids 🙂 – you’ll often see photos of us holding the kids at weddings… But what we mean here is babysitting adult guests – as we lead the guests and advise them multiple times to move with us as a group, some may want to move away from the wedding party on their own to buy a pack of ciggies, postcard or a mojito to go. We can’t look after them, please keep in mind we will be ushering your guests but cannot take the blame if they distance from us, stay to take a few more photos of you in front of the fountain after everyone has left and they don’t make it in time for the bus, boat or any other means of transport to the next wedding venue. Our job is to plan and coordinate, not babysit. So if they miss out on the boat trip you have planned for them for after ceremony as a special treat, please don’t blame it on us…