#constablewedding

We love our Couples’ love stories! Paul & Marie got married on the 27th May 2017 in stunning Croatia. They had their ceremony in the Palm Gardens on Lokrum Island, and their reception in the renowned Restaurant Dubrovnik.

1.How did you both meet?

Thinking back, we were so young! At 18, and fresh out of finishing our A level exams, both of us were letting our hair down on a night out with friends at the local night club. Neither of us knew each other, but I can say, I think it was love at first sight for me. We spotted each other through the crowds on the dance floor. Paul took the courage (or should I say took a bet from his friend) to come talk to me and buy me a drink at the bar. We hit it off straight away, exchanged numbers, and here we are 9 years later as husband and wife.

2. Tell us about the proposal. 

Paul being the creative, thoughtful and caring man he always is, he made sure his proposal wouldn't leave a dry eye in the house, including mine! He really wanted the proposal to be a big surprise for his family, but he ended up having to tell all his family his plans to get them all to come over to our house! 

It was Christmas day in 2015, and we had our family over for a christmas breakfast. Paul made a gorgeous breakfast with homemade brioche, pastries and smoked salmon, then we all sat around the tree and exchanged gifts. Paul passed me a little square box, and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. What was going on, I thought? I opened the box to find a pair of diamond earrings. He asked me, 'Do you recognise the diamonds?'  .... 'No' i said... and with that Paul said 'They are from your late Grandad's ring'. welling up by now, I thought it was a wonderful way to transform my precious Grandad's ring he had left for me. The surprise was taken to the next level when Paul got down on to one knee and opened up the engagement ring box. The third diamond from my Grandad's ring was used to make my beautiful engagement ring. I had mentioned to him a while ago in passing conversation that my grandad's ring only fitted on my ring finger, and it was a bit old-fashioned in style for me to wear. Paul remembered where I kept it hidden and took the ring to the jeweller to design everything. proposing in the home we saved so hard to buy, surrounded by our loved ones. It was just perfect.

3. What attracted you to Croatia as a wedding destination?

In the early days of planning our wedding, We both agreed we wanted a outdoors, rustic, relaxed, and nature themed wedding venue. We began by looking at tipi tent weddings in farm land in England. We soon discovered this style of wedding was going to be way out of our budget, so we began thinking outside the box and thought we would have a look at weddings abroad. 

That's when we discovered Ionian Weddings website. Having a look around the destinations, we discovered that they did Croatian wedding venues. We was interested to research more as the previous year we had been on a Sail Croatia holiday and fell in love with the beautiful islands, heritage, people and culture. It was also then in Croatia when he decided he wanted to propose to me! We discovered a venue that had our names written all over it. The Palm Gardens, and Restaurant Dubrovnik was just perfect. We couldn't have chosen a more perfect destination for our wedding. Croatia has so much to offer. So many beautiful islands to discover, and so much history. 

4. Did the venue meet your expectations? 

The venues blew us away. They perfectly reflected us as a couple, and our personalities. The Palm Gardens on Lokrum Island was so magical. The most lush, beautiful, natural setting. Wild rabbits and peacocks just added to the magic of this Island. 

We are also huge foodies, and enjoy quality food. Restaurant Dubrovnik went above and beyond our expectations. They was so attentive and friendly. They really made us and our guests feel so welcome and cared for. Not to mention they blew our minds with their incredible passion for serving quality food. What's more, the Head Chef even came and danced with us in the evening, which was funny. Everyone had so much fun - the DJ said it was the best wedding he has done in a long time because everyone just kept dancing! He even shared this video with us: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdjmirodubrovnik%2Fvideos%2F1904982393091393%2F&show_text=0&width=560

5. What was most important to you both for your wedding day?

The most important elements was to reflect who we were as a couple. To share with our friends and family why we love Croatia and in particular this magical, historic town. It was also really important to enjoy good food at our reception. I hear that Restaurant Dubrovnik are in the Michelin Guide 2017. Hats off to them, hands down they deserve it. It is probably one of the best restaurants we have been to!

6. Tell us about the theme of your wedding day?

Our theme was to use as much local produce as possible, but also to hand make as much as possible, so we decided on Olive and Lavender. In Croatia there are an abundance of Olive trees and Lavender growing. In the bride flowers, men's button holes and bridesmaid bracelets, we used Olive leaves, lavender sprigs and white flowers. At the restaurant we had bowls of olives on the table. We wanted to keep our theme natural, rustic, simple and elegant. 

For our table favours, again we kept the produce local. We took our own mini bottles with hessian tops and filled them with a local spirit of 'Prosek' for the men. For the girls, we made up mini hessian bags with lavender bath bombs. 

We also hand made and designed our menus for each guest and the order of service fans at the ceremony. 

7. Did you do anything special with your guests leading up to the wedding? 

We organised a BBQ to be held on Copacabana beach for all of our guests the night before the wedding. We thought it would be a great way to get everyone together the night before. It was a great success, and so special to spend time with our friends and family with good food and a great sunset. 

We had also arranged a girls 'Hen' night and a boys 'Stag' do before the wedding on the Thursday. Marie's hen do was a sophisticated, calm affair at the Coral beach club, where we wined and dined on the beach watching the sun set. Paul's stag do however, was a typical lads night out. It was a trip into town to head up the cable car to see views all over the town. (The plan was to have a few beers up there, but due to bad weather they had to come straight back down!) They then all headed town to the Exit Rock Cafe before going to the club in the fort. Let's just say it got messy from there - before you knew it I heard one of his best men was struggling to stand up in the main Stradun in Dubrovnik, and one of his friends was pretending to play air guitar in the middle of the old town with his top off!

Two days after the wedding, we had also arranged a day boat trip to visit three islands with lunch included. It was the perfect way to relax and unwind with our friends and family after the busy lead up to the day. The scenery is just so gorgeous.

8. What was your favourite moment of the day?

Wow, it would be way too hard to pick just one moment! Every moment of the day was so so special and memorable. My favourite moment has to be walking down the aisle, arm in arm with my dad with the guy from Croatian Voice playing my aisle song beautifully on acoustic guitar. Everything we had meticulously planned for over a year was really happening in front of my eyes. The way I had imagined it in my mind for so long was perfectly laid out in front of me. When we met at the end of the aisle I think both of us felt so extremely proud, and so elated at what we had achieved. Nothing beats marrying your best of friend and that's what I am most proud of! 

9. What advice would you give to other couples thinking of getting married abroad? 

Firstly, we would 100% recommend any couple to go with Ionian Weddings. Secondly, we would say make sure you give yourself time after the wedding to just unwind as a married couple! Thirdly, if you can, try go out there and see the venues. It's so helpful to have that memory in your mind of the venues when planning. We have to say, from the day we enquired about a wedding abroad, to the day we got married, we were cared for, and looked after so well. The communication was faultless, and we felt safe knowing our wedding day was in their hands. Anything was possible, and they were always there ready to answer our questions.