Get comfortable…there are a ton of photos in this post! It’s hard to summarize a destination wedding like this in one post. But that’s what I love so much about this new blog. I can post as many photos as I like without giving you all more stuff to scroll through to find other recent posts. It’s got a great big picture overview and leaves you the ability to choose what you want to see. Anyway…back to Vienna!

Dave & Sarah approached me at another wedding and asked what I would think of shooting their wedding in Vienna. They had both spent a while there studying abroad and that’s where their relationship started. They figured why not go back to where it all began and share it all with their closest friends and family. What an awesome thing to do!

Dave & Sarah had planned a walking tour to show everyone what daily life was like for them as they studied there and got to know each other. That night we all headed to one of the bars they spent time in. After the bar, one of the absolutely necessary experiences was stopping at the Wiener Wurstelstand for a Kasekrainer. Did you get that? ….think “food cart” and “bread roll hollowed out and filled with a cheesy hot dog”…only better!

The next evening, we all headed to the outskirts of the city in a chartered bus for dinner and drinks at a garden style vineyard. The name escapes me at the moment, but it’s stamped on the glass stein that Dave & Sarah gave everyone as gifts, myself included. That was mighty handy in consuming the bottle of Vienna wine we were also given as a gift.

At this point, I’d already had such a great experience and the wedding still hadn’t happened yet. Saturday rolled around and the ladies started out with mimosas while getting ready in the Style Hotel which was very aptly named. The wedding ceremony was held in the Palais Daun-Kinsky and was very classy thanks to the work of Palais-Events and Elegant Events. If you’re looking for a job well done for your Vienna wedding, your first stop should be those two websites.

After the ceremony we drove around Vienna to a few locations for portrait shots. Sometimes it takes a while to get a feel for a certain area to know what would be best for photos, but this was more like…well…imagine playing “Slug Bug” in Germany at the height of VW Beetle production. Photo opportunities were everywhere!

Once back in the States, Dave & Sarah had a reception in wine country outside of Oakland for all those who weren’t able to witness the wedding. Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery was a great choice in location! It was a lot of fun to catch up with those I’d met in Vienna as well as those I’d seen at the other wedding where I was originally asked to shoot all of this for Dave & Sarah.

One of my friends, Ray Santana, has coined the phrase ‘good times’ and this definitely qualifies. Dave & Sarah…thanks for having me along. Good times!!

Thanks also to Mark Galligan for shooting with me! Couldn’t have done it otherwise.

A little energy boost thanks to Coke and Red Bull. No, Dave didn't grow wings.

Famous Sacher cakes shipped fresh from Vienna! Talk about a special touch.