VIP honeymoon in Splendour
Greenwood newlyweds Haydn and Amy Hampel will be embarking on the honeymoon of a lifetime this week as VIP guests at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in Byron Bay.
On Friday Haydn was announced as this year's "Mayor of Splendour" as part of a nationwide public-voted contest run by youth broadcaster Triple J.
"We got married in March but haven't managed to go anywhere yet," Haydn told AAA. "We were going to go on a honeymoon in August but I couldn't get leave from work."
As part of his Splendour mayoral privileges, Haydn and wife Amy will be treated to an all-expenses-paid trip to the festival including return flights, on-site accommodation in a "pimped out" tepee, access to a special throne that offers uninterrupted views of the festival performances and the opportunity to appear on stage alongside Brisbane indie-rockers Ball Park Music.
Haydn, who was the only WA contender in the running for the Mayor of Splendour, said he didn't expect to win given the past winners have mostly hailed from the east coast.
"I thought it would be a bit of a disadvantage being from Perth with the time difference," he said. "But I had a bunch of friends who put some stuff on Facebook and told their friends, so there were a fair few people who got up early to vote."
Attending the three-day festival - which is set to attract up to 30,000 punters this year - will be a first for the couple, who fly out on Thursday morning.
"Being from Perth it's so difficult to get over there," he said. "The flight being part of the prize really makes it achievable."
Tying in with the tradition of the fancy-dress theme undertaken by the Mayor of Splendour, Haydn and Amy have opted to dress as Bender and Leela from the animated TV series Futurama.
Perth designer Louise Hedley, who owns local fashion label DFaced Clothing, has offered to make the couple's outfits free of charge.
