When to Get Married in Croatia

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You can’t control the weather and that’s the fact. Maybe in a few decades, you’ll be able to pay some decent amount of money to make the weather as good as it can be for your wedding day. Who knows, maybe weather control will be one of the essential items in wedding packages of the future. As crucial as a wedding photographer or wedding dress.

But for now, it isn’t so and it’s better to stay in the present. Many couples want to know what to expect every single month if they are planning to get married in Croatia. Just like any other place on the Earth, Croatia also looks differently through different months. Good weather, bad weather, more people, fewer people, cold sea, warm sea…

In this article, we bring you everything you need to know about what Croatia looks like in each different month and what can you expect if you plan to get married in Croatia. Not only from the weather point of view, but we’ll also cover other aspects of Croatia that might be relevant to your Croatian wedding.

Read our ultimate guide for getting married in Croatia

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Croatia wedding photographer and videographer

Love and Ventures are Andrea and Mario, a wedding and elopement photographer and videographer, based in Croatia. With years of experience shooting elopements and intimate weddings in all kinds of landscapes, we decided to create this guide to serve you as a good starting point for planning your elopement or wedding in Croatia. 

Let the adventure begin!

Overall climate and weather in Croatia

Let’s start with the overall weather and climate in Croatia. Let’s face it, you’ll probably check the weather forecast every 10 minutes a few days prior to your wedding. Everybody wants sun and warmth, you can deal with cloudy weather but it will feel like the end of the world if it’s going to rain. Let us give you a few facts of encouragement – 99% of all our elopements and weddings in Croatia were dry and smooth. And trust us, we had a lot of them.

The southern part of Croatia (and one where 99% of elopements are being organized) has a Mediterranean climate which might not tell you much at this moment. It’s basically mild winters and hot summers. Great combination if you ask us and also one of the reasons why Croatia is one of the most popular wedding destinations in Europe. Winters are usually mild because of the influence of the sea and temperatures rarely drop below 0 degrees Celsius. Although it might be freezing cold when the cold wind called Bura blows. It also rarely snows on the coast.

Summers are very hot in Croatia with July and August being the hottest months and the peak of the tourist season in Croatia. It’s usual to have daily temperatures that range from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius during these months.

Central and northern Croatia have somewhat different climates – continental ones. It basically means that the winters are cold and summers are as hot as on the coast. There is usually plenty of snow each year, especially in the central part of Croatia – Lika and Gorski Kotar. Summer days are hot, but the nights are nice and fresh.

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The best time to get married in Croatia, if you ask us

We have answered this question many times on this website and we’ll answer it again. If you ask us what’s the best time to get married in Croatia we’ll always say preseason and postseason periods. This includes the months of May, June, September, and the first part of October. The closer you are to the summer, the warmer the weather and the sea will be. July and August are usual months when Croatia is blooming with life and there are more tourists than people who usually live in Croatia during these periods. Just kidding, but almost.

Many elopements and weddings are being planned and organized in the hottest months of July and August and we can understand why is that so. We also believe that this will never change and it’s ok. People want to mix vacations and wedding and that usually turns out great. You get married in Croatia, travel across it later, enjoy the nightlife, and all your guests love it… Until it’s time for the ceremony and other wedding activities. It’s then that you realize that heat and weddings are not the best combinations. Our best advice if you want to get married in Croatia during the summer – don’t do anything outdoors before 6 PM.

Some advantages of getting married in Croatia in preseason and postseason periods

There are a few things to consider if you plan to get married in Croatia during these periods and these things might mean a difference to you. First of all, your Croatian wedding might be cheaper if it’s organized outside of the high season. Accommodation is a lot easier to find and prices are lower than in July and August.

The weather is still stable although it’s not as hot as it is in the middle of the summer. Traveling through Croatia is easier and there are not so many traffic jams and queues as during the high season. Most of the restaurants and other tourist vendors are open. Wedding services such as wedding planners, photographers, and videographers, florists, etc. are much easier to book.

The list goes on and on. Of course, the final choice is yours and getting married in Croatia is possible in any period and it still might look great. Still, we believe it will be helpful for you to know what to expect from different time periods in Croatia. Especially if it comes from someone who is photographing weddings throughout the year and observes what different weddings look like.

Related: The Ultimate Split Wedding Guide

Trogir Brown Beach House Wedding 31 | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

How does Croatia look like at different months and time periods

Here comes the section in which we will give our best and try to describe what each month in Croatia looks like. Not only when it comes to weather but also regarding some other aspects that might be important to you if you plan to get married in Croatia.

Related: The Ultimate Rovinj Wedding Guide

Plitvice Styled Shoot Love and Ventures 281 | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

January and February

January and February are the coldest months in Croatia. The weather is unpredictable and the days are short. There are many rainy and windy days both on the coast and in the continental part of Croatia. This is the usual time period in which the snow falls in Croatia, most of the time only in the northern parts of the country. Most of the seasonal services are closed. By most, we mean all of them. Together with November, you might say that January and February are the most boring months in Croatia.

But still, these might have some advantages if you plan to get married in Croatia in the winter. January and February are good for snowy winter elopements. There are virtually no tourists during these periods so it might feel like you are alone in the places which are usually too crowded during the summer. If you are dreaming about a winter elopement in Croatia with only you and your partner present, then these months are just right for you.

