Davor & Alyssa – Wild Weekend Wedding in Dubrovnik
What could possibly be better than having a dream destination wedding in Dubrovnik, one of the prettiest cities in the world? – Just like our previous couple Nike and Ollie, who had their destination wedding in Dubrovnik, Davor and Alyssa also had a three-day wedding celebration in one of the prettiest city in the world – Dubrovnik!
2-year engagement, but the last minute wedding
Spontaneous and lovely
Davor and Alyssa had a 2-year engagement, but the last-minute wedding in Dubrovnik. The wedding planning was hectic – they decided on flowers only 2 days before the wedding, the wedding dress was done only 5 days before the wedding ceremony, the catering was confirmed 3 days before the wedding and the rings… the rings were bought on the SAME DAY of the wedding. Crazy, right? We thought so too, but it was remarkable. Something we wouldn’t miss for anything in the world. It was so spontaneous and lovely which is something that defines Davor and Alyssa’s relationship and they (nor would we!) have had it any other way.
Destination wedding in Dubrovnik
What is great about this couple is that they’re so casual about everything that it was a true joy to work with them, not to mention take wedding photos of their three-day Dubrovnik wedding. As they said:
“The truly important thing we had set – we were getting married in Croatia and 185 darling friends and family from all over the world were coming to be with us as we say ‘I do.’“We couldn’t agree more. It was a truly important thing when it comes to a destination wedding in Dubrovnik – to have a date and your closest friends and family by your side on the happiest day in your life.
All but a rehearsal wedding dinner
What they planned is to have a 3-day party where they will show their guests and loved ones how Dubrovnik is a truly magical city, so they organised their rehearsal, wedding celebration and wedding ceremony all over Dubrovnik. From their rehearsal “Friday night cocktail party” dinner (that was all but a rehearsal dinner) at Sponza palace, to Saturday’s wedding ceremony in a beautiful Dubrovnik Cathedral and dancing the night away on the remarkable terrace of the Museum of Modern Art to Sunday’s Karaka boat ride to Coral Beach Club where they hosted their guests for a full day beach party. They truly did their best to introduce their guests to their favourite city, get married and have the best time of their lives!
The Day Before The Wedding – Friday night cocktail party
Speak Softly, Love
A Friday night cocktail party was held at the Dubrovnik old town, precisely at the Sponza palace which was beautifully decorated with hanging bird cages with ivy, hydrangea and Gypsophila flowers and candles above their heads. The Sponza Palace is a reception place that is often used as a wedding ceremony venue and is popular among newlyweds, not to mention Dubrovnik wedding photographers too due to its design and architecture. After the introduction speech, the Friday cocktail party ceremony was opened by Igor Cukrov who sang the popular song from the movie The Godfather.
Perfect Croatian and Italian cuisine
The couple chose different delicacies for their guests, from Italian cheeses to sausages and popular Dalmatian delicacy prosciutto, fruit tarts, sushi and seafood served in little wooden boats – a true delight for our cameras as shooting food that was perfectly decorated and styled was more satisfying to us, Dubrovnik wedding photographers, than trying it.
Mediterranean atmosphere
Their cocktail party reminded us of the most romantic Italian films as Davor was inspired by Italian culture and weddings so the entire wedding had a Sicilian touch, it was like we’re attending an Italian wedding in Croatia. Remarkable! And the band that played that evening increased the “Italian wedding” atmosphere even more.
The Wedding Day
Wedding preparations at famous Dubrovnik Villas
The bride and her bridesmaids chose Villa Allure, one of the most popular Dubrovnik villa’s for their preparation spot, while the groom stayed in Villa Anne, another remarkable, luxurious Dubrovnik villa. Although Davor was a bit serious during his preps, Alyssa’s place was all about good laughter and lots of champagne.
Wedding ceremony at Dubrovnik Cathedral
The wedding ceremony was held at the famous and stunning Dubrovnik Cathedral. They walked to the church through the old Dubrovnik stony streets, being photographed and admired by many tourists that visited Dubrovnik that day. The photos that we managed to take was stunning.
