Have you heard a story about 3 beautiful sisters called Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria? Many say that they were the most beautiful things they ever saw. They all share the same thing that makes them so attractive – mountains. Today we bring you the story about one of them – Austria. And it’s a specific story that revolves around the topic of Austria elopement. Make yourself cozy, turn on some background music and talk about an elopement in Austria.
Since you are reading this article, there is a high probability that you are interested in getting married in this beautiful country and we’re here to help you plan your big day with some useful and insider information. Let’s face it, as wedding photographers it’s our job to observe and document and through the years in the industry, we have learned most of the tips and tricks that might prove useful to your Austria elopement planning. We will discuss topics such as the best Austria elopement venues, what might be the prices of Austria elopement packages, what kind of equipment to bring, what’s the best time for elopements in this gorgeous country, and more.
Tie your hiking boots and let’s embark on the adventure!
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Few words about us
Love and Ventures are Andrea and Mario, Â elopement photographer and videographer, working in Austria & Europe. With years of experience shooting elopements and intimate weddings in all kinds of landscapes, we decided to create this guide to serve you as a good starting point for planning your elopement in Austria.Â
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Let the adventure begin!
‘Love and Ventures are amazing! They helped us pick through locations for our ceremony and accommodated us when we changed locations one week before the ceremony. They also helped us find a makeup artist and officiant. The photos and video they made are incredible, and the locations they picked for them were perfect! We loved working with them and appreciate all they did to memorialize our special day!’
– Ellie and Jared
Austria – the land of high mountains and beautiful nature
Coming to Austria without hiking boots is considered a huge mistake. This stunning central European country is all about the mountains and unforgettable landscapes. If you have always dreamed about mountain elopement, look no further, Austria is a place for you. Same as in Switzerland and Slovenia, the Alps are the most prominent mountain range in Austria. You could consider Austria to be something between Slovenia and Switzerland when it comes to the height of the mountains – Slovenia has lower mountains, while Switzerland has some of the highest peaks in Europe.
The height of the mountains has nothing to do with their beauty. All these countries are somewhat similar and your best option if you want to elope in Europe with mountains as your backdrop. As much as we love sea elopements, we adore the mountain ones too. These tend to be much more adventurous and catharsis experiences. Just Google the term mountain elopement in Europe and you’ll see what we are talking about.
Western and southern parts of Austria are dominated by the Alps mountain range while the east and north are covered with forests and lower hills.
Our lives are tied both to the sea and the mountains and we have been actively hiking for the past 15 years. We have also written another article about mountain elopements in general so check it out for more useful information.
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Why should you consider eloping in Austria?
We have already mentioned mountains and we believe it’s the single most important reason why somebody would like to elope in Austria. If you are into this kind of elopement or intimate wedding, go for it. But apart from the mountains, there are many other nice places such as glacial lakes, forests, canyons and more. Austria is the perfect elopement location for mountain lovers and hiking addicts. But there are many stunning locations that you can elope at that don’t require much hiking.
Austria is simply a landscape delight for both the eyes and mind. Landscape apart, Austria is easy to reach from almost any country in the world so that’s a big plus too. Once you come there, you have plenty of places to discover and explore and this really means all the difference when it comes to eloping abroad. It’s not a good idea to elope in a country that has just a few nice locations and these are also scattered all around the country.
Austria is not a large country and all of the beautiful locations are relatively close to each other. Exploring a country together before or after your elopement really gives a whole new dimension to the whole elopement experience.
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Getting legally married in Austria – easy or not?
Piece of a cake. Wedding cake. Getting legally married in Austria is possible for foreigners. It does involve some paperwork for which we suggest you start preparing as early as possible. Since most of the elopements are planned for at least a year in advance, this shouldn’t be a problem. If you want to have a legal wedding ceremony in Austria you must hire an officiant who will conduct a short ceremony in German so if you are not from a German-speaking country, you will have to hire a translator too. It might add some cost, but it’s the only way if you want your Austrian elopement to be recognized as a valid marriage back in your country.
