Dubrovnik Wedding Planner? – Matija + Marina Weddings

Many couples wrestle with idea of hiring a Dubrovnik wedding planner vs. allocating that budget into something more tangible, whatever that may be.

This, naturally, is a valid issue and the aim of this article is to talk about various aspects of planning a wedding in Dubrovnik from a unique perspective — that of wedding photographers.

Why would we even talk about it when we’re not really invested in this in any way?

Well, we see our couples struggling with this year after year and we’ve answered questions you’ll see below in many emails, time after time. So we figured the time is right to write an article and help more brides through this decision garden!

We will refrain from recommending any particular planners as that’s not the point. We’re not trying to sell you anything and we want to keep it objective and informative. (If you want to hear our experiences with particular Dubrovnik wedding planners, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll talk :).
Okay, let’s get into more details. We’ll start with cons – things that most often concern future brides, and talk about pros in the second part.

1. Will it cost more money?

This is probably a #1 concern of future brides, but honestly, it should probably be the last. Any valuable service will cost money and wedding planners will offload a ton of work off your shoulders.

But, we’ll get into that later.

The gist is that there are various kinds of planners. Some transparently charge only their planning fee, some take commissions from each vendor and some do a combination of both.

(And yes, there are some who will try to extract maximum amount of money from you, but you should be able to weed those out by comparing a few offers and asking more details about their services)

The best Dubrovnik wedding planners are fair and well worth the expense, even partially making up for it by having established relationships with suppliers who will give them discounts — directly saving you money!

2. Will they insist on their own vendors?

Each wedding planner has a set of vetted vendors they prefer working with — it’s a necessity of that job. Imagine how long would it take to plan a wedding if you were starting from scratch each time?

However, best planners will offer you multiple vendors where it makes sense.

For example, it probably doesn’t make sense to offer multiple florists, because one good florist can get any kind of flowers and arrange them in a way you desire.

On the other hand, it makes sense to offer multiple photographers or bands, as their styles and prices can vary significantly.

(A quick note on this — tread carefully if you’re only offered a single in-house photographer. Even if you don’t care about quality of your photos, those photographers will visibly influence your wedding by asking you to perform things that neatly fit into their predefined ideas of ‘what they need to record’, regardless of what you may think of that or whether you’d do it on your own.)

Generally, most planners won’t even blink if you opt for finding a particular vendor yourselves and will coordinate with them on the wedding day. (If they do object, it’s definitely a red flag.)

For example, couples often find their own photographers and videographers as they want a particular style or approach.

3. I’ve heard they’re slooooow to reply to emails

It’s true that many Dubrovnik wedding planners are slow to reply during wedding season.

A lot of work goes into planning just a single wedding, so they dedicate almost all their attention to the upcoming wedding as the pressure of the summer season builds up.

Although this can be frustrating while you’re several months ahead of your wedding waiting anxiously for planner’s reply on your big decision, you’ll be glad you’ve got their undivided attention once your date draws close.

If, however, they’re slow to reply off-season (between November and April) and take days or even weeks, that’s definitely a red flag.

4. I’ve heard horror stories of planning gone awry

There are bad apples in all walks of life and wedding planners are no exception. However, that shouldn’t make you avoid getting any planner whatsoever, just like stories of bad doctors won’t make you avoid consulting one if you need one.

You just need to do your due diligence and not hire the first planner you stumble upon. Read testimonials, reviews or ask for previous experiences on pertinent Facebook groups.
Reviews should also be read with a grain of salt. If it’s a negative review, try to see what was the issue specifically and whether it has any merit.

More than once we’ve been on weddings where unreasonable or late requests were put in front of a planner when they couldn’t reasonably have reacted in time or controlled whatever it is that they were supposed to control.

While such occurrences can produce negative reviews, they are not always justified.

Just make sure to communicate well ahead of time anything you may want on the wedding day and you’ll be surprised how often the planner will accommodate your wishes.

Our advice: when the wedding day arrives, just relax and go with the flow!

You may be very detail-oriented by nature (I understand that because I’m like that as well), but once wedding begins, don’t lose sight of why you’re there: to celebrate your love for each other with your loved ones.

Everything else is of lesser importance!

Okay, so why should we get a wedding planner?

Speaking from a vast experience, the number one most important thing on your wedding day is for you to enjoy the day! It happens only once, it took a lot of effort, planning and money and your guests have traveled far to be there. Make sure you relax and delight in every second of the day!

Worst enemy of you enjoying your day is worrying about stuff: deciding on details and minutiae, solving problems that may arise and coordinating with suppliers who will rather ask you about every small issue than take it upon themselves to decide.

While you can delegate these things to someone close to you whom you trust, that’s not quite the same as hiring a professional who has already seen and solved every possible problem that could arise.

(Not to mention that your loved ones probably didn’t sign up for coordinating your wedding instead of enjoying themselves!)

Wedding day is your day and you can either enjoy it or coordinate it!

Getting a planner will provide you with the same amount of control, just way ahead of time.

You may not think about all the little decisions that have to be made until the questions arise on the wedding day, but planner has seen it all and she’ll ask you to decide while you’re still in the comfort of your own home, well ahead of packing your bags for your destination wedding!

She will also help with the big, obvious decision.

When we were first starting in wedding photography, we ran into a useful wedding planning app. It shows you a to do list of things you need to do, hire and decide upon before you can say that your wedding planning is done. You know how many items are on that to do list?
More than 70!

So ask yourself: can I think of 70 things I need to decide on before the wedding? Probably not. We know we couldn’t.

Wedding planner will make sure that not only she asks you all the right questions, but she’ll do it in phases so you’re not overwhelmed (there’s really no need to decide on the menu AND the flowers AND the band AND the photographer all at the same time!).

She’ll offer suggestions, suppliers and turnkey solutions so you don’t have to spend days googling and pondering every small detail.

And, when a problem inevitably arises during the wedding day (and it probably will — nothing is ever perfect) you will have someone experienced beside you with ideas and contacts to provide quick workarounds.

I know a planner who always brings with her a wedding planner’s emergency kit.

Inside this fascinating box are things like needle and thread (80% of weddings we’ve recorded needed to sew something up before the ceremony!); replacement rings (in case the best man forgets them or gets lost together with the rings); invisible bandaids (those beautiful high heels can turn against you after 8h of looking pretty); basic makeup (if the heat gets to your groom and he starts sweating too much); safety pins, headache medicine, hair pins etc. etc.

Yes, you can bring all of that yourself — but will you remember to do it? And would you even think of it if I didn’t just mention it?

Also, some things can’t be solved with a safety pin or a bandaid.

If your boat trip is canceled due to relentless waves, your open-air dinner reception needs to be moved because of a thunderstorm or your bouquet gets lost on the ferry just as it was about to arrive (all true stories!) you will be very thankful to have a planner with a plan B on your side.

So yes, while planners may cost money, they’re usually worth every penny, working hard so you can enjoy.

Innumerable times we’ve seen weddings gone sideways – not because of a huge, insurmountable problem, but a small, sometimes insignificant problem that the bride took really badly and it spoilt the rest of her (and everyone else’s) day.

Our opinion is based on years of experience working with various Dubrovnik wedding planners as wedding photographer and videographers. Feel free to drop us a line about anything!

And, if you’d like to read photographer’s advice for future brides, you’re more than welcome! 🙂

Do I need aDubrovnik Wedding Planner?A short stroll through the decision garden of wedding planning

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