14 day Honeymoon in Europe!

[O'Driscoll Photography]

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Originally Posted by wededbliss2010 Hello All: I always felt that if I had to choose between a expensive wedding or a long honeymoon away with my future husband, the honeymoon would win! So, I am so excited to be honeymooning in Europe. We will be taking a 14 day escorted tour to Spain, France & Italy. I was thinking about honeymooning in Mexico, since we initially wanted to get married in Mexico, but all the logistics involved with having a Mexican wedding were a turn off for us. My FI thought that Mexico is a trip that we could take anytime. And that our honeymoon should be something we definitely remember as special. He also felt that after a couple of days in Mexico we would be sort of board. I would have been fine kicking my feet up and taking it easy, but I am very excited to be going back to Spain. A Gf and I went to Barcelona & Madrid in 2000, while visiting Madrid we toured a site called Valley of the Fallen. It was breathtaking to me. I told her that I could see having my wedding there it was the most scenic place I've ever been to. So, I am excited to take my new husband to there and taking pictures together. Our honeymoon's itinerary is as follows: Enjoy 14 nights in Spain, France and Italy. You're never far from the Mediterranean as you travel to Barcelona, the Cote d'Azur, and the Eternal City of Rome. Highlights: Madrid Toledo Barcelona Arles Les Baux Aix-en-Provence St. Tropez Ste. Maxime Cannes Nice Monaco Pisa Florence Rome We will be taking 3 weeks off of work. Our first week will be spent in Vegas preparing for our mansion wedding and then we will fly back to NYC spend a night at home and then fly off to Europe. I don't think I will want to go back to work after being away for so long. I feel so fortunate to be have all the aspects come together that I hoped for for our wedding and honeymoon. My dear FI really wanted it to be as special as it could be for both of us!

Wow, this sounds like an absolutely amazing trip, and I'm sure you all will have a very fun and memorable time! By the way, Vegas is a great place to get married. I have family there, and have done some work there as well. Have you chosen your venue yet?

Italy is my favorite country in Europe, with France a close second. Je ne parle pas italien, mais je parle francais. I haven't been to the other places you mentioned, but j'aime Nice, Florence and Rome! Florence is my favorite city in Italy. So much incredible art, history and culture! Rome is wonderful, and certainly should not be missed. Nice is also a really lovely place, and the beaches and the views there are magnificent.

Your trip is a photographer's dream, and hearing about it is making me want to go back to Europe!

Happy planning!

Best wishes,
Tod

[wededbliss2010]

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Originally Posted by GracieBebe We went through a TA who booked us on Air France. It works for us cuz most of our miles are through Delta and Northwest. We haven't really looked at any travel books yet. I usually go to tripadvisor for most of my info. I know people are all over the place with their reviews, but I'm a researcher so I tend to read every review so as long as most of the reviews are good, I'm ok. Every place always has a handful of bad reviews cuz you can't please everyone. And a lot of these reviews always recommend things to do, etc. Also, there are forums on tripadvisor that I've always found really helpful to ask questions and stuff. Thank you!!! I'm so glad you liked it! When FH saw the pics of the place, he knew that was the place we had to get married at. We were originally going to get married in June 2010 (I suggested that time period cuz I know how gun-shy he was about even proposing since he's heard so many horror stories about marriages that end in divorce). But once we got engaged, he was all gungho about it and thought we had no reason to have an overly long engagement and so we thought 9.9.09 would be an easy date to remember so chose that one. I bought my dress that first month we got engaged last Sept. and my BM's have picked out their dresses but haven't ordered them yet. They have bought their plane tix though. We have 9 people (including ourselves) booked so far! One of my BM's is pregnant so she has to find a new dress cuz she will be about 6-7 months by the time our wedding happens. Anyway, your Vegas wedding does sound so stress free!! That must be so nice! We've run into the strangest issues during the planning of this wedding from unexpected guests to guests asking for us to help pay for their wedding gift to us (that's a whole different story you can find in the Vents section under Uninvited guests thread). LOL! Anyway, g'luck with your planning! I love hearing everyone's updates.

Gracie:

I thought exactly the same as you did with regards to making the wedding next year because I thought that was my FH wanted. Hence, the 4/24/10 date. He dated the same woman twice within a 10 year period and he always told her that he felt a couple should be dating 3 years before that got engaged. So imagine my surprise when he proposed to me after 1 year. We got in engaged on NYE and by the time we got home we had already agreed on the 4/24/10 date. When I suggested that date, I thought I saw a look of relief on his face , but he actually wanted to get married this year so VEGAS here we come!

I, like you bought my dress the month after we got engaged. The funny thing was we hadn't changed our date as yet, so he thought I was crazy to have bought my dress 14 months before our wedding.

I have to read your other post about unexpected guess. BTW, his ex-girlfriend and her whole family are coming to our wedding YIPPE! Aren't I a lucky girl!

