This Bride Re-Wore Her Wedding Dress in 33 Different Countries Over a Year: See the Epic Pics
Newlyweds Nick & Zoe Aust, known as @marrymeintravel on Instagram, jetsetted around the globe to capture the most spectacular wedding photographs ever.
The couple got engaged in 2016, and since they hadn’t traveled together, they made the decision to quit their 9-to-5 jobs, create a joint Instagram account and honeymoon for an entire following their Dec. 2017 nuptials (with visits to 33 countries!). Thus, starting their picture-perfect adventure.
“The inspiration for Marry Me In Travel actually came about on our very first date! We hinted at traveling the world together one day,” the couple tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Life is too short to only wear your wedding dress once. And the world is too big to only stay in your little town your whole life. Our hope is that when people see our pictures they feel nothing but inspired to explore a new place, try a new hobby and fulfill that dream they’ve always had.”
After saying “I do” on Dec. 31, 2017, Nick and Zoe traveled everywhere from Bali to Paris in 2018, making sure to capture the most romantic snaps in each location of the bride wearing her stunning V-neck Watters wedding gown that featured lace and elegant beading.
“Zoe chose the Ferrera gown which ended up being the prefect dress for her travels. It was inspired by the spirit of a fun-loving bride with distinct taste,” Watters’ Style Director Sydney Watters Dunbar tells PEOPLE, adding that this design had “beaded fringe that celebrates the joyous moments brides have in their dream dress.”
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Zoe herself described the dress as “out of my comfort zone,” but knew it was for her because it “commanded attention.”
“I try on the dress and my mom and dad are speechless, I’m speechless. I feel like a bride. I can hear Nick over and over again saying ‘You can do anything, be anyone, wear what you want to wear,'” Zoe says.
“And in that moment I knew I found not only the dress that made me feel like a confident bride, but the dress I knew my soon-to-be husband would be so proud to see me in.”
Although Nick and Zoe always knew they wanted to travel around the world after they got married, the idea to bring the gown along came after.
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“Neither one of us expected it to hold up after the first few flights! To the naked eye it seems like a delicate dress,” they tell us. “I don’t know how Watters did it, but they basically made an indestructible gown.”
Their journey quickly went viral on social media, and the newfound travel influencers gained more than $26,000 followers during their travels.
“This dress has seen trains, boats, flights, Tuk Tuk rides, taxis and a helicopter ride over Mount Everest. It’s seen snow and incredible heat, rain and fog. It’s been covered in dirt and washed in the Indian Ocean,” Zoe says. “I’ve swam in this dress, climbed the Great Wall of China in this dress, rode a bicycle in Japan in this dress. But my greatest accomplishment while wearing it was marrying Nick. I’m so incredibly thankful for all this dress has withstood, but that will always be my favorite memory in it.”
