an aussie in austria

My recent trip to Australia for our wedding almost felt more like a working holiday than an actual holiday, due to the large amounts of somewhat boring (though essential) tasks that had to be undertaken, interspersed with crazy, emotional drinking sessions.

It started off with an epic plane journey. A 4.5 hour drive to the airport, followed by 6 hours to Abu Dhabi, a panicked 45 minutes as we ran to our next flight, and a 13 hour final leg. I am used to travelling on my own… on long plane trips I like to go into my ‘bubble’, just eat, sleep, watch movies and wait for the time to pass. So naturally I was petrified about having to travel with not only other people, but my future in-laws! They had never before travelled such a long distance so were naturally a little anxious. And Thomas was looking after them to make sure they were as stress free as possible, so naturally he became a little stressed at times. Everything takes longer with 5 people. Packing the car, check-in, customs, passport control… but it was still good fun, and I actually found I enjoyed being on a plane with people I knew! Ha, who would have thought?

The first day after arriving was a little bit crazy. The Austrians were jetlagged and excited (about being in Australia and also about their week-long Outback adventure they were about to embark upon) and I was just relieved to be home, among familiar surroundings and my family (and dog). We had a great day with the parents meeting for the first time, exploring the beach, talking and laughing a lot. But I have to say that the next morning after they left… I was somewhat relieved. Now I had space and a bit of quiet for my head as I tackled the pre-wedding tasks.

Inevitably at this point, I got sick. Luckily it was only a few days and I was able to rest while doing the more mundane jobs of going through paperwork, clearing out my glory box and pawing through years of school/dancing reports and other useless mementos that had been saved. The job of finally fully packing up my life (maybe not forever but at least for a good chunk), was an emotional but necessary process.

However it did seem a tad-bit unfair. Thomas got to enjoy a trip around Oz while I was left to finish the majority of the wedding planning. But I guess I needed to be around to catch up with my friends and spend some alone-time with people, so it worked out. Of course there were some tense moments upon his return as he found I’d changed some things: What? But we decided on a different table layout!

But really, there were no real dramas. There were definitely some tense moments and some stress, but in the end, the 18^th of April dawned to be a mild, windy, rainy day, which incredibly changed to a mild, less-windy, clear day, and my perfect, short beach ceremony went ahead exactly as planned.

There was only one slight hiccup with the music for the ceremony the morning of, which was fixed in a few minutes. Having no bridesmaids helped keep the crazy away, and I have to say that I actually had a couple of moments of boredom, due to being ready ahead of time. It was pretty much a stress-free day in the end and once I arrived at the actual wedding, everything just flowed. I ate enough food, didn’t drink too much champagne, was able to dance all night, and managed to talk to everyone. All the suppliers I’d chosen from 20,000km away were perfect, as far as I know all the guests enjoyed themselves and when Thomas and I arrived back at my parents for brunch the following day, everything was cleaned up and sorted out.

Weddings are stressful, but I wouldn’t take any of it back. We spent a few more days in Australia before reversing the journey and heading back to Austria, tired and on the brink of homesickness, but happy.

And then it all started again as we prepared for the Austrian wedding party. Though this one… not my problem! It’s the groom’s turn!