Hitomi & Katsuya: Love at Vienna’s Belvedere Palace
Even as late-September flurries danced through Vienna’s autumn air, nothing could dim the radiant magic of Hitomi and Katsuya’s fairy-tale wedding at the iconic Belvedere Palace. The day began in royal splendor at the neoclassical Palais Coburg, where a radiant Hitomi, transformed by a Parisian makeup artist flown in especially for her, glowed in a gown that seemed woven from dreams, while the city shivered outside.
In the ceremonial hall beneath gold-adorned ceilings once reserved for emperors, family and friends from Japan watched breathlessly as Hitomi and Katsuya exchanged vows, a rainbow unexpectedly arching beyond the grand windows over the Lower Belvedere garden. Braving the plunging temperatures and soft snow, they stepped into the imperial gardens for fleeting portraits—Katsuya sweeping his bride into his arms amid swirling veils and vivid sun flares, the Baroque façade framing them like a masterpiece, another rainbow sealing the moment.
A storybook horse-drawn fiacre carried them through cobblestone streets, escaping to the serene, near-deserted Volksgarten where, wrapped tightly in each other’s warmth, they watched the sunset alone. As night fell back at Palais Coburg, candlelit champagne and a blushing first dance at Clementine restaurant crowned their unforgettable celebration—a timeless testament to love that defies even the coldest whispers of winter.
