Utopia Forest is a small boutique resort in a forest by the beach. The wedding ceremony and reception will take place on hotel property, so people can easily stumble back to their rooms at 5am. The entire hotel is blocked off for wedding guests Friday and Saturday, so you won't be able to book directly for those days. Once you RSVP, we will do our best to sort out sleeping arrangements for everyone at the venue for Friday and Saturday. The hotel formally has capacity for ~70 people, but that includes some 4-person rooms. To the extent we use those larger rooms for 2 people only, that brings down the capacity to ~60 people. (They are building new rooms, but there is no guarantee they will be ready in time.) So, there's a chance people who confirm later than others may have to stay at another nearby hotel instead -- which is totally fine and not the end of the world as there are plenty of options very close by! Also, while Bulgarian hospitality technology evolves, you will likely need to pay for your Friday and Saturday night stay in cash (though we can of course always figure out a Venmo situation or something for our American friends). If you would like to arrive early or stay longer at the venue, please go ahead and book those nights directly on the hotel website or booking.com. If this is confusing, text Lyuba with questions!
You can take a taxi from the airport or pre-arrange a pick-up. It's a 20- or 30-minute car ride.
Sofia is on the west side of Bulgaria; the venue is at the seaside, aka the east side of Bulgaria (lots of rap songs about that west side/east coast rivalry). Sofia is about 3.5 hours away by car. Most of the drive is on a highway that connects Sofia and Burgas, and then you'll continue a little further south to the venue. It's not a hard drive, but there aren't a ton of automatic cars available to rent, so we'll try to match foreigners with local guests or other foreigners who are driving from Sofia as much as we can.
That depends on how long you plan to stay! At the seaside (where we're getting married), people mostly go to the beach, day drink, night drink, club, tan. The night life is *popping*. It's where Bulgarians go every summer to party. If you're spending a night or two in Sofia, get in touch for hotel recommendations. Sofia is generally bustling in early summer, with the sidewalk cafes full of people into the late hours of the evening. There are a number of clubs and some nice restaurants if that's your speed. If you like nature, Bulgaria's got you covered -- hit me up if you have a couple of days to spare and want to see some cool shit. There are insane mountains, glacial lakes, weird geological formations. If you like history, there are some cool ruins in Sofia and a few different ancient towns on the coast (google "ancient Nessebar," which is 3000 years old and a Unesco heritage site).
Yeah, dude, it's the European Union. Google tells me 12+ million tourists visit Bulgaria annually, so you'll be fine too. You can get along speaking only English, especially in Sofia and at the seaside. I would definitely keep more cash on hand than you typically would in your daily life though, because there are still places that don't take (or don't like to take) credit cards.
Not if you're American. If you only have a passport from another country and the internet says you might need a visa, get in touch with Lyuba and she'll help you navigate. You're generally fine if your passport allows you to travel anywhere else in the European Union.
The dress code for the wedding day is forest formal, so wear your forest fairy finest. The welcome drinks on Friday night will be at a beach bar/club close-ish to the venue, so we encourage you to bust out your best kaftan. But really -- whatever makes you feel beachy and fabulous.