World Notes AUSTRIA

Young Austrians traditionally wed in the warm sunshine of May, when the flowering lilac trees perfume the air with romance. But this year thousands of couples are braving ice and snow to say their vows. In November three times as many marriages took place as in the same month last year; Vienna's nine city registrars' offices are booked solid for weddings until the end of the year.

The unseasonal nuptial rush has more to do with finance than with passion. To cut some $1.7 billion from the estimated 1988 budget deficit of $8.7 billion, the country's coalition Socialist-conservative government is not only slashing some formerly sacrosanct social benefits but, as of January 1988, dropping the $1,350 wedding bonus that Austrian couples were traditionally given to help them get started in married life.

In the stampede to beat the cutback, lovers nervously pace in waiting rooms of municipal offices Monday through Friday, waiting their turn before robed magistrates. One Vienna registrar's office performs up to 17 ceremonies a day, each lasting 30 minutes. Says a harried clerk: "You can't rush those poor people through. They have a right to a little music and a nice speech on their most important day."