Claire and Alan – Wedding in Fort George Vis, Croatia
This is a short wedding teaser about Claire and Alan on beautiful Island of Vis, Croatia
Vis Wedding Photographer
Met in Austria, Engaged on the Cook Islands and Got Married in Croatia I know it may sound weird that two soulmates can meet in a night club at a trance party, where usually no one talks to each other, but it really is possible. Exactly these two weird soulmates are now the happiest Mr and Mrs on the whole planet…or, we love to believe we are. Back in 2010, even 6 months after I (Fatime) had moved from Bosnia to an Austrian village as au pair, my host family was still trying to motivate me to go out on my own. After so many failed tries, on the 14.8.2010, I finally decided to take the last train from the country side to Vienna and to return back with the first one in the morning. I went to my favorite club which I loved so much, because it was a club with a planetarium where you could sit and enjoy watching the stars when you got tired from dancing. I came to the club with a great wish to dance all night long. Even though a few people tried to talk to me, my answer was always the same “I´m here to dance”. But then, at some point, this cute guy I had noticed in the que in front of the club, he came to me and we simply started dancing. It felt so normal that one would think we had known each other forever. And I do like to think our souls had been together for much longer before we even met each other. It was such a memorable night I can still remember almost every single detail about it. At some point both of us got tired from dancing and went to find a nice place to sit in the planetarium to watch the stars. We stayed there for hours without really talking to each other, but it simply felt like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, we were “kicked out” from the planetarium around 5am and we had another hour to spend together before my train left Vienna. Somehow I managed to give him a wrong phone number and a day after that was the first time I was incredibly thankful for having such a rare name, which made it easy for him to find me on Facebook J. From then on, it all went just perfect. We started dating on the 28.8.2010, which is still our anniversary day, because we got married on the same date this year. We never really used to talk about getting married, probably because we started living together in the fourth month of our relationship and it somehow felt like being married. If I was to say one thing I always loved and still adore about him…it would be him, being such a great dreamer. He always loved to talk about his great wish for traveling around the world once he finishes his master studies and somehow…that moment came so quickly and, suddenly, we were both packing our backpacks and getting ready for our big adventure. I couldn’t believe we were really going to be gone for about three months, on our own. And, even if it may sound like a big lie, I never, really never even thought he could be intending to propose on me on our trip. But, he was…and that was without any doubt, the most beautiful day in my life, until our wedding day. There are no words in any language I speak, which could explain my enthusiasm and happiness about getting married to a men a woman can only dream about. I enjoyed every single second of getting all done for our big day. We decided to exchange our wedding vows on the beautiful Croatian Island Vis which we loved it so much, because we had our most beautiful and memorable vacation there back in 2011. I was so happy for having the whole freedom of planning the wedding exactly the way I wanted it and that’s the way the wedding was in the end. My perfect bohemian wedding with our closest family and friends. But, let the most beautiful pics made by Danijela from One Day Studio tell you more about this special day. Thank you Danijela for capturing our most beautiful moments <3 With love, Fatime Photographer: Danijela Location: Island of Vis, Croatia Vis Wedding Photographer | Destination Weddings | Croatia Wedding Photography | Destination Croatia | Wedding Cinematography | Island Vis Croatia | Bohemian Weddings | Venues Croatia | Engagement photography | Garden Wedding
Stunning Wedding on Island Vis, Croatia