But there are other options too, and these are much more chosen by the couples getting eloped in a foreign country.
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Symbolic elopement in Austria
There is an easy and budget-friendly way to get eloped in Austria in a much better way if you ask us. It’s a symbolic elopement – a fully customizable wedding ceremony in which all the advantages of elopements are obvious. From our experience (and we have a lot of it when it comes to elopements), most couples choose to have a symbolic elopement ceremony, regardless of the country they are eloping at.
Most of them have the civil ceremony back in their home country and then come to a foreign country for a ‘real thing’. Symbolic elopement in Austria is easy to organize just like anywhere else in the world. There are many different ways to go too. You can hire a local symbolic officiant who will lead a ceremony for you and you can customize it according to your preferences. They can even include some local wedding traditions in the elopement ceremony. Or you can just be alone with your partner somewhere in the heart of Austrian nature and you can exchange your vows in the silence of the mountains.
There are really no rules and imagination is your best friend when it comes to a symbolic elopement in Austria.
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Getting to Austria and traveling through it
Austria is one of the central European countries and it’s effortless to get to it by any means. It’s well connected with other neighboring countries via the public transport network and there are many airports so there is a high chance you might have a direct flight from your country straight into the heart of Europe.
Once you have arrived in Austria, we suggest you immediately rent a car. Public transport in Austria is very good but there is no better way of exploring the foreign country than by renting a car. It gives you immense freedom. While Austria is one huge scenic route and driving through it feels like a good meditation.
If you rent a car, many places are well within your grasp. There are many adventures to try out too. Depending on the time of the year, you can enjoy adrenaline rides, skiing, hiking, rock climbing, and more. Driving in Austria is easy and the roads are in good condition.
One final thing, even if you have rented a car which we strongly suggest, go for at least one train ride while in Austria. You’re welcome!
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What kind of equipment do we suggest for your Austria elopement?
Regular hiking equipment should do just fine. It really depends upon the time of the year you are planning your Austria elopement to be held as well as upon the place in which you want the ceremony to take place. Austria really isn’t the best country for fancy glamourous elopements. But it’s one of the best for an elopement with a scent of adventure.
If you plan to elope somewhere higher in the Austrian Alps you might need equipment such as crampons, helmets, ropes, and other alpine stuff. But you really should choose the best option according to your previous hiking experience. Even if you have no hiking experience at all, Austria is full of easy hiking routes and other places where you can elope at.
So to conclude, hiking boots, a nice pair of warmer pants, and some warm clothes are a must if you are visiting Austria at any time of the year. Even the summers in Austria are quite fresh, especially during the night.
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Elopement in the Alps but with no to little hiking experience
Even if you are not the most experienced hiker or you have never hiked before but you still want to elope on some mountain peak in Austria, not everything is lost for you. If this is the case we suggest you choose a mountain elopement venue that could be reached by cable car. There are many such routes that will take you to some of the best mountain peaks in the Austrian Alps.
A cable car ride is a great experience too and definitely something you want to try while in Austria, regardless of your elopement venue.
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Best time of the year for elopement in Austria
You can’t go wrong with Austria elopement and this is true when it comes to the best time of the year for your elopement in this country. It really depends on what you want out of it. Similar to many other European countries, summers are the busiest season in Austria too. The weather is nice and it’s relatively warm. Most of the snow from the lower mountains is melted and there are many hiking routes available now. Summers are also the most popular season for Austria elopements.
If you plan to have yours during this period, make sure you arrange everything before you come to Austria since the accommodation and some other aspects of your elopement should be booked at least a month before your arrival.
Winter is another busy season in Austria. You can consider it a cold summer. There are many people around, just this time they are clothed in layers of warm clothes. Austria is a very popular skiing destination in Europe and as such many people visit it each year. In winter, the mountains are covered with snow and it looks absolutely amazing. However, most of the hiking paths are covered in snow, and possible to hike using only specialized hiking equipment. The best option for winter Austria elopement is to find a beautiful spot that does not require a long hike to reach it.
