Real Wedding: Nina+Nico – Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

I’m originally from Slovenia and Nico is from New Zealand but we both love big cities and central London has been home for us for many years now. We’re very different, but together we make sense. We have different tastes in music and we always argue about movie selections, but we have never had a disagreement about our values or future goals.

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

A couple of years ago, Nico’s mum flew all the way from New Zealand to spend Christmas with my family in our hometown of Ljubljana. It was a truly hectic weekend with both of our families in one place but Nico and I managed to sneak away for an evening to ourselves and after a few cocktails I confessed that I thought he would have proposed on this holiday. Nico went silent and I felt awful, thinking I had spoiled his proposal! Little did I know, Nico planned to propose the following weekend and had been waiting for some alone time with my father to ask for his blessing. Two days later, it started to snow and as we walked through the city, with the snow slowly falling around us, he asked me to marry him. Croatia seemed like a natural choice for our wedding because I had spent a lot of time there as a child and we wanted to find a place where our friends and Nico’s family travelling from New Zealand could spend quality time together. We were married by our dear friend, Vincent, who introduced us to each other six years ago at his birthday party. Vincent knew us both separately long before we met so we couldn’t think of a better person for the job. We even named our pug, which we bought as a wedding present to each other, after him! The ceremony took place in the courtyard of the 16th century Sponza Palace. We wanted to enhance the dreamy setting of the coastal city and surrounding beauty of the Adriatic Sea, so instead of fussy decorations we opted for a simple, yet dramatic, backdrop created from olive branches, ivory and white peonies. After the ceremony, Nico and I travelled to our reception at the Hotel Excelsior in a classic wooden motor boat, which our guests thought was very ‘James Bond’! We arrived to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours”, as our guests greeted us from the terrace. Marriage, to us, means that we are no longer just individuals who share their lives with each other – we have a responsibility to this unit together that we need to nurture, work for and fight for.

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Categories: Weddings-Real Wedding: Nina+Nico - Photography by Tim Kelly and Nadine Ellen

Ceremony venue—Sponza Palace, Dubrovnik | Suits—Buckleigh of London | Reception & catering—Palm Terrace at Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik  | Bridesmaid’s outfits—Solace London & ASOS | Hair & Makeup—Lisa Jericevich International  | Bride’s shoes—Aquazzura | Flora—Cvetje by Kike | Stationery—Doves & Peacocks