Leona and Hrvoje

Our Love Story

Hrvoje (Harvie) and I met back in 2016 through a mutual friend. At that time Hrvoje already had plans and a visa to come to New Zealand. I was just finishing my Masters at the time and hadn’t had any job offers lined up so I decided to come with him and see how our relationship would evolve. There was always an option to travel and see this side of the world so at that time I didn’t have much to lose but it worked just fine. Very early in our relationship, we made some big decisions so married life didn’t bring much change.

Our Proposal

We have our spot up at Godley Head. On Christmas break in 2018, Hrvoje invited me for a sunrise walk which I reluctantly accepted. We were pretty tired at the time and I just wanted to sleep longer and use the free time to chill, and I didn’t see the point of waking up so early for a hike that we already did so many times! When we finally got up, the sun was already up, I was so angry at him and he was super nervous for some reason (now we know why). Our spot was at the beginning of the track and exactly where he proposed. That was just great but then he wanted to go home! I didn’t let that be an option, so we walked the full walk and enjoyed the rest of the morning together. All in all, it was a beautiful moment in our beautiful spot.

Our Wedding Planning

At the top of our list was to be able to have a relaxed, nice time with our friends. Considering we don’t have any family here around we wanted to fully enjoy this day and make it as simple as possible. Our New Zealand wedding was originally meant to happen after our big Croatian wedding (that we already organised but had to postpone for 2022, third time lucky maybe?) but we decided to swap things around and it was the best decision ever.

Even though we originally went with the idea of having something simple we still had to prepare most of the things, just as we would planning a big wedding. We knew what we wanted from the beginning and are lucky to have crazy talented friends that wanted to help us which was a bonus for our budget.

Our Wedding Day

Our idea of simple planning carried through the actual day as well. We decided not to have a wedding party as we felt it would look really unbalanced having chosen to have such a small wedding plus how do you choose? We were already celebrating with our really close friends.

Hrvoje and I shared a nice breakfast in the morning and I left home for makeup and hair with my Maid of Honour and he was getting ready with his Best Man. My dress, bouquet and details were at my friends' place where we got ready and had a lovely photoshoot with Sarah and Connor. I had a few girls come over to share a drink or two before we all left for the ceremony spot.

The sun came out just before the ceremony and photoshoot so we got really lucky with everything. We wanted to have Christchurch documented in our wedding photos and hold a nice memory of the place we call our second home.

Our ceremony was truly special. Seeing my friends so happy and excited when I went down the aisle was such a beautiful moment. This year had some challenges and it was amazing to see everyone fully present and not thinking about anything else. Sharing our vows is also something that we’ll treasure forever. Our friends also prepared a huge surprise for us in a form of a video collage with our friends and family back home. All my make-up went down but it was totally worth it!

Our Advice

Don’t let budget or any other limitations stop you from having the time of your life!

Stand Out Vendors

The Mediterranean Food Co. went above and beyond and they accommodated all of our requests. That place brings a piece of Europe to New Zealand and it was so nice to be able to have them taking part in our wedding. Also, Sarah and Connor just blew our minds with their photo and video. And I can’t say how lucky we were to have our friends, singing duo Florence and Mary covering the music for our first dance and the dinner.

Our Dream Team

Venue and Catering | The Mediterranean Food Company

Photographer + Videographer | Amour Weddings

Florals | Harakeke Florist

Celebrant | Kimberley Young

Hair | Vivo Hair Colombo

Makeup | Mecca Maxima

Dress | Shona Joy – La Lune Lace

Brides Accessories | Morgan & Paige

Grooms Attire | Barkers

Rings | Pascoes The Jewellers

Pianist | Mary Rocha