Elopement in Austria

Apart from the picturesque landscapes, Hallstatt is famous for its salt mines that hold a right to be called the first ones in Europe. Even the name of the town comes from a Celtic word “hall” which means “salt”. Therefore, the appearance of a copy of Hallstatt in the Chinese province of Guangdong a few years ago did not create a huge surprise. The most ridiculous thing about it is the fact that property cost in the newly built copy is higher than in the real medieval town.

Alas, the popularity among tourists comes with its negative side, too. The houses of the salt miners turned into many hotels and hostels, the ground floors were surrendered to the souvenir and tourist shop owners, and an average restaurant price list makes heartbeat faster. The beauty of landscapes, blue lakes and grandeur of mountains, however, make forget about such nuisance.

Elopement in Austria is a real-life fairy tale.

This is the place for those who value the harmony of results of human labor and the grandeur of nature. Landscapes here are indeed breathtaking. During those rare morning and evening hours, when a blessed silence reigns all around you, one only wish is to take a sit at the lake shore and with eyes closed enjoy the serenity. The town fits so harmoniously in nature that it creates a sensation of Alpes themselves growing around it.

That is why an amazing couple of Sam and Agnes having already visited this place several years ago, were ready again to cover the long road from Hong Kong to do an elopement photo shoot among the Alpes landscapes. Of course, Hallstatt wasn’t enough for us, and we took a pleasure to shoot at other magnificent nooks and villages with gingerbread houses.

Two and three-day photo shoots are by all means for the brave ones, but you should keep in mind the number of the envious sighs you get once your friends see your pictures. For your attention is the elopement photoshoot taken in Austria that began in Prague.

Well, in the end I would like to take a liberty to personally give you a little piece of advice – if you want to feel the atmosphere of these marvelous places, don’t be lazy, get up with dawn and take a promenade through the town. That is the only way you would be able to escape the sensation of being in some overpopulated Asian province :)

How much does an elopement in Austria cost?

In terms of prices, everything as always varies greatly, and depends not only on the number of guests, but also on the chosen venue, ceremony place, and wedding specialists. Austrian elopement organizers claim that organizing an elopement in Austria will cost you not more than an elopement in Eastern Europe (Prague, Budapest, etc.). As a wedding photographer living in the Czech Republic, I have something to say on that. You or your wedding planner should try very hard if you want to equalize the costs of organizing an elopement in Austria and Prague.

Prices in Austria are higher for everything: for photographers, for makeup artists, for food in a restaurant, for booking a venue for a ceremony.

Just compare: an elopement makeup and hairstyle in Prague will cost you 180-250 euros. In Austria, the price starts from 400. And I’m not talking about the transportation and overtime covering costs if you have an elopement away from the major cities. This increases the prices at least twice.

A ceremony venue can be either free (for example, if you and your guests are staying in the same not super-fashionable hotel), or cost a couple of thousand euros. For example, you need to shell out for the Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, or Schönbrunn in Vienna.

Let’s add to all of this a photographer, a videographer, music for the ceremony, transport, a DJ, a reception and now we are reaching the sum of 30,000 euros for a small elopement for 20 people.

Any way to save money?

There is only one rule regardless of the location and venue. Do not buy anything that you don’t need, and do not save on something important to you. In my purely personal opinion, you are not allowed to save on your looks (dress, suit, stylist), on the shooting crew and on DJ.

But paying crazy money for shoes that are not visible under the dress, for the ceremony location, where you will be only 15 minutes, for horses and carriages, for tons of flowers to decorate the venue – are completely wasteful.

And a little life hack: inviting specialists from neighboring countries may be cheaper than hiring locals. For example, we often travel as a large team from Prague including the photographer, videographer, makeup artist, moderator and DJ in neighboring countries. Well, simply because inviting us with all the expenses is significantly cheaper than hiring Austrians :)