In December, we realized we had a couple of weeks off in April. As wedding photographers, we haven’t had that much time off in the Spring in 10 years. To make the most of it, we decided to do something we’ve been waiting to do for years; we planned (with the help of a very talented friend/travel agent) an epic European adventure, as she coined it. To be honest, it was the best trip of our lives, and it was a dream come true in so many ways. After so long working without long breaks, this was just what we needed before wedding season kicked in!
Rome, Florence, and Paris hit all the important things we wanted to do/see. History, museums, horses, and gelato were on our list, along with big cities. We both prefer cities over anywhere else, so these made sense. Another thing we asked our agent to plan for us was a few big moments we’d never seen anyone else do. Along with the major sites like the Louver, Vatican Museum, Coliseum, and Eiffel Tower, we also did more niche things like a private horseback riding tour in Chantilly, France, and Disneyland Paris!
Since we were already going overseas, we decided to make the most of the trip and went for 16 days, including a whole week in Paris! It was wonderful having so much time off of work, just the two of us, celebrating 10 years of marriage and 10 years in business. We’re so blessed and are still talking so much about how fabulous the trip was!
Y’all, this place was a mall! It was literally built to be one, and it was crazy beautiful!
People have been asking us a few repeat questions since we got home, so we thought we’d answer those for you:
Was the trip too long? No! We both definitely had our moments where we were ready to leave, but our travel agent saved some of our favorite days for the final days there, which made it feel so balanced and fun. We’re so thankful we had the privilege to go for so long.
Was Disney Paris worth it? Having been to both American Disney locations, Paris was not nearly as fun. It was beautiful, but the rides were mostly the same. We’re glad we can say we went and have been to 3 Disney locations.
What were your favorite moments? Alec loved the Coloseum and all the history in Rome. Katie’s favorite Roman activity was our pizza-making class. In Paris, Katie truly loved the National Equestrian Academy of the Estate of Versailles! She grew up horseback riding and knew about the show since she was a young kid, so it was a dream come true. Alec loved the 7-acre Parisian flea market that we could have spent the entire trip exploring. He even left with a vintage spy camera for his collection!
Which museum was your favorite? Hands-down, for both of us, it was the Vatican! It was overwhelming how big it was and how many pieces were housed in the collection.
Did you go with anyone? No, it was just us! This was technically our 10th wedding anniversary trip (coming up in September). We wanted to soak it all in, take our time, and do things that interested us.
Now, here are some of our favorite photos! As photographers, we took well over 2500 while we were there, so this is nowhere near everything, and it’s mostly iPhone photos because we wanted to enjoy the moments as they happened. There are just too many special moments to recount!
Blessings,
Katie & Alec
Day one was spent at the Vatican Museum. Honestly, it was hard to beat! So many incredible works of art and so many spots to explore.
Alec ended up loving the history and museum at the Colosseum. Neither one of us was prepared for how incredible the Roman Forum would be!
The highlight of Rome for Katie was our private pizza-making class. Our concierge recommended it, and it was so special. We had an entire restaurant to ourselves and had an incredible dinner.
Florence, Italy, was a short stop on our trip but a beautiful one. Our hotel was insanely gorgeous, and the rooftop pool was our favorite.
Paris treated us to some of the best views. This is from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower on our first full day there!
Our hotel in Paris was within two blocks of the Arc de Triomphe and within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Elysee!
Katie is low-key (okay, not low-key) obsessed with Egypt and archeology. The collections in Europe were so fun to see!
Our second-to-last day was spent doing a private tour at Versaille. It was our big splurge and one of the best days of the whole European trip!
Marie Antionette’s bedroom!
European architecture is truly so beautiful!
On our last day, we did a horseback riding tour in the town of Chantilly, and it was the best way to possibly end the trip. It was a moment we’ll never forget!
Next week, we’ll be sharing the professional photos we took during our European adventure! For now, thanks for sharing in this special trip with us here on the blog!