[GracieBebe]

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Originally Posted by wededbliss2010 Gracie: I thought exactly the same as you did with regards to making the wedding next year because I thought that was my FH wanted. Hence, the 4/24/10 date. He dated the same woman twice within a 10 year period and he always told her that he felt a couple should be dating 3 years before that got engaged. So imagine my surprise when he proposed to me after 1 year. We got in engaged on NYE and by the time we got home we had already agreed on the 4/24/10 date. When I suggested that date, I thought I saw a look of relief on his face , but he actually wanted to get married this year so VEGAS here we come! I, like you bought my dress the month after we got engaged. The funny thing was we hadn't changed our date as yet, so he thought I was crazy to have bought my dress 14 months before our wedding. I have to read your other post about unexpected guess. BTW, his ex-girlfriend and her whole family are coming to our wedding YIPPE! Aren't I a lucky girl!

You're kidding!!! I give you mad props cuz I don't think I would be so good if FH wanted to invite his ex. Funny coincidence, FH also dated his ex for 10 yrs (since high school) before things ended very badly between them. Because she was a freshman when he was a senior, he was basically the only guy she ever had been with and knew that when she hit about 24 or 25, she wanted to see what else was out there and explore her options. So, things kinda ended pretty badly between them. So since she was the one to leave him, I always wonder if she were ever to want him back, what would happen. I mean, I know he loves me, but you know how it is with first loves. And she only lives 1 town over. I guess I don't have to worry too much as I've heard she's a complete mess right now, constantly in bars, addicted to Vicodin, swings both ways, etc. Her mom ran into FH a year ago at the grocery store and tried to get him to come to her son's wedding so he could "accidentally" run into her daughter. Thank goodness FH has a better head on his shoulders and turned her down.


So, is the ex invited because she and her family are family friends? Are you friends with her? G'luck with that!

[wededbliss2010]

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Originally Posted by GracieBebe You're kidding!!! I give you mad props cuz I don't think I would be so good if FH wanted to invite his ex. Funny coincidence, FH also dated his ex for 10 yrs (since high school) before things ended very badly between them. Because she was a freshman when he was a senior, he was basically the only guy she ever had been with and knew that when she hit about 24 or 25, she wanted to see what else was out there and explore her options. So, things kinda ended pretty badly between them. So since she was the one to leave him, I always wonder if she were ever to want him back, what would happen. I mean, I know he loves me, but you know how it is with first loves. And she only lives 1 town over. I guess I don't have to worry too much as I've heard she's a complete mess right now, constantly in bars, addicted to Vicodin, swings both ways, etc. Her mom ran into FH a year ago at the grocery store and tried to get him to come to her son's wedding so he could "accidentally" run into her daughter. Thank goodness FH has a better head on his shoulders and turned her down. So, is the ex invited because she and her family are family friends? Are you friends with her? G'luck with that!

When we started dating, they were kind of starting to hang out with each other again. They were toying with giving it another try. I guess my the third time would be the charm ! I had no problem with him remaining friends with here, because my thought on this is if a person wants to stray they will stray. And you can not keep something that isn't yours. I asked him if you want to give it another try with her, let me know and I will respect your decision. We were dating all of 2 wks at this time, so I wasn't invested then. He insured me that he was where he wanted to be and we moved on from there and never once looked back. I've met her whole family and they are cordially to me. We had discussed her coming to his wedding if he ever had gotten married (again at the time we had just began dating). I really don't have a problem with me being there. After all, she is totally in my territory! All my girls are like we will be watching her! She better not even look at you sideways..... TRUST ME I AM NOT WORRIED! If I truly had a problem with it, she wouldn't be coming! In a way, I actually think it is a tad bit sad. I mean, would you go to an ex's wedding? I guess, I would if I broke up with him and I totally moved on and had absolutely no feelings for him! And of course, I would have to come with an amazing looking date, not my Mom, Sister & Brother!

[bobbyearle]

OHG! You're going to have the RADDEST time! We've been to Europe a bunch of times and your itinerary is AWESOME!

[wededbliss2010]

Thanks! I am so looking forward to our Honeymoon! I have a funny story. My FI Cousin is getting married on 4/18. I have been exchanging e-mails with his FI. She doesn't know where she is going for her honeymoon because her future FIL is a travel agent, so it is a surprise wedding gift, but I know it to be some sort of cruise to the islands. So, she asked where we are going for our Honeymoon and I told her and sent her a copy of the itinerary. I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM HER SINCE, THAT WAS 2 FRIDAY'S AGO...LOL.

[Bramblerose]

Dolcegirl-

 

I have travelled and lived in Europe and these are my favorite guides...

 

I love Rough Guides. They are great about including history/culture and are pretty down to earth about what is worth the price. For places to eat I like Lonely Planet. They have some great off-the-tourist-track places in a variety of price ranges. Frommers has some good info as a secondary resource. Personally I can't stand Rick Steves, but I am more of an independent traveller. If you are looking for tell-me-what-to-see-but-I-don't-want-to-follow-an-umbrella tours he's good for that.