Michael proposed and we started planning our wedding! If you have never heard the proposal story…. let me just say, it’s my all time favorite:). After making our gigantic guest list, I was a little overwhelmed and so I told Michael to plan the honeymoon…. the WHOLE thing. I didn’t want to know anything. Just take me somewhere and I trust you completely! However, we did talk about a location and what we liked and didn’t like and we realized that neither one of us wanted to go sit on a beach all week. It just isn’t us! I have a hard time doing absolutely NOTHING and to top it off, I don’t TAN! At ALL! Not even a little bit. I’m a redhead!
So we scratched the idea of an all inclusive resort somewhere tropical and we started getting creative! Michael and I share a love for traveling. We traveled overseas in high school and had always said that we would do it again. So we decided on Italy! Now in October, it’s the off-season for Italy tourism because it’s starting to get a little chilly. However, that didn’t stop us! We booked a Mediterranean Cruise for mid-october and you wouldn’t believe how cheap it was! All of our lodging and food was included, we just had to get over there. Well, because Michael is a planner, he ordered the plan tickets early and got a GREAT deal on those as well! This European honeymoon was costing us the same amount that a 7day stay at an all inclusive resort would cost… and we saw 4 different countries! So many couples are getting creative with their honeymoon locations and I love it! I have some couples going to Hawaii, some going bed and breakfast hopping down the east coast, some headed to Oregon and explored the west coast while Andrew and Steph headed to Alaska!!! There are so many fun options out there!! So here are a few more reasons why we LOVED our European cruise!!
1. We LOVED our balcony! We would wake up every morning and see different coastlines that we were passing by, it was AMAZING!!! All of these next few shots were taken from our room!
2. We loved having an unlimited supply of awesome food!! The main dining areas are open and available all day, everyday! But we splurged a little and made some reservations at a Steakhouse, a Japanese Steakhouse and an Italian Restaurant!
Annnnnd let me just explain a little something about this next image. Michael and I were ordering dessert and you need to understand that Michael’s eyes are sometimes bigger than his stomach. So he looked at the menu and ordered “THE SAMPLER”… He was going to try EVERYTHING! I ordered cheesecake! …. When his “huge” sampler came out… you can imagine that he was a little taken back:) ….. And I enjoyed my cheesecake!
3. We loved keeping ALL of our stuff in one place. We traveled and saw Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Turkey and NEVER moved our luggage! Amazing!! However…. we found out that we’re pretty much the WORST “Self Portrait” takers in the WORLD! Really?! Look at that bottom right image… did we not realize we weren’t even looking in the camera?!! oh em gee.
4. We loved that our boat was so pretty! Or I did at least!!The Norwegian Gem was the prettiest and most colorful cruise ship in the whole mediterranean and I was so proud to call it “Home” for the week!
It was beautiful inside and out!!
5. Last but not least, we loved getting to see the world and not worry about the details. We just had so much time together and we didn’t have to worry about ANYTHING. Meals were planned, itineraries were set and all we had to do was hang out in the spa during our free time and decide which shows to see at night!
So I hope this helps some of you newly engaged folks get some better ideas about your honeymoon planning! There are SO many options out there!! We LOVED our cruise and we highly recommend Norwegian Cruise Lines if you plan on taking that route!! And here are a couple more really awkward “self portraits”… seriously… we’re so bad at them!
Read more about our honeymoon in The Knot!! Woohoo!!
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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