Today’s real wedding story is another example of why you shouldn’t let bad weather get you down on your wedding day. Emma & Adam travelled all the way from the USA to Austria to get married, and on the day of their wedding in Austria, the grey clouds rolled in and it rained on and off all day. But they didn’t care one bit. They embraced it and had the most awesome day ever.
A Rainy Mountain Hut Wedding In Austria
Adam: We met during our sophomore year in high school during band class. After flirting for a solid year, we started officially dating junior year of high school. We had been together exactly nine years (to the day!) when we eloped in Austria. Currently, Emma’s a doctoral student in Neuroscience and I build and maintain robotic systems in factories. We currently reside in Michigan with our pet box turtle Luka and hope to have several furry friends in the future.
Adam: It was April 1st 2018 (April Fool’s day AND Easter Sunday) and we went out for a drive in our 51′ Ford pickup that I had restored, which is the kind of thing we’ve done since high school. During our scenic drive, I pulled the truck over and suggested we take some pictures of the truck in a very picturesque spot. It was an overlook to the surrounding valleys. While taking a picture together, I threw a plastic Easter egg behind Emma’s back and pointed it out to her. Although hesitant to open a strange egg in the middle of nowhere, I convinced her to do so, and inside she found an old tarnished ring. She asked me what it was for (still not getting it) and I asked “Why would one adult give another adult a ring?” and she asked “Are you proposing?” And I said “Nope, that’s an April Fools joke!” Once she was sufficiently confused, I said “Now this is the real thing.” while getting down on one knee and pulling out the actual ring. She was surprised, cried, and (of course) said yes.
Emma: We tried planning a traditional wedding in the United States but soon realized it wasn’t what either of us wanted. It was going to be super expensive and we grew tired of planning of wedding for everyone else. All we wanted was to get married in a beautiful location, eat awesome food, and be together. This led us to look at eloping in Europe. We found an amazing wedding planner by the name Nadia Wood and she found several beautiful venues across Austria. However, we loved that the Rösslalm was nestled in the mountains and offered a view more beautiful than anything we had ever seen before.
Emma: We both wanted to have a wedding with decor that reflected the venue and the surrounding region. This led us to go with an alpine chic vibe with lots of flowers and candles.
Emma: We both agree that our favorite detail of the day was getting to escape the wedding itself and spend time alone taking photos in a nearby reservoir. It was so nice to have some intimacy following the ceremony. We also had a ton of fun exploring the reservoir with our AWESOME photographer Cat and the nearby cows. Other than that, it is very difficult to select an absolute favorite detail because the whole day was better than we could have imagined.
Emma: There was only one DIY project and that was my wedding shoes. I’m not much of a high heels person and it was really important to me that I be comfortable and able to walk/stand a lot on our wedding day. However, I still wanted a little sparkle to match my wedding dress. My Maid of Honor Gabby and I bought some white Keds and glittered them at home, followed by adding big blush shoelaces. Each finished par of shoes was probably only $15!
Favourite moment / memory from the day?
Adam: Emma and I chose to have the first time I see her in her dress be during the ceremony. I would argue that seeing her round the corner during the ceremony was my favorite moment. I got puddly when I saw her and it’s a feeling I’ll always remember. Emma: My favorite moment was when we were exchanging vows by the reservoir. Even though we’d been together for nine years, it was such a special, intimate time and somehow we both exchanged words and feelings more powerful than we had before.
Emma: During our photos by the reservoir, we had a very friendly and inquisitive cow come up to us. He was very interested in chomping on my bouquet and followed us for quite some time. He was a nice touch to several of our photos. 🙂 Also, it was sprinkling on the day of the wedding and was a bit on the chilly side. Everyone was worried I would be too cold and finally Adam called Gabby (my MOH) and asked if I was worried about the weather. I said “I don’t care about the weather, I just want to get married.” I was out in the cold rain in a strapless dress for close to four hours before I even felt the cold because I was so entranced by this day.
Emma: I found my dress from Mia Grace Bridal in Chesterfield, Missouri. I had looked at three bridal shops (and a few dresses at each) before coming to this dress. I actually tried on this dress as a joke because it wasn’t anything I would have ever picked. I thought the train was too poofy (borderline obnoxious) and the dress was SO sparkly. But the moment I tried it on, I got tears in my eyes and I knew this was the dress for me. I LOVED It. It was a strapless mermaid-style dress with a sweetheart neckline covered in sparkle. I would wear it every day if I could.
Nadia found all of our vendors 🙂
We both agree that we don’t have any regrets, other than that we wish we had eaten more of our AMAZING wedding cake. For real, it was the best cake of our lives. We’re going to come back for that same cake on a future anniversary. Anyway, we are both really happy that we eloped and this is the primary reason that we don’t have any regrets. Also, we are both really glad that we factored in time to take photos away from everyone else during our wedding day right after the ceremony because it allowed us to spend some time away from everyone else simply enjoying the day.
Adam: Get a really awesome wedding planner (Amulet Events with Nadia Wood is AMAZING) because it makes everything a hell of a lot easier and way less stressful. Emma: Think about what is important to you on your wedding day rather than what is important to everyone else. Everyone will have an opinion but it is your day as a couple and it’s important that you can not only have the day both of you envision, but also a day you can both enjoy. We didn’t want to spend our day worrying about guests or thanking everyone for coming. We wanted a day that was about us and the love we share for each other. Adam: In other words, it’s okay to be “selfish” and elope.
Credits
Photography - Wild Connections Photography
Wedding Planner - Amulet Events
Venue - Rössl Alm
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