After we have posted video „Vis Wedding – Tanja&Rafa“, we didn’t have the chance to thank you for all these wonderful comments, messages and supportive emails. We fell in love with this amazing place and this beautiful couple. You must visit Vis! And now, enjoy the story told through our photos! Rafa and I wanted an intimate and relaxed wedding, under the blue sky, surrounded by trees, sea and closest family and friends. As we had many guests traveling from abroad (from 19 different countries!) we decided to make it into a little holiday getaway and sail everyone onto an island. Vis island is one of those well-kept Adriatic secrets. It has been a military base for many years, closed for tourists, and as a result of this seclusion, it resisted over-development and mass tourism, and remained a simple and authentic fishing and winemaking paradise. This peaceful oasis of raw, unspoilt natural beauties and rich history, 2 ½ hours boat ride from Split, and worlds away from the tourist hustle and bustle, was perfect for our little circus of love! WARM-UP Since our families never met, we organised a beach gathering a day before the wedding for everyone to get to know each other. We chose a private little beach in Stoncica bay, with abundance of shade and a sandy area for children to play in. It was a pure fun day of laughter, indulging in sea, sun and delicious local grilled delicacies from a beach restaurant, under the palm trees. THE CEREMONY Probably one of the first things that you will see when you sail into bay of Vis, is a small, gorgeous peninsula with a Church and a Franciscan Monastery from 16th century. This is where we got married. Inside the walls of a little stone church of Saint Jere, built inside the remains of an ancient roman theatre.We kept the Church very simple and romantic, with colourful wild flowers tied around benches and candles lied down on the stone floor, leading up to the altar. We had the cutest little two-year-old flower girl, Sophie, who was carrying a heart-shaped wooden sign hand carved by my brother, saying: “Tio Rafa, here comes the love of your life”. My father walked me down the aisle with melodies of Jack Johnson’s “Angel”, played on ukulele by my close friend Matko. I didn’t know about this part, it was a surprise organised by my Maids of Honour and Matko… Hearing this very special song to us both, and seeing Rafa just staying there, calm and patient as always… waiting for me to join him at the altar, and into the life… I swear – time just stopped for a glimpse of a second. I felt like I took one deep breath in and didn’t exhale until I touched his hand and made sure this is real. Incredible moment to cherish forever. We managed to find a lovely Colombian priest who actually lives in a tiny village, deep inside Dalmatian hinterland. We talked him into coming with us to the island, and performing the ceremony in half Spanish half Croatian. This was a surprise for all guests, especially our Colombian family who were in disbelief when don Carlos started the ceremony in local Colombian accent. Rafa and I said our vows in both languages, which was a nice gesture and was appreciated by our families (as mine speaks only Croatian, and Rafa’s only Spanish) OUTFITS The dress is made of a beautiful vintage-like Spanish lace that we re-styled, added sleeves and cut the front (brand: Novia d’Art, model: Pekin, rented from Glamour Sposa in Split). After midnight, I changed to a short, cream, backless lace dress (brand: ASOS) that allowed more freedom on the dancefloor. Rafa was wearing Ted Baker’s mix and match – navy chinos, a light blue jacket, a delicately patterned grey waist coat, with a simple white shirt. He also had a pink handmade bow tie, sewn by our friend Rob (brand: Hound London). Maids of Honour were wearing identical short, lacy daffodil yellow dresses (brand: ASOS). Best Men were wearing traditional Colombian guayabera (white linen, plated shirt) and cream chinos. JEWLERY Rings were made two days before the wedding by my cousin, a talented jewellery maker from Split. They are both identical in shape and size, polished light gold, with engraved dates on the back and a special word for both of us. I wore vintage gold earrings that I got when I was born from my Godmother. Around the neck I had a beautiful golden Burning Sun necklace with a very special meaning about strength and eternity, given to me by my two amazing Maids of Honour on the day of the wedding. SHOES For the ceremony, I had simple sandals from Accessorize and boys were wearing white Startas – legendary Croatian handmade canvas trainers. Girls also changed into Startas later on, for the dancefloor, but in red colour. FLOWERS I was wearing a white gypsophila flower crown made by a local Vis florist. This incredible lady did a great job and made all the flower arrangements for the day. All flowers were picked from the island, mix of wild and grown, different shapes and sizes, very colourful, happy and summery. THE VENUE http://www.fortgeorgecroatia.com/ When we first saw Fort George, there was no doubt in our minds that this is where we want to hold our wedding celebration. This absolutely magical 200 years old, medieval English fort is built on a hill, hidden behind thick pine trees, somewhat 3km from the town Vis. It overlooks nearby islands and boasts breath-taking views of endless Adriatic sea. On the top of the fort is a massive stone floor terrace where we had our welcome reception where we served finger food, our homemade “rakija” aperitif drinks and with Klapa singing. Later on, the guests were moved to Garden area, a beautiful green patio under the starlight and pine trees. Centre point of the venue is an incredible drained stone pool
