Hanka’s Wedding in Trogir, Croatia — An Interview with the Bride

We spoke to Hanka, a real bride who married by the sea in Croatia.

We asked her about her wedding in Trogir, what the day was like and how she remembers it now.

You chose 14 June 2014 for your big day. Was that deliberate, or did it just work out that way?

It just worked out that way. We didn’t want a wedding in the middle of summer. We preferred early summer, before it got too hot. I’m not really one for sunbathing, so mid-June was ideal.

Why did you decide to get married abroad?

We basically approached it by a process of elimination — gradually ruling out all the things we didn’t want.

Originally, we’d have had to invite at least 200 people, which is a huge number for us. Neither of us fancied being the centre of that much attention, and trying to keep everyone happy would have been stressful. We’d have felt obliged to put on a wedding of a certain standard, with a certain atmosphere, and that was just too much pressure.

I’d have loved to get married in a meadow by the woods, very informally, with just a little something to eat, but that simply wasn’t possible.

At first, we thought we’d have a tiny wedding with just our closest family in the Czech Republic and tell everyone else afterwards. We were also working with a more modest budget, and that was something we had to take into account.

Our work meant we travelled abroad quite a lot. Eventually, we came up with the idea of just getting married somewhere by the sea. It was an absolutely brilliant solution, really.

Why Trogir in particular?

My husband really wanted the sea and a blue sky.

We wanted our parents to be there, so we needed somewhere reasonably close, especially considering their age and comfort.

We love Croatia and go there often. We’d been to Trogir many times before and loved it. So getting married in Trogir, Croatia, was the obvious choice.

How many guests did you end up having?

Nine — and our dog.

It was lovely, because we had the time and space to talk to everyone properly. For our wedding meal, we chose a restaurant we love going back to. Everyone just ordered whatever they fancied from the menu. The atmosphere was relaxed and unpretentious, exactly what we’d hoped for.

Did the weather cooperate?

We had a little shower in the morning — a bit of rain for good luck — but, as so often happens around the Mediterranean, the clouds soon cleared and the sun came out.

Trogir was almost deserted, but every now and then we’d meet someone who would happily applaud and wish us all the best. It was so lovely.

Did you ever consider getting married somewhere more exotic?

Not really. I’m not really one for exotic destinations. I’ve been to Mauritius several times and I really love it, but I couldn’t picture myself as a bride on the beach. A beach wedding just isn’t me. I feel much more at home around the Mediterranean. And with our guests and our dog, we wanted somewhere closer anyway.

How do you think the groom felt about your wedding?

You could see he was enjoying himself and felt completely at ease. He was somewhere he really loves, and he got the blue sky and sea he’d been hoping for.

I think he enjoyed it more than he would have if we’d married in the Czech Republic, where, as he put it, he’d have felt “like a dressed-up prop beside the bride, playing a part rather than being himself.” Here, we both felt equally important, and it was much more intimate. Of course, everyone sees these things differently. That was how it felt for us.

Looking back, is there anything you would change about your wedding?

I wouldn’t change a thing.

I had a beautiful dress, exactly what I’d wanted. I chose comfortable shoes too, because I knew we’d be walking quite a lot while having the photos taken. Thinking about it now, perhaps I’d have liked some wedding photos taken with a drone. That wasn’t really an option for us back then, and hardly anyone was doing it.

Actually, now that I think about it, if I could change something, I’d definitely give myself more time off. I had so much work on then and I was really tired. I think I would have enjoyed the wedding even more.

So you have both wedding photographs and a video?

Yes, both. We have two videos — a short one, more like a music video, and a longer one. I’d definitely recommend having a video, because seeing people move captures emotions in a completely different way from photographs.

Do you and your husband ever reminisce about your wedding together?

I made a photo book from our wedding pictures. Every so often one of us comes across it and starts flicking through. The other joins in almost immediately, and we remember what it was like, what we experienced and what happened. We often end up laughing, too. It’s like stopping for a moment and travelling back in time.

And the wedding location — would you choose somewhere else now?

Absolutely not.

We’re both so happy we got married in Trogir, because we can easily go back whenever we like, slow down for a while and enjoy those romantic moments together again.

Some people fly off somewhere exotic for their wedding, knowing they might never return. They give themselves that one completely fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As I’ve said, I’m not really a beach-bride type, so I was very happy with Trogir.

When you were little, did you dream about your wedding and what dress you would wear?

I wasn’t a typical bride. I never imagined myself as a princess on my wedding day.

At first I thought, yes, we’ll get married. But then, on the wedding day itself, I realised how important it was to me to actually experience it.

During the ceremony, we said very personal things to each other that we’d each written ourselves. They weren’t really vows, as such. I kept putting mine off, and in the end I got up at four in the morning on our wedding day to write mine. Saying those words to each other during the ceremony was so beautiful and moving. It was at that moment that I realised how much the wedding meant to my husband, too.

Is there anything you’d like to say to brides-to-be?

The important thing is for your wedding to be the way you want it to be.

It doesn’t have to be far away or expensive. It just needs to feel like you, without cutting corners on what really matters to you.

I love remembering ours, especially when life gets complicated — and not just life as a couple. I look at that photo book and I’m happy that I made the effort for myself back then — that I enjoyed the day and that I looked lovely. To me, it doesn’t really matter whether a ceremony is legally binding. What matters is the ceremony itself, something two people who love each other experience together.

Thank you, Hanka, for such a lovely interview. Congratulations on your anniversary, and we wish you many more happy years of marriage filled with love, happiness and understanding.

Photos: YachtWedding.com archive