Anytime I tell people we had our wedding in Montenegro, I always get the same question: Why?
Do you have family there?
Any connection at all?
Seriously, why?
Usually, I give the short answer: Why not?
But here is the long one:
When my partner and I were first engaged, one of the first questions from our families was “Where is the wedding?” Truthfully, we hadn’t really thought about it. We’re from the US, which is a big country. When we got engaged, we lived in California. But we had met in Washington state. Meanwhile, our families were from different states in the Southeast US that were pretty far apart. Also, we had friends scattered all over.
The question of “where” wasn’t going away, so we started reaching out venues in a few different states. When they started getting back to us, we realized two important things:
- None of these places really excited us
- It is really, really expensive to have a wedding in the US
Half-jokingly, my then-fiancé threw out an idea, “How about the Amalfi Coast?”
“When did you become a billionaire?” I responded. There was no way that would be in our budget. Still, it sparked an idea.
We both love to travel. No matter where in the world we held the wedding, the majority of our guests would have to travel to it. The Amalfi Coast is in a beautiful region. What if a destination wedding in Europe was the answer?
We looked at a map of southern Europe and zeroed in on the Balkan states. Though we’d never been, we’d heard good things about Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. We knew we wanted a sea-scape backdrop, so Croatia and Montenegro were our best options.
I started off looking at Montenegro…
And quickly found a venue and wedding planners that would fit our budget. Before we knew it, we were giving our families and friends a head up: “We figured out our location: Montenegro.” I’m not sure they believed us at first.
There was not a ton of information online about exactly how to have a destination wedding in Montenegro, so hopefully this blog post is helpful in case a Montenegro wedding is something you’re considering.
So, here are some tips for having a destination wedding in Montenegro:
Step 1: Find a wedding planner
This is actually great advice no matter where you’re going to have your wedding. Even smaller weddings are major events with a lot of moving parts. Unless you’re a seasoned event planner, coordinating all those parts is going to be overwhelming.
Destination weddings include even more moving parts, and a lot of unknowns. We didn’t know how to find a caterer, photographer or makeup artist in Montenegro. Plus, we don’t speak Montenegrin or any other Balkan language. It would have been infinitely harder to find wedding vendors and coordinate them from afar on our own.
When we were researching our wedding, we found the venue first, then the wedding planner recommended by the venue. However, we learned this order was a little backwards. Our planners told us couples typically hire the planners who help them find the venue. Regardless, our order of operations ended up working out well for us.
After some email exchanges and an intro video call, we hired DSA Weddings to help us plan our dream wedding at the venue we originally found. They offer three different types of weddings: A symbolic ceremony (where you have a ceremony and reception in Montenegro, but sign the official documents in your home country), an official ceremony and a church ceremony. We decided to go with the symbolic ceremony because it honestly seemed easier paperwork-wise.
From there, choose your planning package
Wedding planners offer various packages at different price points. We chose a package for a ceremony and reception that included planning, decorations, flowers, makeup and hair styling, photography and videography. They also helped us select a catering package and coordinated all the catering.
We had already chosen our venue, but they also help with venue selection based on the number of guests and your vision/vibe. We had both our wedding and ceremony at a villa. However, a more common choice is to get married in a church or a scenic overlook, then have reception at a nearby restaurant.
Step 2: Choose your view
I’m not the only person who gets asked about our wedding destination choice. When people ask my mother-in-law, she answers with her own question: “Have you seen what Montenegro looks like?”
Montenegro is indeed a breathtakingly gorgeous country. No matter the venue, your wedding is going to have an amazing backdrop of the mountains, sea or both. You just have to choose your preference.
We chose a sea backdrop for our ceremony, but our reception was surrounded by mountains and sea in Bar Montenegro.
Other popular locations are:
Step 3: Visit Montenegro
Now that you have a solid wedding planner and beautiful venue, it’s time to visit! Depending on how far you are from the country, this may be easier said than done. We almost didn’t get a chance to visit Montenegro before our wedding, and we were so glad we did. Touring our venue in person and getting to meet with our wedding planner was incredibly helpful. We discussed all the details for our wedding and got to really imagine it coming together. Unlike the first two steps, this one isn’t a requirement, but it is highly recommended.
Not only will visiting allow you to meet your planners and tour your venue, but it will also give you the opportunity to explore the country. Montenegro is a fairly small country. It’s easy to navigate, and you can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. During our visit, we explored the cities of Bar, Budva, Kotor and Podgorica and fell in love with the country. This visit helped us give our guests first-hand accounts and recommendations of things to do, places to see and areas to stay in Montenegro. Some of our guests hadn’t even heard of the country beforehand, let alone visited, so having this first-hand knowledge was especially valuable for us and them.
Step 4: Decide how much you want to help plan your guests’ travel
Our guests had varying levels of experience traveling. Some were very comfortable planning international trips, and others had barely left the US. I enjoy travel planning and helping people find flights and itineraries, so I was happy helping out people with less experience. I had flight alerts set up for guests in different areas of the US, and let them know when new deals surfaced.
The wedding planners also helped recommend accommodations and transportation in Montenegro. And I helped coordinate that transportation in and out of Montenegro with our guests.
Before we started planning our wedding, we didn’t realize destination weddings were lowkey a way to keep people from actually attending. We actually wanted the people we invited to come! This reason, along with my love of travel planning, were why I was happy to help our guests plan their trips. However, that may be different for you. If so, I recommend finding a way to outsource this responsibility. Possibly to your wedding planners, trusted family/friends or the internet (and make sure you have a detailed wedding website).
Step 5: Enjoy the best wedding ever!
You did it. You hired amazing planners, found a beautiful venue, successfully got yourself and all your guests to Montenegro, and now you’re ready to party! When we were planning our wedding, we want to have a fun party in a beautiful location, and Montenegro more than delivered. I’ve been to a lot of weddings in my life, and our wedding has been my favorite. Not just because I got married, but because it was genuinely an amazing day with a gorgeous backdrop and a very affordable price tag (compared to the US).
Considering a destination wedding in Montenegro or anywhere else? Let me know your questions.
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