Related: Comprehensive Zadar Wedding Guide

plitvice lakes wedding

March

The month of awakening. Days are slowly becoming longer and the weather is starting to be more predictable with more sunny days and less rain. On the coast, there are usually 3 timeframes in which the cold wind called Bura blows. This wind brings a bit colder air, but also clears the air and you are able to see further and clearer. Spring begins at the end of March and temperatures rise further.

However, it’s still too early for nature to completely awake so there is no real blooming until late April or early May. Throughout March, nature still mostly looks like it’s winter with a difference in higher temperatures and more sunny days. Most of the tourist services are still closed apart from a few tourist places such as Dubrovnik where tourists slowly begin to arrive.

BT9A4535 scaled | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

April

April is characterized by a further rise in the temperatures and elongation of daylight. Nature starts to awake at the end of the month and everything starts to bloom. Late April is the start of the preseason in Croatia and some of the tourist services (hotels, restaurants, bars…) start with the work. The sea is still a bit cold for a long swim but great for short refreshments.

BT9A1516 scaled | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

May

May is the month when the real fun begins. Temperatures are just perfect for light clothes and nature starts to bloom. Everything is scented and everybody feels great. More and more people are coming to Croatia (still not as close as during the high season) and more tourist services are open. There are many sunny days and it rapidly gets warmer as June approaches.

If you ask us, May is one of the best months to get married in Croatia. Accommodation is easy to find, it’s not too crowded. May is especially great for small intimate weddings and elopements in Croatia.

Korcula wedding 10 | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

June

We like to consider June as the start of the real preseason in Croatia. You can consider it as an upgraded May. It rapidly gets warmer and you can already expect temperatures that are higher than 30 degrees Celsius but it’s still much bearable than those in July and August. June is perfect for weddings because most of the wedding services are easy to find and book in this period and everybody’s kind of fresh and full of positive energy.

Most of the tourist attractions and services are already open. The sea is very nice and just perfect for swimming.

DSC01270 scaled | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

July and August

The busiest and hottest months in Croatia. All the tourist attractions are full of people. Wedding venues for this period can be reserved for the 2 years preceding the wedding date. Accommodation is the most expensive in July and August too. Both days and nights are rather hot with the temperatures during the day reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius in some extreme cases. The usual day temperature is around 35 degrees Celsius.

If you plan to get married in Croatia in these months, plan to have your ceremony as late as possible and try to organize your wedding optimally. It’s definitely possible and a summer wedding can be great if planned well.

BT9A9057 scaled | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

September

June with a different vibe. More melancholic one. September usually represents the ending of the summer and even the sun has that different kind of glow. Don’t get us wrong, we love September, it just might be our favorite month of them all. It represents the postseason in Croatia and most of the tourists went back home. Once again, Croatia is not so crowded yet all the tourist services are open. Especially in the first half of the month.

Accommodation is once again easy to find, temperatures begin to drop although it’s still rather warm during the day. The sea is just perfect for swimming. September is the perfect month to get married in Croatia.

BT9A2002 websize | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

October

October is the first month of Autumn and the weather is still nice. There are maybe a bit more rainy days and the weather is not so predictable, but the sunny days are rather warm and the sea is still good for swimming. More and more tourist places and vendors are closing up after the season. Some accommodations do the same. The ones that stay open are quite cheaper than during the summer.

All of October is good for a wedding ceremony with colors in nature shifting toward the Autumn ones as the end of the month approaches. This looks great in the photos and videos, especially if you want to get married outdoors.

Croatia Canyon Elopement 74 1 | Croatia Elopement Photographer and Videographer

November

November is one of the chilly and rainy months. It’s still not so cold so there is no snow in most of Croatia, but there are clouds and rain. In southern Croatia, there are still plenty of sunny and warm days but the overall weather is quite unpredictable. There are almost no tourists visiting Croatia this month and most of the tourist places are closed.

December

December is the month of Christmas Market and a good vibe in Croatia. It’s cold, there might be some snow although it’s more characteristic for January and February. December is perfect for city elopements under the Christmas lights. Zagreb Christmas Market is a great example of a very nice Christmas vibe and it’s one of the most visited and famous Christmas Markets in Europe.

In the southern Croatia, although it’s cold, there might be some sunny and very warm days.

Here is our list of top Dubrovnik wedding venues

Oh my God, what if it rains on my wedding day?

We already mentioned that you can’t control the weather so stop worrying about that. Our best advice for a rainy wedding day would be to be as crazy as you can. It just might be one of your best days ever. The photos and video materials of your wedding would be simply amazing and we are sure that everybody would have so much fun. Your guests sometimes just need an example and usually follow what the couple getting married does. So get crazy and be your own sun.

Also, we have noticed that the weather forecast has become somewhat unreliable and you can know what the weather might look like just a day or two before your wedding in Croatia. Everything before that and the forecast is so unreliable that you don’t need to look at it at all.

One final thing you can do if you really want to avoid the rain is to reschedule your wedding. Sometimes it can be done, but it’s usually in rare cases and for smaller weddings. The more vendors you have included in your wedding, the harder will it be to reschedule them all, especially if you are getting married in Croatia in the summer months.

Read our comprehensive guide to elope in Croatia

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Hello there!

We are Mario & Andrea, a photo+video team, specialised in elopements and intimate weddings all across Europe. Contact us if you plan an elopement or intimate wedding with a pinch of adventure.