When it was time to enter the church, first entered the groom with his groomsmen, then the bridesmaids, and at the end, the bride – our Alyssa accompanied by her dad. The tears were unavoidable. The entire ceremony was intimate and emotional and the female a-cappella singing (klapa) group from Dubrovnik, Croatia – La Linđo was something we were amazed by. I still feel the chill up my spine while thinking about their performance. La Linđo was something that Dubrovnik only could wish for in the last ten years. They simply reflect the youth, beauty, creativity and above all, musicality and beautiful singing, leaving their audience breathless.
The church was decorated simply with white satin bows without any exaggeration in decorations which gave this wedding an even greater glimpse of the intimate Italian wedding in Dubrovnik.
When the ceremony ended their guests waited to see the newlyweds outside the cathedral accompanied by the male musical group, popular “klapa” Ragusavecchia. Their performance was excellent. Then out of a sudden, someone brought a donkey and chickens and our newlyweds and their guests had a chance to take pictures with a donkey. Later, we found out that Davor found inspiration in the old pictures of Sicilian weddings. We were amazed by how fun and creative this couple was.
Their ideas and entire organization made our job, even more, easier and enjoyable. We instantly knew that their pictures and Dubrovnik destination wedding video will be amazing.
Wedding celebration
Dubrovnik wedding venue – The Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik.
After taking a moment to take pictures with a donkey, our couple Davor and Alyssa decided to take a walk (along with their guests) to the wedding reception venue – The Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik.
The dinner and celebration were held outside, in the open and the façade of this beautiful building painted in different colours gave this wedding a further fun feel. The first dance was as soon as our couple entered the venue and then all groomsmen, bridesmaids and parents danced the rehearsed dance on the U2’s song “The sweetest thing”.
After a few courses of dinner, their family and friends prepared emotional speeches, which gave us a better feel of how much this couple is truly happy and loved. After the speeches, the couple threw a party accompanied by the DJ and popular Croatian singer Igor Cukrov sang a couple of songs.
Their guest was Davor’s friend’s underage son from Russia who was known for his performances on Russian talent show and here he sang Adele’s Hello for Davor and Alyssa. It was spectacular!
Davor and Alyssa chose a white 4-tier cake with real flowers on top for their wedding cake and the venue was decorated magnificently. A true Sicilian feel and a feast for our cameras, again!
We were so sad when their party come to an end in the early morning hours because we so enjoyed in photographing and filming this destination wedding in Dubrovnik so much.
The Day After The Dubrovnik Wedding – Relaxing at the Coral beach
The day after the wedding was another sequence that made Davor and Alyssa’s Dubrovnik wedding even more unique and fun. They arranged a boat Karaka for their guests and sailed to the famous Dubrovnik Coral Beach club where they had the most perfect and relaxed day after the wedding. They threw a true “after beach party” for their guests where they had the opportunity to swim, sunbathe, chill by the beautiful Adriatic sea and sip cocktails. What a great way to end a destination wedding adventure in Dubrovnik.
Few days after the wedding, we managed to talk into our newlyweds to visit the Park Orsula which we believe is one of the magnificent outdoor wedding venues in Dubrovnik where we did a photography and videography session of beautiful images that can be seen in this blog post.
We wish Davor and Alyssa best in their future and want to thank them for choosing us to capture the most important day in their lives.
The Dubrovnik wedding team and vendors:
Wedding photography – Dubrovnik Wedding photographer
Wedding Cinematography – Filmmarry by DTstudio
Friday night cocktail party venue in Dubrovnik old Town- Sponza palace
One of the most beautiful palaces in the old city of Dubrovnik. A true spirit of Dubrovnik where are all its wealth and culture shown in one place with an impressive facade. It was designed and constructed in a combination of Renaissance and Gothic styles and its beauty is exceptionally shown in a harmonic architecture of this place. The palace was originally intended to be a customs house where all traders will bring their goods and pay taxes. At the end of the 16th century, this place became the cultural centre of the Dubrovnik Republic. What is interesting is that the first school classes in Dubrovnik were also held at the Sponza Palace. Today, it is the home to the most important cultural place in Dubrovnik – the archive! Due to its history and beautifully decorated architecture Sponza palace is a number one place to host wedding events for many couples who come to Croatia to get married in Croatia.
