Molim vas, recite mi je li vjenčanje u lipnju ili u srpnju.

Here, Molim vas means please.

Literally:

• molim = I ask / I beg
• vas = you (formal singular or plural)

So the phrase is a polite way to introduce a request.

It also shows why the form is vas, not vi: the verb moliti takes an object, so Croatian uses the object form vas.

Yes, this is formal or polite.

You can see that from:

• vas = formal you
• recite = plural/formal imperative

If you were speaking to one friend, you would normally say:

Molim te, reci mi je li vjenčanje u lipnju ili u srpnju.

So:

• vas → te
• recite → reci

Recite is the imperative form of reći (to say / to tell) in the 2nd person plural.

Croatian uses this same plural form for:

• talking to more than one person, and
• talking politely to one person

So recite mi means tell me.

A useful comparison:

• reci! = tell! (to one person, informal)
• recite! = tell! (to several people, or to one person formally)

Mi means to me.

It is the short unstressed dative form of ja (I), so:

• recite mi = tell me

This short form is very common in Croatian. The full form meni is possible, but it usually adds emphasis or contrast.

Here je li introduces a yes/no question inside a larger sentence, so it means something like whether or if.

So:

recite mi je li vjenčanje u lipnju ili u srpnju

means:

tell me whether the wedding is in June or in July

Literally:

• je = is
• li = a question particle

You will often hear da li in everyday speech, and it is widely understood.

However, many teachers and style guides prefer je li in careful standard Croatian. In this sentence, je li is a very natural and standard choice.

So:

• je li vjenčanje... = standard and natural
• da li je vjenčanje... = common in speech, but often considered less elegant in formal standard language

Croatian word order is flexible, but short unstressed words like mi often appear near the beginning of the clause, usually in second position.

In the main clause here:

• recite = first main word
• mi = short clitic, so it comes right after
• je li vjenčanje... = the embedded question

So recite mi je li... is the normal neutral order.

Vjenčanje means wedding, especially the wedding event or ceremony.

Croatian does not have articles, so there is no separate word for a or the. Because of that, vjenčanje can mean:

• a wedding
• the wedding

The context tells you which one English needs. In this sentence, English naturally uses the wedding.

If you mean marriage as a state, Croatian usually uses brak, not vjenčanje.

Because after u meaning in / during a month, Croatian uses the locative case.

The basic dictionary forms are:

• lipanj = June
• srpanj = July

But after u, they become:

• u lipnju
• u srpnju

So these are locative singular forms. Month names ending in -anj commonly change to -nju in this case.

In Croatian, month names are normally written with lowercase letters.

So you write:

• lipanj
• srpanj
• kolovoz
• prosinac

This is different from English, where month names are capitalized.

Not always. Croatian can sometimes omit the second preposition, so u lipnju ili srpnju can be understood.

But repeating it is very common and often sounds clearer and more balanced:

u lipnju ili u srpnju

So in this sentence, repeating u is completely natural.

A rough pronunciation guide for English speakers:

• vjenčanje ≈ vyen-CHAN-ye
• lipnju ≈ LEEP-nyoo
• srpnju ≈ SRP-nyoo

Useful sound notes:

• č sounds like ch in church
• j sounds like y in yes
• nj sounds like ny in canyon

The hardest one is srpnju. Croatian r can act almost like a vowel, so there is no full vowel between s and r. English speakers often insert a tiny extra sound, but Croatian pronounces it more tightly.