Real Wedding: Katja & Wolfgang – Photography by Belle & Sass

I’ve worked in advertising for 13 years and I have a lifestyle blog called THINGS (t-h-i-n-g-s.com). Wolfgang runs his own hairdressing salon in Vienna, called Propaganda.

Of course, he did our hair for the wedding. We met in our mid 20s’ wild party phase, having seen each other at various parties. We finally talked on June 20, 2007. We didn’t talk about anything in particular, nor did we fall in love, but there was an attraction and, admittedly, there was alcohol. So later that night, there was a kiss. We’ve experienced a lot together over the past 11 years, countless great times but also some tough times. I waited for years for Wolfgang to propose, but he had different views on marriage. I had given up on the idea when he suddenly completely surprised me by proposing while we were on vacation in Thailand. He simply handed me a box and said “this is for you”. It was completely out of the blue. We sent invites containing a California travel guide to 14 of our closest friends, and my parents came from Austria to celebrate. We asked our guests to wear black, which was a stunning contrast to our location. For wedding favours, we gave Lancaster sunscreen, aftersun lotion and a moisturising cactus flower mist by Kiehl’s — all great for the Californian climate. Wolfgang fell in love with a pair of boots by Christian Louboutin — the style was even called “Wolfgang” — and really wanted them for our wedding, but he couldn’t track them down and was so disappointed. However, somehow his friend found one last pair and his friends surprised him by giving him the boots as a present at his bachelor party. After the ceremony, we all dined at In-N-Out Burger. We love burgers, but in hindsight, a proper reception would have extended our day, which seemed to go by so fast. After burgers, we partied at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. We had a champagne pyramid, the most delicious cake, a bathtub full of drinks and one of our dear friends DJing. It was a hotel room party that went until 4am. We had a traditional Austrian “garter auction”. Mine fetched $666 by three friends, who all had to take it off with their teeth! One of my favourite moments was starting the day with my future husband doing my hair. Even though I didn’t want him to see me before the wedding, it just felt right. Since getting married, we both feel a bit more adult. There can’t be anything greater than spending the rest of your life with your favourite person.