An Al Fresco Wedding Celebration in Magical Hvar Croatia

The vision fof the wedding day was clear from the outset: a celebration of love, grace, and beauty that would endure beyond trends and seasons. The dream of creating an atmosphere that felt timeless was brought to life seamlessly. We chose beautiful crystal chandeliers, stone table numbers, and an exquisite all-white floral palette, blending these elements to create an unforgettable atmosphere of refined luxury.

Bride Nicole: It was my first time in the beautiful country of Croatia, the country where my now husband Zvonko and his family are from. We travelled to many cities during our month-long adventure there, however, on this particular day towards the end of our trip we ended up in the little town of Makarska. He had mentioned this was his favorite place he had ever been to and said I needed to experience it for myself. The moment we got there and I laid eyes on the breathtaking seafront town, bustling with locals and vacationers from all over, I could understand why and knew at that moment it was my favorite place I had ever been to as well. Telling him this was all the confirmation he needed to know that this town is where he would propose to me. After getting ready we hiked up a hillside to get to the most remarkable view of the Adriatic sea. As we continued walking, we stumbled into a more secluded area where, to my absolute shock and surprise, was decorated with flower petals and a bouquet of roses. Zvonko got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, and the rest is history!

Bride Nicole: The first time I had tried on wedding gowns with my mom was the first time I was introduced to the designer Kim Kassas. His gowns were like nothing I had ever seen in the bridal industry before. They were all conceptually unique, with such intricate detailing and flawless execution that I immediately fell in love. I tried on his Isabelle dress at my first ever fitting and could not get it out of my mind. The corset top and skirt are made with silk taffeta, which felt like butter on my fingers. But what sold me on this dress was the beading on the corset. It is absolutely exquisite, with its hand-beaded floral appliqué that wraps around the entire corset, beautifully placed pearl embellishments and the drop waist which flows effortlessly into the silk skirt. This dress is part of his Crown Jewels collection, which to me seemed inspired by the victorian era. And it gave exactly that. It looked vintage and new at the same time, and its timeless beauty is exactly why I chose this dress. While working with the seamstresses during my alterations I asked them to use the extra fabric from the skirt to create removable cap sleeves for the church portion of our ceremony, as well creating as a scarf to use as my reception look. In doing so this really gave me two separate looks while still wearing the same dress.

Brie Nicole: Finding bridesmaid dresses was the most difficult part of wedding planning for me! I couldn’t decide on the color I wanted them to wear, I didn’t know if I wanted them to choose their own dresses or all wear the same style of dress, and I could not justify having them pay an exorbitant amount of money for a dress they would only wear one time. About two months before the wedding and still not having found anything I liked, my sister-in-law recommended I look at the website Meshki. I shopped on the site a few times prior and knew they were good quality, so I decided to take a look. I ended up finding the most perfect light yellow, high neck low back dress for my girls to wear! They were the most affordable dresses I had come across in my two year long search, which is ultimately what sold me. I couldn’t be happier with my choice in dress for them, as they all looked absolutely stunning!

Bride Nicole: Zvonko had the same mindset as me when it came to the affordability of what we were requiring our parties to wear. He found The Black Tux and they ended up being fantastic quality suits with incredibly fast ordering time, so it was a no-brainer for us to choose them! He ended up choosing black suits, white dress shirts with black ties and black dress shoes for all the groomsmen. Zvonko and I cannot rave enough about the company where he got his suit from. He ended up deciding to fully customize his suit, and found the store called Enzo Custom who specialized in the full suit customizations. At his first appointment he had his full measurements taken, they educated us on each area of the suit and went through step-by-step on choosing the layout, design, fabrics, and embroideries he wanted. Once the full process was done and the suit was ordered, he went back to the store and they did further alterations to make sure it fit perfectly. We picked up his suit a few days after that and it was better than we could have imagined.

Bride Nicole: The food at our wedding was supplied by our venue Beach Club Hvar. We were able to visit the year prior to do a tasting and chose everything from the scallop appetizers, the rack of lamb or fish main courses, to all of the desserts and midnight table selections. Our signature drinks were both our favorite cocktails, mine being an Aperol Spritz and Zvonko’s being a Gin & Tonic!

The couple chose crystal chandeliers, stone table numbers, and an exquisite all-white floral palette, blending these elements to create an unforgettable atmosphere of refined luxury. The wedding featured a rich selection of blooms - the central flowers roses, hydrangeas, anthuriums, delphiniums, and orchids were carefully selected to bring a sense of elegance and delicacy to every arrangement. Lots of delicate glass candle holders and candles added intimate ambiance to the venue. Crystal chandeliers have long been synonymous with luxury and timeless elegance, and for Nicole and Zvonko, they were the perfect choice to set the tone for their wedding day. To complement glow of the chandeliers, they chose stone table numbers - an element that brought a sense of grounded sophistication to the wedding. Stone offered a perfect contrast to the delicacy and sparkle of the crystal. Together, these elements crafted a wedding that felt both timeless and modern, a fitting tribute to the couple's enduring love.

We decided to go with a Lambeth-style two-tiered white wedding cake with raspberries on the top, raspberry and vanilla flavor filling on the inside made by a local bakery on the island of Hvar.

Bride Nicole: Our ceremony was held in the historical St. Stephen’s Cathedral on Hvar, Croatia. When I walked down the aisle with my mom and dad, our organ player played the instrumental version of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love, and we had a wonderful vocalist singing throughout the ceremony. For the reception held at Beach Club Hvar, we had our amazing violinist Tea Petrart playing at the cocktail hour. We decided to go with a DJ for our reception, who was none other than Mirko Pecotić (DJ Peco). He played Zvonko and I’s first dance song Vienna by Billy Joel, my dad and I’s first dance song Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton, and Zvonko and his mom’s first dance song Sine Moj by Marko Perković Thompson. Once the night progressed to the dance floor, we had a fan favorite, our saxophonist Marin Cecich come out to play a variety of croatian and american songs throughout the night!

Bride Nicole: I want to talk about our wedding coordinator Ivana Knezovic for a moment. She is the owner of Promessi Weddings & Events Croatia and she deserves to be the star of this article. She is truly a one-of- a-kind woman and an absolute treasure in the wedding planning industry. The hardest working woman I have ever met. Not only did she work with us almost every day for two years straight on every detail of our wedding, but she poured her heart and soul into making our wedding day the best it could possibly be. I never thought I would miss waking up and without fail having an email (or 3) from her waiting for me in the morning. She worked with an 8 hour time difference between us like it was child’s play, day and night. No matter what time it was for her in Croatia, she was always available to answer a question we had or calm my nerves as our wedding crept closer. But her true dedication to her craft showed on our wedding day. She was informed that her son had been in an accident and had to be taken to the hospital before our ceremony even started. At the time she didn’t know what was happening, all she knew was that her family would be there in the hospital with him. Ivana did not want one word even whispered to us about this because she didn’t want us to worry about anything other than enjoying our day that we all had worked so hard for. She stayed until the very end for us, making sure every moment of the night was perfect. Her son is completely fine today, but it brings me to tears even now remembering her selflessness on our wedding day. I will never forget what she did for us and still continues to do for us, even after the wedding. We consider her a friend for life and she deserves all of the praise and recognition until the end of time. We love and thank you Ivana for being our rock throughout this entire process. To anyone looking for a wedding coordinator in Croatia, she’s your girl.