On July 17, 2006 I received the following “SOS” from Australia:

“I have a location in mind and all we require is a celebrant, photographer and a telephone. There will only be the two of us for the ceremony, no other guests, only the required number of witnesses. Can you help?”

And of course I could!

Melanie and Piet wanted to come all the way from Old Reynella, South Australia, to Hallstatt in Upper Austria to get married; that’s approximately 16,000 kilometers to celebrate the most beautiful day in their life.

As it is very difficult to plan and organize all the details around your wedding when you are so far away, do not speak the language (German), and have no idea of where to find all suppliers you need, the two Aussies trusted in the service of Family Business and Britta’s experience.

There were a lot of things to do, like scheduling the date with the civil registry, sending the right documents for translation; finding an interpreter for the ceremony, two witnesses for bride and groom (a special mission for Britta and the photographer), someone to do hair and make-up; an ironing service for Melanie’s wedding dress, which she brought along in her suitcase (!), a photographer to highlight every one of the anticipated special moments, picking the bridal bouquet and boutonniere, the honeymoon suite with lake view, and, the most important,  a very special location for the wedding ceremony.

The location was found rather quickly. The ceremony would be held on a boat on the lake surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Hallstatt and the mountains, still covered with snow, on March 31, 2007.

As Melanie and Piet were planning to get married in the middle of a trip around the world, their families and friends could not join them in Hallstatt. This was the most exciting challenge for Family Business because the bridal couple wanted to share this moment “live” with those in Australia. Because the ceremony was taking place on the boat, we could not use a landline telephone, but thanks to modern technology we were able to make a three-way conference call between “the wedding boat”, Melanie’s home and Piet’s home.

Their loved ones came together for a superb dinner and then listened carefully to the couple say “Yes, I do” via satellite with only a 6-second delay. You cannot imagine the Great Spirit and the sentimental congratulations the two received afterwards.

After the ceremony the captain of the boat and his wife offered sparkling wine to toast this special moment, and the photographer took wonderful pictures during the cruise.

After we found our feet again the small wedding party returned to the hotel where a wonderful little wedding cake awaited the newlyweds.

This was the right moment to say “good-bye” and leave the two alone to have a moment on their own. This was best decision we could make, as I found out a few weeks later, after making sure that the packages full of souvenirs and gifts for the ones left at home arrived safely, Melanie is pregnant!

After being in contact for more than 9 months, planning this exceptional day in your life together, I hope that we will stay in contact, at least for the next 9 months to see what surprise will come up next!

Thank you, Mel & Piet!

Love,

Britta

*Britta Maria Eugen is "Our BRO Event Coordinator in Europe." Please visit her Family Business on the web.