The INSIDER Summary:
- Tash Pericic met Mirko while working as a tour guide on a pirate ship in Croatia.
- She went back to Australia for eight months, but couldn't get him out of her head.
- When she returned to Croatia to see him, they decided to get married.
- Her father flew in to surprise her on the big day.
Tash Pericic used to ask every couple she met how they knew they were right for each other. The answer was always the same: "We just knew."
"That was the most frustrating answer in the world," she told INSIDER, "but it's kind of true!"
Pericic found out for herself when she met Mirko, the captain of a pirate ship in Croatia where she spent time working as a tour guide. Even after eight months apart, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one.
But how did the New Zealand native end up in Croatia in the first place?
After a series of intense jobs, Pericic needed a change.
She'd moved to London from New Zealand to travel around Europe, but ended up working as the assistant manager at Maze, Gordon Ramsay's London restaurant (you can read more about what it was like to work for him here). After a year there, and a brief stint in the catering department of Goldman Sachs, she quit and started to look for ways to earn a living while traveling.
She decided to work as a tour guide on sailboats in Croatia.
Some of Pericic's friends had gone sailing in Croatia, and she'd heard it was beautiful, but that's pretty much all she knew.
"I didn't even know where it was on the map," she said. "I couldn't have told you anything about Croatia."
She had no idea what to expect, but she loved guiding groups and sailing out on the open waters.
"I instantly fell in love with the place," she said.
Croatia isn't the only thing she fell in love with.
In the last week of the season, she was transferred to a pirate ship led by a Croatian captain named Mirko — a reserved, humble man with bright green eyes that drew her in.
"When I first saw Mirko, something 'sparked' inside of me, but I didn't recognize it and definitely didn't want to follow it," she said.
They didn't get together right away, but when she came back for another season after six months as a nanny in Florence, Italy, they became a couple. When that season ended, they spent five weeks vacationing together until Pericic overstayed her visa and had to return home.
She kept in touch with Mirko, but tried to push thoughts of him away.
She went to Australia to visit family and got another job as a restaurant manager. Mirko stayed in Croatia.
"I kept trying to tell myself it was just a summer romance, it was just a fling, it's not serious, what on Earth would I do in Croatia," she said. "But after eight months, he was still on my mind."
Finally, she booked a one-way ticket to see him.
Pericic felt a bit awkward when she first arrived, but they quickly fell into their old rhythm.
"I got here, and I'm not going to say it was perfect, but something in me just felt comfortable and at home," she said "It just felt right."
Within three months of her return to Croatia, they started to think about getting married.
They Skyped Pericic's father and Mirko asked for her hand in marriage. Her dad's reply: "As long as she's happy, I'm happy."
As her visa approached its end, they decided to go for it. The town hall had an opening two days before it was set to expire, giving them five days to put together a small celebration.
"It was very emotional," she said. "I knew it was the right thing to do, but at the same time I knew it was going to be really hard to get married not having any of my family or friends around."
The Friday before the wedding, Mirko was acting strange. He'd just gotten off a yacht and kept telling her, "You just need to turn around." She had no idea what he was talking about. Then she turned around and saw her father standing there.
Pericic's father had flown in from Australia to surprise her.
"Apart from getting married, [that was] one of the most special moments of my life," she said. "I grew up with my father, my mother left when I was young, so he's the most important person in my life. To have him there really did feel like my wedding day. I don't know how I could have done it without him."
Their wedding was simple, but "absolutely perfect."
Pericic wore a yellow sundress. A friend styled her hair. They got married in town hall and went out to lunch with their families at a small restaurant on the river.
Adjusting to life in Croatia was difficult, but she said it made her stronger.
Pericic didn't speak the language, have a job, or know anyone else when she moved there, but she used it as an opportunity to grow.
"I've spent my life being around other people and traveling and I'd never had an issue making friends, but when you realize that you're living in a foreign country and it's more permanent than traveling, it really hits home," she said. "With nobody to define you — no job, no title, no friends, no family — you kind of have to define yourself again."
Mirko also helped her find her footing.
"He stayed by my side and only continued to show me love, even when I didn't love myself," she said.
She and Mirko will celebrate their third anniversary in August.
Pericic is also launching a website called Total Croatia Sailing to help other people experience the adventures she's had at sea.
"I've woven a life for myself by following my heart, and every step has inevitably led to the next step," she said. "Everything I've chosen, everything I followed my heart to do, somehow led me to exactly where I wanted to be."
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