Which venues in Montenegro work for a multi-day Indian wedding?

The best venues for an Indian wedding of 100–200 guests in Montenegro are the large hotels on the Bay of Kotor: Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay, One&Only Portonovi and Regent Porto Montenegro. Each has a ballroom or an open-air space for 300 guests or more, while a villa or a waterside restaurant is a lovely choice for the welcome party or the mehndi.

This guide is all about venues: which hall or open-air space suits each event, how many rooms there are for guests and which rules to check in advance. For the budget, visas for your family and registering the marriage, see our article on an Indian wedding in Montenegro. Every type of venue, with its pros and cons, is covered in our guide to wedding venues in Montenegro.

Which hotels in Montenegro can host an Indian wedding for 200 guests or more?

Montenegro hotels that can host an Indian wedding for 200 guests or more are Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay (a ballroom for up to 350), One&Only Portonovi (open-air venues: Adriatic Garden for up to 600 and Boka Garden for up to 300), Mamula Island (the Pool Deck for up to 350) and Regent Porto Montenegro (the Summer Garden for up to 300).

The chart only shows each venue’s largest space. But an Indian wedding has several events, and your guests need somewhere to sleep. So for every hotel we’ve noted where it is, which ballrooms and open-air spaces it has, and how many rooms it offers your guests.

Where can you hold a single event: a villa, a restaurant or a fortress?

A villa, a waterside restaurant or an old fortress suits a single event, like a welcome party, a mehndi or a ceremony for your closest family. They’re in different parts of Montenegro: on the Bay of Kotor, above Sutomore and in Budva. Villas set their own rules on food and music, so check them before you book.

Can you hold the welcome party and the mehndi at a villa?

You can hold a welcome party or a mehndi at a villa in Montenegro, and for these events a villa is often easier than a hotel: the evening feels intimate, and everyone around is family and friends. The main thing is to find out early who will cook and how late music can play. For how a villa compares with a hotel, see our guide to choosing a wedding villa in Montenegro.

Eagle Eye, the villa above Kotor, holds up to 100 guests. Food is brought in by an outside caterer, which suits an Indian menu: there’s an experienced Indian caterer in Montenegro, and your planner will help you make the arrangements. Tables, chairs and tableware are hired as well.

Talići Hill above Sutomore takes up to 300 guests, so it works for a mehndi and a big reception alike. Only the villa’s own kitchen cooks here, and outside caterers aren’t allowed. Music in the garden plays until midnight, and then the party moves indoors.

Adriatica in Kamenari is a restaurant right on the water. The lower terrace easily seats 100 guests and still leaves room for dancing, while the upper terrace suits a group of up to 50. Guests arrive by car or by sea, and you can hold the ceremony right on the pier, with the sea and the mountains behind you.

Where should you hold the sangeet, the ceremony and the main reception?

The sangeet, the ceremony and the main reception for 100–200 guests are easiest at a large hotel: there are outdoor spaces for the ceremony, halls with room for a dance floor and rooms for your guests. A sangeet goes on late into the night with plenty of dancing, so before you book, ask how late music can play at the venue.

Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay

Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay in Stoliv works well because its 350-guest ballroom splits in two. You can use the whole room for the main reception, or just half of it for a smaller evening event. And if you buy out the whole hotel, every event and every guest stays in one place.

Regent Porto Montenegro

For a Regent Porto Montenegro wedding, the main reception can take place in the Summer Garden, which holds 300 guests and sits apart from the hotel building. For the sangeet, there’s a marquee in neighbouring Marina Park with room for 200 guests at tables. The Teodo Ballroom inside the hotel officially holds 140, but add a dance floor and it feels cramped for a wedding like this. For the ceremony, the marina rents out the Jetty 2 pier right in front of the hotel.

One&Only Portonovi

At One&Only Portonovi, the biggest events go to the open-air Adriatic Garden, which seats 600 at tables. Next to it is Boka Garden, with a sea view and room for up to 300 at round tables. There are also restaurants for 200–350 and the Arena Ballroom for 120, so the welcome dinner, the sangeet and the wedding can each have their own space. The resort itself offers 123 rooms, suites, villas and private homes, and some guests can stay next door, in the apartments and villas of the Portonovi complex.

