TEA & MIRKO DOZAN A Sicilian Wedding In Zagreb

A Sicilian Weddingin ZagrebSicilijansko vjenčanje u Zagrebu

Their love story might seem like something out of a movie, but Tea and Mirko have proven that real love conquers all and knows no boundaries. In their case, this was literally true. Faced with a challenging situation, they found a solution together – and love prevailed.

Možda njihova ljubavna priča podsjeća na filmsku, ali Tea i Mirko su dokazali da prava ljubav prelazi preko svih prepreka i ne poznaje granice. U njihovom slučaju to je zaista bilo tako. Suočeni s izazovnom situacijom, zajedno su pronašli rješenje i – ljubav je pobijedila.

Author: SANDRA OSREČKI Photo: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WEDDINGS BY VURI MATIJA

Tea Dozan, the owner of a beauty salon in Zagreb, and Mirko Dozan, a plastic surgery specialist at the University Hospital in Munich, met in Zagreb through mutual friends, and they immediately clicked. They soon started spending time together, alternating between Zagreb and Munich; however, the pandemic came between them. The borders closed, travel was impossible, and the young couple had to be creative and find ways to sustain their brand-new relationship. In order to keep it going, they resorted to long telephone conversations, WhatsApp messages and video calls, etc. Tea Dozan, vlasnica kozmetičkog salona u Zagrebu, i Mirko Dozan, specijalist plastične kirurgije u Sveučilišnoj bolnici u Münchenu, upoznali su se preko zajedničkih prijatelja u Zagrebu i na prvi pogled su kliknuli. Ubrzo su se počeli družiti na relaciji Zagreb – München, međutim, na putu im se ispriječila pandemija. Granice su se zatvorile, putovanja nisu bila moguća te je mladi par morao postati kreativan i pronaći načine kako održati vezu koja je tek započela. Da ne bi završila, održavali su je najprije dugim telefonskim razgovorima, porukama i videopozivima preko WhatsAppa i sl.

“It was difficult and challenging. We missed out on everything that “normal” couples go through at the beginning of a relationship: going to the cinema, taking walks, having coffee together, hanging out. We were robbed of that. We took virtual walks through Zagreb and Munich with the help of our phones, sightseeing on videocall. We cooked together using our phones, and we also used WhatsApp to watch movies together. It was strange, funny, interesting. We had four-, fivehour phone calls every day. After three whole months of socialising virtually, we managed to see each other in person, but literally only for 24 hours”, Mirko tells their love story. After the first wave of the pandemic was over and the measures were somewhat relaxed, Mirko started coming to Zagreb more often. This was soon followed by their first seaside vacations together. Although Mirko’s plan was to ask Tea to marry him on the Walls of Dubrovnik, it fell through, and he proposed to her spontaneously in a hotel room on the island of Korčula.

“A week after our engagement, while driving from Split to Zagreb, we called the Esplanade Hotel and planned our wedding”, says Mirko. “Both of us had always wanted a wedding at the Esplanade, that much was clear”, adds Tea. “The Esplanade is the most elegant and the most luxurious venue for a beautiful traditional wedding in Zagreb, maybe even in Croatia. Everything we wanted and imagined, we got it all at the Esplanade”, Tea and Mirko agree.

Mirko and Tea told us about their wedding. “There were 160 guests, and everything was organised and held in line with epidemiological measures. The staff of the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel made sure we lacked nothing and felt none of the restrictions. The organisation of the wedding went smoothly, it was stress„Bilo je teško i izazovno. Propustili smo sve ono što u početku veze prolaze „normalni“ parovi: kina, šetnje, zajedničke kave, druženja. Nama je to bilo uskraćeno. Mi smo se šetali virtualno, uz pomoć telefona kroz Zagreb i München, razgledavali grad putem videopoziva. Zajedno smo i kuhali uz pomoć mobitela, a preko WhatsAppa smo zajedno gledali i filmove. Bilo je čudno, smiješno, zanimljivo. Svaki dan smo vodili telefonske razgovore četiri, pet sati. Nakon puna tri mjeseca virtualnog druženja, uspjeli smo se vidjeti i uživo, ali doslovce na 24 sata“, priča Mirko njihovu ljubavnu priču. Nakon što je prvi val pandemije završio i mjere malo popustile, Mirko je počeo češće dolaziti u Zagreb. Ubrzo su krenuli i na prvi zajednički godišnji odmor na more. Iako je Mirko planirao zaprositi Teu u Dubrovniku na zidinama, plan se izjalovio i Teu je spontano zaprosio u hotelskoj sobi na Korčuli.