Finally, Springs and Autumn in Austria are also very beautiful. Spring is characterized by rising temperatures that slowly start to melt the snow from high Alpine peaks and Autumns are a true explosion of all the colors you can imagine.
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Best Austria elopement venues
Austria is a great blend of all the varieties of landscapes – mountains, forests, rivers, lakes… It might seem easy to get lost in all this diversity and you could think that you will have a hard time choosing the best Austria elopement location for you. But it’s rather easy in reality. First of all, you need to think about what kind of landscape would you prefer as your elopement venue. That already is a great step forward.
Apart from being the elopement photographer and videographer, we also help you with choosing the best possible location according to your wishes.
Let’s explore some of the most popular Austria elopement venues.
Hallstatt
Hallstatt is a small scenic town located on the shore of stunning Hallstatt lake. It’s known for its production of salt and it’s one of the most visited locations in Austria. Hallstatt is perfect for Austria elopements by the lake but there are many hiking routes in the vicinity too. Hallstatt has been proclaimed one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Any of the historic castles of Austria
Austria is famous for its castles too. And some of them look better than in some fairytales. These are also the perfect backdrop for an elopement ceremony and the best spot if you are into the realms of knights and fairies. Some of the Austrian castles form a great-looking bond with nearby mountains so make sure you explore some of the most famous castles in Austria.
Austrian Alps – Hohe Tauern
The Hohe Tauern translates to High Tours and it’s the national park that covers some of the highest and most beautiful mountain peaks in Austria. The highest one is the Grossglockner with a height of 3798 meters, also the highest peak in all of Austria. The Hohe Tauern is the best choice if you want to have raw mountain elopement in Austria.
Gesause national park
Gesause national park is characterized by large meadows and forests. It’s a great option for an Autumn elopement in Austria. It’s located in the Austrian region of Styria and it stretches along the river Enns.
Lake Neusiedl
Another lake-themed elopement venue. This lake is located on the border of Austria and Hungary. This part of Austria is characterized by vineyards and at first, it might seem different than the rest of the country. Lake Neusiedl is a vanishing lake and there are few know times when the lake completely disappeared just to fill up with water after rainfall.
Tyrol region
Tyrol is the mountainous region of Austria. All of its landscape is heavily influenced by the mountains and everything that goes along with them – mountain streams, rivers, waterfalls… It’s one of the most popular places for elopement in Austria.
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Austria elopement packages – how much could your elopement cost?
Let’s talk about the finances a bit, shall we? We know that everybody is very interested in how much their elopement might cost them. You can expect your elopement in Austria cost to be somewhere in the range of 5000 to 8000 Euros. These prices are valid if your elopement involves only you and your partner. If you choose to bring your friend or family along, the costs will rise a bit.
Please note that the estimated prices shown in this article may not reflect current prices at the moment, as the market is volatile and prices are constantly rising.
For 6500 Euros you could get hair and makeup, a symbolic officiant, a photographer and videographer for a period of 4 hours, and a dinner for 2 of you afterward. For 8000 Euros you might get hair and makeup, a symbolic officiant, flowers and floral decorations, a photographer and videographer for up to 8 hours of coverage, dinner for you and your partner, and an adventure tour of your choosing.
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Austria elopement photographer and videographer
We are Andrea and Mario, we love elopements and we have been documenting them all across Europe for 7 years now. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about us and our workflow when it comes to elopements. You will find many articles that cover different aspects of elopement organization that might prove valuable to you.
Apart from being elopement photographer and videographer, we are adventure guides too. We help you plan your elopement in the best possible manner and as a part of our package, we connect you with some of the best wedding vendors in a particular area.
If you have any questions regarding the Austria elopement or you would like to explore our Austria elopement packages, feel free to contact us through the form below. We’ll answer you shortly 🙂
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