Adventurous same-sex elopement in Croatia + tips on organization

It is always an honor to be contacted by same-sex couples and hearing they want me as a photographer for their destination elopement or wedding in Croatia. Even more so when it's an adventurous one. So, if you were wondering how the whole process looks like, here are some tips from me about what I feel is important:

1. Choose your photographer based on their portfolio and also their vibe (choose with your heart). If you like their work and think it's someone you could open up to and have a good time together when the day comes, don't think twice. Your photographer will be there with you for the whole elopement day, so it should be someone who you feel comfortable around.

2. Choose your location based on who you are. The couple in this blog post loves mountains and sea. They are nature lovers and they love to hike. This location was suggested by me and they found it as a perfect fit. Also, they had privacy there. Bear in mind that Croatia during summer is full of people. Beaches are crowded and there are not many beautiful locations with privacy during summer season. You really don't want to have that family in swimming suits as a backdrop to your day.

3. Decide whether you want to have a legal ceremony or a symbolic one. A lot of times my couples that come from abroad already have the papers signed, so the elopement is a symbolic ceremony held by a family member or it's just an exchange of the vows between the two. Sanja and Saška decided to have a civil (legal) ceremony in the city hall first, and then we went to the top of the mountain Učka for the exchange of the vows and some champagne with their friends.

4. Make a schedule of the day with enough time for everything. You don't want to rush on the day. You want to have time for everything, to enjoy everything. Talk to your photographer about timing and light. He/she will explain the importance.

5. It might be very useful to have a wedding planner. Croatia is a beautiful country, but some things are very hard to arrange on distance. You need to have your person here, someone who will help you organize everything. That someone is going to save you a lot of time and effort in communicating and planning.

That's it! Short and sweet. In my next posts I will share more about these kind of topics.

Have a great day!

Dalibora

Details of the wedding:

Civil ceremony: civil office in Lovran, held by incredible Mrs Zdenka
Exchange of the vows: top of mountain Učka, Vojak 1394m
Decorations: Maline u Tehnikoloru
Makeup: Paola Peček, Estetski studio Eden
Hair: Studio Danijela
Dinner venue: Zijavica, Mošćenička Draga