Groom’s preparation venue – Villa Allure
Villa Allure is one of the top-rated locations in Dubrovnik and guests, especially couples are happy when renting this property because of its luxurious accommodation in the authentic atmosphere of traditional Mediterranean architecture. It showcases a private swimming pool and a stunning view of the famous Banje beach and UNESCO-protected Dubrovnik Old City. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the stone wall of the villa is beautiful. It provides a view of the famous Stradun Promenade and popular Dubrovnik walls, the church of St. Blaise and the cathedral, which makes it a perfect background for wedding photography.
Bride’s preparation venue – Villa Anne
With its powerful position that overlooks the ancient walls of Dubrovnik, Villa Anne is perfect for accommodation, especially if you’re planning a destination wedding. It’s just 100 meters from the beach and close to the Old Town and old city harbour where you can sail to the famous Elaphite archipelago. It provides a view to the clean and warm waters of the Adriatic sea and a spectacular view of the Dalmatian city – Dubrovnik.
Wedding ceremony church – Dubrovnik Cathedral
The Cathedral was constructed on the foundations of a Romanesque cathedral that was destroyed during the earthquake. According to the legend, King Richard known as the Lionheart survived the shipwreck in 1192 when he saved himself on Lokrum island and decided to make a church in the honour of the Virgin Mary. The people who advised him along the way convinced him to build the church in the city instead. It’s a romantic place and its beautiful baroque style is perfect for weddings. The Cathedral is known for its treasury that was hidden. Some say that there are 200 reliquaries found from the 11th to the 18th century, from the numerous liturgical silver and gold pieces to relics of St. Blaise and a fragment of the True Cross.
Wedding ceremony music – Klapa Fa Linđo
Musical a-cappella singing group Fa Linđo is a female group from Dubrovnik who was founded in 2000 as part of the popular Folklore Ensemble “Linđo”. They won the Golden Token Award in 2002. In the Verona Festival of Choral Singing that was hosted in Italy. The girls from Fa Linđo made to the finals of the Festival of the Dalmatian Klapas in 2003 and 2004 in Omiš where they won the prestigious Audience Choice Awards. They also won the Golden Leut at Omiš in 2009 and an audience award.
After the wedding ceremony band – Klapa Ragusavecchia
The triumphal band Klapa Ragusavecchia has been dubbing the streets of Dubrovnik for 12 years now. They started modestly in Cavtat, gathering all the singing lovers who had only one goal – to sing in front the audience. Every new song was a challenge for them and their first performance was on Christmas in 1998 when they performed “Dubrovacko kolendovanje”. Since that time, the name Klapa Ragusavecchia (old Ragusa – one of the former names of Cavtat) made their appearance even more often. They debuted at the Festival of Dalmatian songs in Omis in 2000 where they won the third place. Over the years they performed with renowned Croatian musicians such as Vladimir Kocis Zec, Luka Nizetic, Djani Stipanicev, Marko Perkovic Thompson, Kico Slabinac, Neno Belan, etc.
Dubrovnik wedding celebration venue – The Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik
This exclusive Dubrovnik wedding venue has something that other venues don’t have. It’s an art gallery not exclusively for weddings, but for all events providing stunning views, complete privacy, historical building as a backdrop and two completely different areas. It’s suited for both receptions and ceremonies. All events (especially weddings) can take place in the courtyard or the roof terrace with a remarkable view of the Dubrovnik. The Museum of Modern Art is a popular Dubrovnik wedding venue that was opened for the public in 1945. It was designed by the honoured Croatian architects Lavoslav Horvat and Harold Bilinic who designed this gallery as a neo-Renaissance-gothic gem of Dubrovnik. The Museum itself has over 900 meters indoor space and 1100 square meters outdoor space which makes it ideal for large events and weddings in Dubrovnik.
The “day after the wedding” venue – The Coral Beach club
The Coral Beach Club was made for enjoying the warmth of the sun and the light chilling under the palm trees. Located on the west coast of the peninsula Babin kuk and close to the 5* hotel President, the Coral Beach club provides a view of the spot where the sun sinks and rises on the horizon. With a sophisticated luxury, you will love staying here and spending the day on double size beds perfect for pleasant relaxation while on holidays in Dubrovnik. The design of the club illustrates a contemporary blend of subtropical serenity and Mediterranean sophistication.
This cinematic destination wedding video is a small sneak peek from Alyssa and Davor’s destination wedding and a sincere representation of their destination wedding in Dubrovnik, without any adjustment, just as it is…