Today, Wednesday 29th May 2019, you can join me for a story reading I am doing at the Facultas of the Altes AKH in Vienna. My short story Tick, Tock, Tock has been published as part of the Universe Vienna Writing Society's annual anthology with the theme "Momentum". 

I was chosen, among seven further authors, to read at tonight's opening and release event, and I've been told there will be food and drinks and witty people as well, so why not drop by. As a little palate-teaser, my story circles around two friends with a dark secret who fear belated consequences and think back to "that night" when it happened...come to find out what it's all about. 

​You can also purchase the book at the event (with a signature if you want) or order it online (I will give you the order details in the next post). 

The event starts at 6:30 pm and lasts until we all have had enough of story-telling and listening (so buckle up for a long night). I would love to see you there! 

True to my promise, I am updating you with wedding pics of the big day. First of all, the dress. It was an ivory white A-line with lace and a corsage top I bought at Tiroler Brautmoden in Mieming. I know some were surprised by my choice, as they anticipated I would wear something more vintage, but I can explain my choice of princess gown. First of all, LOOK AT IT, it's gorgeous; secondly, the lady at the bridal dress shop said (and I quite agree with her): "A wedding dress should always look like a wedding dress, even if it wasn't in white." Meaning it shouldn't transform into a cocktail or ball dress if only the colour was a little darker or so. 

It may sound cliche, but you only get married once in your life, and I, personally, wouldn't want to wear a dress that could be mistaken for a summer dress, but that's my subjective opinion on the matter. 

Moving on - our wedding day was everything I wanted it to be, and more. Casual, relaxed, fun, and full of quirks it couldn't have been any better really. Jakob and I were together almost the whole day, which worked against the predictions that groom and bride hardly get to see each other on the wedding day, as they are so occupied with various tasks, meeting people, chatting, etc. No, most of the evening my husband was close by my side and we couldn't have been happier (and still are). 

Another highlight of our wedding was the horse-drawn carriage my sisters gave us. Drawn by a beautiful black horse (I believe his name was Darus), Jakob and I could enjoy some moments of solitude to ourselves as the carriage went from the ceremony venue to the reception. It had previously rained, but the sun broke through, just as we hit the road and we enjoyed the ride thoroughly. 

You may remember my blog post from a few weeks prior about what you actually don't need on your wedding day and I wanted to point out that we got lots of compliments on how the venue looked, despite opting for potted flowers for less than €5 per pot instead of fancy flower arrangements. Generally, many people complimented us on our wedding (not to brag) for its casualness and good vibes - and even though a few things went wrong, too, supporting my hypothesis that if only you have great people the party can only be good. 

​At this point I also want to express my deepest gratitude to our wonderful guests. Our mix of family, friends, all loved, all weird in their way, seriously created an atmosphere of fun, happiness and love for each other and our love as well. So have a look at some of the impressions, and may you want to look for inspiration if your big day is coming up soon :-) 

PS: Some have asked me for details on which, what, where, when, etc. and what we found on the internet. 
My save-the-date, invitations, thank-you notes, table plan, etc. we all got from the wonderful Kartenmacherei, which really surprised us with their quick printing and delivery services. The paper was of wonderful quality and it took off the pressure to pinterest something ourselves. If you order regularly, you also get discounts. 
As for venues, we mainly used Hochzeitslocation Info and Hochzeit.click, as they give good overviews over various wedding venues with prices and menus (if applicable). Our wedding venue was the Gasthof Purner in Thaur, Tyrol, Austria, which did an excellent service and their food is simply divine. Known as one of the best restaurants in Tyrol, it certainly perfects your wedding. Their service also included setting up the table, making the cake, and open-end party until 6:00 am. 
Our wonderful photographer was Patrick, and you can find his portfolio here 

It's official! I am married! 

We had a lovely week in Tyrol which culminated, of course, in our two-day wedding ceremony with the city hall wedding on Friday and the big feast on Saturday. 
I have already added some pics of the city hall wedding below, but we will all have to wait a little for the big wedding photos until I see my photographer after the honeymoon. 

At the moment, we are in Sweden and enjoying our honeymoon thoroughly. We've been to Sigturna, Sweden's oldest town apparently, to Mariefred - a lovely town with the Gripsholm Castle - and will go to Vaxholm, Uppsala and of course Stockholm in the next few days. The weather is rainy, but it cannot subdue our love and how much we enjoy every second of it. We are renting a lovely cottage in Karsta, close to Stockholm, which provides us with the cosiness and flexibility we seek after the wedding marathon of the past weeks. I will give a more thorough travel account once we're back, but so far it's simply wonderful. 

Back to the wedding for now. It was a lovely and wonderful feast with a few hiccups on the way, but nothing that could have ruined our day. We managed to get some outdoor shots before the rain took over and even though we had some mishaps with our sound system, the mood of the celebrating crowd and us could not be doused. We danced through the night and our wedding party seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. I loved that so many people came together - from my most recent friend to my long-term childhood friend, mixed together with all our families. It was the perfect crowd and our room looked fantastic. Our potted flowers looked incredible on the golden table runner and the wedding cake did not only look divine, but tasted so, too. Pictures will follow soon, I promise, but, ironically in times of phone ubiquity, no one took photos with their phones, so they can't be sent quickly via WhatsApp. 

For now, this is all I have to share and I will resume enjoying my honeymoon once more before providing better detailed and picture-enhanced blog posts. Enjoy the gallery below from the registry wedding.