EVERY woman should have her Fairy Tale Wedding at Bled Castle in Slovenia.
This was the fairy tale wedding–in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle–that fulfilled every romantic princess fantasy of my childhood.
Our Slovenia Wedding (Wedding #9) in the 1,000 year old castle is my favorite.
And we really have to thank Slovenia’s foremost wedding coordinator Petra Cuk, for putting it all together.
If we never got married again (instead of 91 more times), I’d be happy. It was the PERFECT WEDDING.
For many reasons.
#1: take a look at Bled Castle:
The castle turned 1,000 years old this year!
Soooo romantic! I think it’s the prettiest spot ever.
#2: The Slovenian Wedding Ceremony!
According to Slovenia law, ALL weddings in Slovenia must be conducted in Slovenian.
No problem!
The Mayor of Bled (Janez Fajfar) married us. He stood with an official registar (the red head) to one side, and a translator to the other.
When you get married at Bled Castle, you definitely want the mayor to preside! He was all decked out in his Medieval red robes, fur collar, and his chain of office… cracking jokes about the “right of First Night” (not gonna happen, but thanks for the thought).
First we sat while the mayor read the Marriage Act of Slovenia, which essentially orders that 1) marriage partners are EQUALS, and based on mutual respect, 2) each partner gets to choose their own career, 3) family planning decisions are mutual, and not forced, 4) if one partner is disabled and cannot work, the other partner will take care of their spouse.
I personally think ALL of these rules rock. Basically, religious fundamentalists (or garden variety misogynists) who don’t believe in equality and respect are NOT welcome in Slovenia. But Devin and Morgana feel right at home…
And frankly I LOVED the mayor. He was a showman, but he was also really caring and authentic with us.
And check out our official Bled Castle marriage document. This is gonna get framed and put on the wall!
(And thank you, Petra Cuk, for my gorgeous bouquet.)
#3 The Vows.
Devin and I make up our vows every time we get married. This is my FAVORITE part of each wedding, whether it’s in a hotel lobby (Kotor, Montegro) or a castle. We aren’t reciting some prepared script. We speak from out heart, in that moment.
Devin’s vows at Bled Castle hit me straight in the heart, and touched every little part of me that still needs to be reassured that I’m loved and wanted. (You’d think I’d get the message after the prior 8 weddings, right?) He managed to say just what I needed to hear… but he’s good at that.
I’m so glad we got this on video. (Coming soon, I hope.)
And that was just the beginning!
Next stop: Bled Island.
Slovenia has a tradition that the groom carries the bride up 99 grueling steps on Bled Island.
So after we were ferried to the island from the dock at Vila Bled (former residence of Tito, now a luxury hotel) Devin carried me up the steps.
At the top of the steps is a chapel with a “Wishing Bell.”
Devin and I each chose a private wish, then rang the bell together.
And then we ate cake! A Slovenian potika roll cake is soft and moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, comes in dozens of flavors, and is a traditional dish for Christmas, New Year’s and weddings.
Delicious! And an absolute MUST when you marry in Slovenia.
Which I hope you will.
Because EVERYBODY should marry in Bled, at least once!
And when you do, here’s our team to give YOU your fairy tale wedding:
The Wedding Team
Petra Cuk, wedding coordinator; Uros Cuden our wedding photographer, and Anze Vrabl, our videographer.
Yay team!
Devin carried me up the stops. Did you mean to say “steps”
Yes. Thanks for the catching the typo!