January 28, 2023 - No one can resist the imposing charm of the Pula amphitheater. There isn't a performer who doesn't want to perform in it, and as the situation is developing, there isn't even a millionaire, especially an Indian one, who wouldn't want to get married under the Roman arches of the Pula Arena.

So writes Poslovni, and the reason is a recent cover by the world-renowned women's magazine Harper's Bazaar, which was shot in the Pula Arena this spring.

The cover is adorned by a beautiful Indian newlywed couple. For that occasion, the Pula Arena was lavishly decorated, and the combination of two cultures made it look like a fairy tale, which, after all, is the goal of every wedding.

With this, Istria, known as a wedding destination, raises the bar and opens up to a new market with a high paying power, writes Glas Istre.

Many wealthy Indians look for unique locations for their fateful "yes", inviting 200 to 300 of their family and friends who like to spend lavishly, enjoy good food and expensive things and, in accordance with the times, stay in five-star hotels. So, this is about five-star weddings - that is the conclusion of the person responsible for the realization of the whole story, Velka Šuran. She is the owner of the company Weddings in Istria by LF and LF catering, a kind of brand in the organization of events and weddings, and the person who is behind this fantastic worldwide media success.

The Glas Istre journalists caught her for a chat with her American colleague and business partner Erica Jones, an interior designer for weddings and the best florist for Indian weddings who arrived to Pula from Boston. They are already making arrangements and preparing for another luxurious wedding that will take place this year, to be held in spring at the Pula Castello. She also took part in the realization of the Indian wedding, as did Pervez Taufiq, a famous American musician and the owner of a luxury wedding recording company who is also responsible for the editorial in the Pula Arena that ended up on the cover. Harper's Bazaar devoted several pages to Velka and Pervez.

Just as big events use big machinery in the Arena, so do preparations for a big wedding. Global production - the models were the Indian celebrity couple Monica Vaswani and Anthony Gomez. In addition to the famous wedding photographer Pervez Taufiq, his team also includes Joy Strotz, who publishes in Glamour and Vogue, among others. There was also the American Denise Lillie O'Neal, a wedding planner for Indian weddings. Local forces were also involved in the project - such as BelIstria, Florami, Tea Makeup, flower shop Leona. The tourism boards of Istria and the city of Pula, as well as the Cluster of Southern Istria, participated in the implementation of the project. In addition to Pula, the shooting took place in Motovun, Rovinj and Brijuni.

The serious story about Istria as a wedding destination, however, began with the visits to the DWP Destination wedding planners congress. In 2016, in Florence, Velka came into contact with the world's wedding organizers and received valuable information on how to create a destination for weddings. She began to apply her knowledge in Istria, and in 2021, at the DWP congress in Rhodes, Greece, representing Istria, she captured American wedding planners who recognized Istria as a new "hot spot", i.e. a new destination for weddings. It was a significant moment, because until then the wedding industry in Croatia had taken off seriously only in Dubrovnik, where spectacular weddings of world celebrities were organized, as well as a number of "normal" weddings of foreign tourists, especially Irish and British.

Her goal, just as it was then, is to develop this highly valuable tourist product and bring Croatia and Istria closer to wedding organizers from all over the world.

"My goal was to connect a colleague from Istria with the wedding industry from around the world. With our offer in Istria or Croatia, we do not deviate much from the rest of the world, and in terms of equipment and services, we are close to the trends. At the same time, we also have advantages, which is that we are still an undiscovered destination, kind of exotic. When I showed them the Arena and told them what I would like to do", they were delighted, she recalls.

"Secretly, since we started this project, we aimed for the pictures to appear on the cover, because when Taufiq saw the location, he freaked out and said that it would end up in a big newspaper, and he knows what he's doing," she said, revealing that Taufiq is a kind of rock star who has in a short time become the best videographer of Indian weddings, with Netflix filming a documentary about him.

