Ok, so we’re biased. Joe and I got married there in September of 2022. And. It. Was. Amazing.
Look, weddings are expensive! This is definitely not a tale of how we had a wedding for under $5k. But it is a about a beautiful location in sunny Croatia that is the perfect wedding destination. You get a ton of value for your money in Dubrovnik. And a fairytale wedding.
Now, for some perspective. We live in Chicago. It’s an amazing city with tons of cool and unique venues. But each of those venues costs at least $10,000 just for the venue! No food, no drinks, no decorations. You just get to breathe the air of an overpriced empty room.
Joe and I are both transplants. Even if we got married in Chicago, most of our friends and family would have to travel. We can’t host a lot of people in our home, so there would be major expenses for all of our guests no matter what. Since we love international travel, we decided that for our wedding it only made sense for us to get married somewhere far away that spoke to our hearts. We’d visited Croatia in 2018 and knew Dubrovnik, Croatia was that magical place!
Why Dubrovnik?
- Incredible architecture and history
- Affordable accommodations
- Delicious and reasonably priced food and drink
- Great local wine
- Inexpensive and reliable transportation
- Numerous activities and day trip options
- Mild climate
- Warm and hospitable people
- Palm trees, beaches, and rolling hillsides
Despite the fact that Dubrovnik is one of the pricier cities in Croatia, it is still VERY affordable! So much so, that we were able to hire an incredible wedding planner to coordinate our entire wedding day and two additional days of activities for our guests (for under $1,500!!).
Our Five Favorite Venues
- Sponza Palace – Our FAVORITE venue and where we chose for our ceremony. Simple, elegant, and central to Old Town, it was simply incredible, breathtaking and a thousand other related adjectives. A 16th century open air palace with Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Gorgeous and affordable, need I say more? (Around $1,500 for a two hour rental.)
- Fort Lovrijenac – Honestly, if we were having a bigger wedding, this would have been our pick. It’s a literal fortress! How cool is that? You can have the ceremony on the main level and then dinner and dancing overlooking the Adriatic Sea. You can even have fireworks if that tickles your fancy. Whaaaaaat!?! Anyway, the venue is only around $4,000 to rent, but it does cost at least as much to pay for lighting. It was built in the 16th century, so I guess that’s expected, right?
- Lokrum Island – A lovely spot just off of the mainland has three options for a ceremony and reception. The Benedictine Monastery has classic old world charm, and the palm garden and olive groves have a lovely natural backdrop. Lokrum is an uninhabited island (by people, anyway) but is just a short ferry ride to visit the peacocks and bunnies who call it home.
- Karaka Boat – Would you believe you can get married on a replica of a 16th century ship? Complete with delicious food, dancing and an incredible trip to sea during sunset, this is an incredibly unique experience I’ve never seen offered anywhere else.
- Villa Rose – Technically this is on the island of Koločep and requires a boat ride from Dubrovnik (easily arranged) but it is a magical place and where we held our wedding reception. They do offer a space overlooking the water if you want to also have your ceremony. It was incredible – food, wine, music, love and the best friends and family.
Even though we’re partial to these, there are incredible hotels overlooking the Sea, modern museums, and lookout spots that are great choices for larger weddings and super intimate elopements. If you decide to give Dubrovnik a try, let us know! We highly recommend our wedding planner Kiki of DoYouWed.me, our photographer Veronica of Svadbas Photography and our videographers EMFISO. *This is not a sponsored post – we just loved our wedding team!
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