„Tjedan dana nakon zaruka nazvali smo hotel Esplanade i isplanirali svadbu, i to vozeći se u autu na putu iz Splita u Zagreb“, kaže Mirko. „Oboje smo oduvijek htjeli vjenčanje u Esplanadi, to uopće nije bilo upitno“, dodaje Tea. „Esplanada je najelegantnije i najluksuznije mjesto u Zagrebu, čak i u Hrvatskoj, za održavanje predivnog tradicionalnog vjenčanja. Sve što smo željeli i zamislili, dobili smo u Esplanadi“, slažu se Tea i Mirko.

Mirko i Tea su nam ispričali kako je izgledala njihova svadba. „Bilo je 160 uzvanika i sve je bilo organizirano i održano prema epidemiološkim mjerama. Osoblje Hotela Esplanade Zagreb se pobrinulo da nam ništa ne nedostaje i da ne osjetimo ograničenja vezana uz mjere. Organizacija svadbe je prošla glatko, bez stresa. Imali smo probnu večeru na kojoj smo birali jelovnik koji je bio iznad očekivanja. Svad-

"A week after our engagement, while driving from Split to Zagreb, we called the Esplanade Hotel and planned our wedding”, says Mirko

"Tjedan dana nakon zaruka nazvali smo hotel Esplanade i isplanirali svadbu, i to vozeći se u autu na putu iz Splita u Zagreb“, kaže Mirko.

free. We had a rehearsal dinner where we chose the menu, which surpassed our expectations. Our starters were prosciutto and cheese, along with octopus salad. The warm starters were Esplanade’s legendary štrukli, followed by fuži pasta with truffles. Two types of meat dishes were served as the main course. Later, small sweet and savoury bites were served buffet-style. Everything was perfect, from beginning to end. The décor was inspired by Dolce & Gabbana, envisaged as a Sicilian wedding in pink-red tones, with grapes as decoration. We had a fantastic time, and the tamburica players who accompanied us from home to the Esplanade Hotel made the atmosphere even better. Later on, Petar Grašo was in charge of the atmosphere and the first dance, and the Paganini Bend entertained us until morning. The highlight of the wedding was when we entered the hall to the music from the movie the Godfather. We were accompanied by the Paganini Bend on brass instruments, and that was a really special experience”.

Their stay at the hotel and the rich, luxurious breakfast on the morning after the wedding is another lovely memory. Everything was perfectly organised down to the smallest details, allowing them to have a truly stress-free wedding.

“We both love the Esplanade Hotel, and we will definitely celebrate our wedding anniversaries here, maybe even our children’s baptisms and their birthdays, when the time comes”, Tea and Mirko conclude telling us their love story with a smile. bena večera započela je kanapeima na Oleandar terasi. Za predjelo smo imali pršut i sir te salatu od hobotnice. Za toplo predjelo servirani su legendarni Esplanadini štrukli, zatim fuži s tartufima. Za glavno jelo poslužene su dvije vrste mesnih jela. Kasnije su posluženi i sitni slatki i slani zalogaji na buffetu. Sve je bilo savršeno od početka do kraja. Što se uređenja tiče, sve je bilo u stilu Dolce & Gabbane, zamišljeno kao sicilijansko vjenčanje u ružičasto-crvenim tonovima, ukrašeno grožđem. Odlično smo se zabavili, a za dobru atmosferu pobrinuli su se i tamburaši koji su nas pratili od kuće do hotela Esplanade. Kasnije se za ugođaj i prvi ples pobrinuo Petar Grašo, a do jutra nas je pratio Paganini band. Highlight vjenčanja je bio naš ulazak u dvoranu uz muziku iz filma „Kum“. Pratio nas je Paganini band na puhaćim instrumentima i to je zaista bio poseban doživljaj“.

U lijepom sjećanju im je ostalo i noćenje u hotelu te bogat, raskošan doručak ujutro nakon svadbe. Sve je bilo organizirano savršeno do detalja, pa su imali zaista stress free vjenčanje.

„Oboje obožavamo hotel Esplanade te ćemo zasigurno ovdje obilježiti i godišnjice braka, možda i krštenje djece i njihove rođendane kad za to dođe vrijeme“, sa smiješkom završavaju svoju filmsku ljubavnu priču Tea i Mirko.

Their stay at the hotel and the rich, luxurious breakfast on the morning after the wedding is another lovely memory.

U lijepom sjećanju im je ostalo i noćenje u hotelu te bogat, raskošan doručak ujutro nakon svadbe