Mamula Island

Mamula Island, at the mouth of the Bay of Kotor, is booked exclusively for a wedding, and the buyout includes all 32 rooms and suites and the boat transfers. The main reception is on the Pool Deck beside the pools, with up to 350 guests at round tables, or up to 400 if the pool is covered. For an aperitif or a welcome party, there’s the Helipad, with 150 guests at tables. You can only reach the island by sea, and the boat from Mirište takes about 5 minutes. A wedding on the island usually runs over four days, which is just right for an Indian celebration with several events. The rest of your guests stay on the mainland, and your planner finds accommodation for them.

Budva Citadel

Budva Citadel, in the Old Town, holds 100–150 guests. For a wedding of 200 it’s on the small side, but for a ceremony or a smaller reception among the old fortress walls it works beautifully. The fortress closes to tourists for the wedding, so there are no strangers at your celebration.

Should you use one venue for every day, or several?

You don’t need one venue for every day: it’s easiest to keep each day’s events in one place, while different days can be at different venues. That way nobody has to be bussed to another venue in the middle of the party. The evening where the two families meet can be at a villa, and the sangeet and the wedding the next day at a hotel by the sea.

The more guests you have, the more a hotel with plenty of rooms helps. Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay offers up to 252 with a buyout, Regent Porto Montenegro has 175, and the new Mövenpick in Risan has 85 rooms. And when your venues are spread along the coast, someone has to plan transfers, overnight stays and travel time for each day. That’s exactly what a planner is for.

Would you like your wedding mapped out by day and by venue? Write to us, and we’ll put you in touch with a planner we trust. They’ll draw up the schedule: which event happens where, how guests get there and where they sleep. They’ll also request dates from the venues and prepare a quote for the whole wedding. And we’ll photograph and film every day of it.

What should you ask a venue before you book?

Before you pay a deposit, find out whether the venue is free for several days in a row, whether outside catering is allowed, how late music can play, what happens if it rains and how many rooms there are. Here’s why each point matters for an Indian wedding:

1. Is it free for several days in a row? For a celebration with three or four events, a venue is booked for at least two days.
2. Is outside catering allowed? If only the venue’s own kitchen cooks, as at Talići Hill, you can’t bring in an Indian caterer.
3. How late can music play? For a sangeet this is the big one: some venues switch off outdoor music at midnight, and the party moves inside.
4. What happens if it rains? Outdoor events need a backup hall or a marquee.
5. How many rooms are there, and is there a minimum stay? In high season, some villas are only let for several nights in a row.

Usually your planner asks the venues all of these questions. To find a good one, have a look at our guide on how to choose a wedding planner in Montenegro.

How do you photograph an Indian wedding that moves between venues?

We photograph a multi-day Indian wedding that moves between venues in an artistic reportage style, following you from one venue to the next. One day it’s the mehndi in a garden, the next it’s the sangeet in a ballroom, and wherever you are, we make sure not to miss the henna on your hands, your grandmothers’ faces and the photo of the whole family. There are two of us, photo and video, so the important moments aren’t lost even when everything happens at once.

You won’t need to pose: we work with no ostentatious staging, but with humour and meaning, and all you need to do is relax and be yourselves. The film keeps the real sound of the celebration: your vows, the sangeet music, your family’s voices. Take a look at our weddings in Montenegro and tell us your dates, and we’ll let you know if we’re free.

Frequently asked questions

Choosing venues for an Indian wedding is easier once you know which event happens where and where your guests will stay. Looking for a wedding photographer in Montenegro who’ll keep going through every day of the celebration and never tire of the dancing? That’s us: we’re Mariia Sosnina and Vasilii Khmelev, we photograph and film weddings, and we’d be glad to follow you to every venue.

Already picturing where each day will happen? Tell us about your events and dates, and we’ll recommend a trusted local planner, who will request dates from the venues and prepare a quote.