With this move, Istria is opening the door to a new clientele with high paying power that we have not had the opportunity to see here so far. This means that weddings are becoming an important economic segment in Istria. No, the story doesn't stop there. A DWP (Destination wedding planner) congress is also in the works, which would bring 300-500 of the best from the world of weddings to Istria. Bride Looks, which gathers designers and wedding planners around the world, is also interested and could bring wealthy clients.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

Overwhelmed by the lumbering apparatus that is your wedding?

Here are a few pointers from a guy who hosted a sorta-big wedding on a small island.

[Or: how my now-wife and I tried to simplify the most important day of Our Lives.]

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that Chops Grill is one of my favorite restaurants in Split. I frequent it more than any other eatery in the city and it’s the first that comes to mind when someone asks, “Where should we go for food?” They were the first to specialize in steak in a city where locals prefer lamb on the spit or veal 'under peka' and tourists search for fresh seafood from the Adriatic, but they’ve succeeded in satisfying both with their diverse (and delicious!) steak and seafood offer. I have nothing but good things to say, but one thing I never thought I’d be saying is that besides being a fabulous spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner it’s also the perfect place for a wedding! Although no stranger to hosting celebrations or events for large groups, until this year weddings were still uncharted territory for the innovative establishment. That is until someone made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. 

After getting engaged in Split last May, Londoners Tracy and James celebrated their relationship milestone moments later at Chops Grill where they were treated to champagne for the special occasion. They spent almost every night of their trip there and became fast friends with the owners and Split hospitality power couple Jasmina Garbin and Igor Kruscic. On their last night in Croatia, they knew they wanted to come back and not just for another visit, but for their special day and with their closest family and friends at their favorite restaurant in Split so they asked if it was possible. Always up for a challenge and not about to disappoint their new friends Chops Grill happily accepted and Jasmina added destination wedding planner to her long list of special talents and skills aiding with the organization of the event from photographer to daily excursions. The London based couple returned to Split once more to finalize details and everything else was arranged via email before the big day this May.

The restaurant proved to be an ideal venue for small to medium size weddings. The head table seated the bride and groom along with their parents under the gazebo, which faces the main restaurant hall that sat the remaining 50 guests. High bar tables were placed at the entrance of the restaurant for the cocktail hour while the dance floor, cake table, bar with bartender, DJ with AV equipment and lighting were all set up at the back of the restaurant. Dancing lasted until 23:30 when those not too partied out strolled next door to their sister bar Paradiso where the upstairs private section, which fits 30-40 people, was set up for the after party. The extensive food menu left no tastes unturned and included various appetizers, a choice of meat or seafood entrees with several options of sides, as well as two types of salads and three types of sauces. They offered 4 choices of desserts along with the wedding cheesecake and on top of that an after hour snack of cheeses. 

Aside from picking the perfect venue, one of the most stressful factors in planning a wedding is weather, but even more so if the venue chosen isn’t fully enclosed. But not so with Chops, as the new upgrade of the movable glass walls this year allows them to operate in all types of weather and transform the restaurant in just minutes from completely open, including a retractable roof, to fully enclosed. That means anxious brides need not frantically check the forecast or have a plan B in place as Chops can adapt at a moments notice for Split’s sporadic summer storms or for the winter "bura" winds.     

Tracy and James were extremely satisfied and their parents were equally impressed even saying several times that they want their other children’s weddings hosted by Chops. In their own words…“Last dinner in Split at our favourite restaurant with the most welcoming friendly staff, they helped make our wedding so special and amazing, we will be eternally grateful!!”…“Absolutely fantastic restaurant. Chops Grill recently hosted our sons wedding reception. The food was amazing and the staff could not do enough for us. Would highly recommend it. Thank you Jasmina and everyone concerned. Your hospitality and attention to detail was just perfect!”

So if you’re looking for a location in Split for a small to medium size wedding, destination or not, or any other type of event I would definitely recommend you check out Chops Grill. You can contact Jasmina directly with any questions or inquiries at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via their Facebook page.