Mahwah Groom, Bride Quit Their Jobs For 10-Month Honeymoon

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ —Nick and Zoe Aust took a rather unique approach to their honeymoon.

The couple, from Mahwah, took a 10-month-long honeymoon and traveled the world. As if that wasn't unique enough, they took along their wedding attire and posed for pictures in various exotic locations throughout the world and posted them on Instagram.

It all started with a surprise trip to Paris and Iceland where Nick proposed. Then they got married on Dec. 31, 2017 and off they went. They saved for two years to go on the trip.

"We quit our jobs. We were breaking free of the hamster wheel, doing things our way and figuring it out as we went," Zoe Aust said.

Part of that breaking free was bringing their wedding attire along.

"Some may sell their wedding dress, some store it in a box and never look at it again, some keep it in hopes to pass it down to future children and none of those are wrong. So what's wrong with taking it around the world with you?" Zoe Aust asked. "Who says I can only wear this dress once? Who says we have to get married, buy a house and have children right away, all in that order."

The couple visited 33 countries. Some places on their journey included: Thailand, India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Monaco. The trip ended in October in Seychelles, an island nation off the east coast of Africa. They talked about their experiences on their Marry Me In Travel blog. They also posted photos from the trip on Instagram.

Their Instagram posts have garnered hundreds of comments, most of them positive and wishing the couple well on their journey together.

"We did have many people from the beginning that were extremely excited for us," Zoe Aust said. "People that wished they could do the same or that they did things different out of college. Everyone's journey looks different, but no matter what anyone says or thinks, we're extremely thankful for ours."

The experience was "humbling," Zoe Aust said.

"If you ever need a humble check, see how the people in Nepal live, or in Fiji, or in India or Sri Lanka, see what they possess and you'll realize you don't need much to have a happy life," she said. "When we came home we both freaked out a bit. We have so much stuff. It really puts things in perspective."

The Austs shared the experience of going to Mount Everest in Nepal live with their family, a trip that took multiple helicopter rides to complete.

"I can’t tell you what shirt I wore when we saw Mount Everest but I can tell you I cried like a baby. I can tell you Nick couldn't wipe the smile off his face the entire day," Zoe Aust said. "We FaceTimed our families to have them experience it along with us. We wanted to give that feeling to every person we could."

The Austs plan to keep on traveling and going on mission trips in the future, including one to Sierra Leone in a few weeks. For now, they are back home trying to figure out what to do next.

"We also want to find a place to settle down for a bit," Zoe Aust said. "So we’ll be taking trips to figure out where exactly that is."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photos of Nick and Zoe Aust at various places around the world wearing their wedding attire. (Courtesy of Nick and Zoe Aust)