Austrian Wedding Award 2024 – a moment that completely swept me off my feet
The moment I found out I was in the final of the Austrian Wedding Award 2024
There are those days when you think: Okay, this can’t be real.
The Austrian Wedding Award 2024 in Vienna was just such a day for me.
Just the news that I had even made it to the finals completely threw me off. I was just in the camera store, having bought a new camera, when a fellow service provider, who had already read the email, messaged me. I couldn’t believe it – the finals. In one of the most fiercely contested categories – Ambiance Photography. That’s not just ‘pretty good’ – that’s truly a big deal.
My First Journey to the Austrian Wedding Award in Vienna
And then you’re standing there: for the first time as a finalist at an award event in Vienna. Hands slightly trembling, heart somewhere between your throat and ears. Honestly, I still couldn’t quite believe it even on the way to Vienna. You know the chance is there… but somehow you still don’t quite believe it.
The mega location – Palais Wertheim – the light, the atmosphere – everything a bit too grand for what you would normally allow yourself. And at the same time, you think to yourself: Damn, yes, this is exactly what I fight for, what I’m passionate about, this is my world.
The tension rises – when your category is called
And then comes the moment of all moments.
The category is announced. Ambiance Photography.
Honestly, my heart leaped out of my chest. I barely breathed, because… what are you even doing up there? You’re standing on that stage with the strongest colleagues in the country, and you’re just trying not to look too much like a startled deer.
The seconds before the winner is announced feel like an eternity.
Everything is loud and completely muffled at the same time.
You hear your own pulse, but otherwise… nothing.
“And the winner is…” – the moment when everything stands still
And then it happens. My photo lights up on the screen.
That one moment I love, which I captured with every fiber of my being, suddenly shines across that stage. And my name appears. I hear it, but at the same time I don’t hear it, because my mind just completely shuts down for a moment.
I stood there and thought to myself: Did that really just happen? Is that really my photo? My name? My first Austrian Wedding?
I promise you, reality really needs a moment to come back.
That moment was simply huge. Gigantic. Indescribable.
A feeling you only truly experience, but can never truly put into words.
Such a mix of pride, disbelief, gratitude, and that ‘wow’ feeling that stays with you for days afterwards.
Why this win is more than just a title
This award means a lot to me. Not because a trophy now stands on my shelf, but because it represents all those hours I stood outside in the cold because the light was perfect. For all the days I edited late into the night. For every second I believed in my style, even if it wasn’t always the easiest path.
The Austrian Wedding Award 2024 was my “Hey, you’re on the right track” moment.
And honestly? I won’t forget it anytime soon.
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