Janal & Aaron

Ines
After all the thousands of wedding pictures I’ve posted, I have saved the best ones for last. To begin the journey of planning a wedding, you first need a couple that is wanting celebrate their relationship, the union of their marriage and their future together with friends and family. But believe me when I tell you that this wedding would NOT have happened in the grand fashion it did without these people right here with Dubrovnik Event: Ines Nanić, Matea Oberan and Marin Nanić.
As with some (or most?) women, I’ve dreamed about this day literally since I was 5 and have pictures in little frilly white dresses to prove it. So planning this wedding was no small task, along with years of Pinterest inspo boards at my disposal. And planning a destination wedding in a place we’ve never been added an entirely other layer of crazy. Aaron and I knew really very little about Croatia when we first began researching options. We heard it was the little known gem of the Adriatic (thanks Tiana Mandukich) and saw it as the backdrop to many Game of Thrones scenes. When we finally started to really focus on Dubrovnik, Croatia we were lucky enough to find Ines and her team at Dubrovnik Event.
From the very first correspondence with her, I could tell that she was no BS and that’s exactly what we needed in our planning adventure. She was always a straight- shooter, honest with quick and direct responses and we could tell she was very well-connected in the area. When we began to describe our vision of what we wanted, Ines was able to offer us amazing options that fit exactly what we were looking for. We would ask if certain things were possible, and she’s like “of course” and was quick to let us know how she could make it work. She would answer my 20+ question emails like it was no big deal (and there were a lot of those emails!). Matea also was there to jump in on a lot of my requests and was just a joy to work with. We did not have to do any vendor research or any major correspondence with our vendors. It was all Ines and her team. We were confident that they were choosing the best of the best in the city for our big day.
When we got the chance to travel to Dubrovnik in July 2018 to meet Ines and our team of vendors before the wedding, it was like everything was already planned. She set up all our meetings with everyone including an engagement shoot with our photographer, hair and makeup trial, menu tasting, tablescape viewing, etc. We were only there for two days and it made us feel so great and comfortable by the time we left there. It already felt like we had been there before. We now just felt excited as we knew Ines and her team were on it.
The wedding weekend finally arrived and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. As expected on any wedding day, things happen. Hair and makeup went a bit long and the groomsmen and groom’s family got stuck in the hotel elevator on the way to the ceremony (true story!), so the timeline had to shift a bit. Aaron and I also walked down the aisle at the wrong time when we thought the ceremony was over and Ines was right there, telling us that we had to suck it up and turn around and head back to the altar so we could finish our ceremony and officially be married – HAHA (also another hilarious story). I’m sure other issues came up that we had no idea about because that is what a true wedding professional does. THEY HANDLE IT. And Ines handled sh*t.
What a very special person it takes to plan the most memorable and important day in a someone’s life. When the stakes and emotions are high. What pressure that brings and to do it with such ease! I commend her and the team for what they did for us and for all the other couples that came before us and will come after us. Special thanks to Marin as well for helping in the planning process and being our “security” at our post-wedding brunch when people tried to crash our party. You all deserve all the accolades in the world. Already featured in Vogue and I know that’s just the beginning for Dubrovnik Event. Thank you for making that weekend more than a dream.
For anyone who is thinking of doing a destination wedding: DO IT. It’s 100% possible, with the right planner. We found Croatia to be the most reasonable when it came to value for how stunning the country is and the venue options. We looked at many places in Mexico and Europe and for the “wow” factor that Dubrovnik offered, it was the perfect fit. For anyone that has questions about destination weddings, I am happy to answer help, especially re: Dubrovnik. I also think I have the perfect planner I can recommend there 😉