Why I spent 2 months planning a wedding & 2 years planning a honeymoon

By Jay P - June 05, 2017





Over the course of 16 Days, we visited 11 cities, passed through 7 airports, flew 12 individual flights, stayed in 8 different hotels, hopped on 5 trains, 2 seaplane trips, 1 helicopter ride and logged 6 different time zones. This was the honeymoon that we always dreamed about but more importantly, it was the honeymoon that we were able to afford!

For starters on January 1st 2014 I married the love and my life and the woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with. 

Let’s back it up a bit....

I have always been a planner, saver and all around Frugal McDugal. However, I try to abide by one main philosophy in life and that is to pay for experiences over possessions. As a result, I always knew that I wanted my honeymoon to be an enriching experience that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

So after several years of dating, while vacationing across France, I proposed in Paris, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. I remember it like it was yesterday. 
The date was October 6th 2013, the Eiffel Tower and Parisian landscape illuminated the night sky. It was the day I had been preparing, saving and yearning for over the past year, and as the remnants of my dinner churned in my stomach, half-way ready to jump back up my throat, my nerves were a shambled mess. In between the time of question ask to answer my heart froze in the silence, and then she said it. She said Yes!!! Two months later we were married, and set to begin our lives together.

*Context* My wife and I dated for two years long distance before getting engaged and subsequently married. So from the moment I popped the question the race was on to get married as quickly as possible so that we could begin our lives together. At the same time, we both wanted a wedding that provided us an opportunity to express our love in front of our family and friends but provided us a long lasting memory. As a result we settled on an intimate ceremony surrounded by our loved ones. With the hectic nature of planning a wedding in such a short time frame, we agreed to put off the honeymoon until we could afford to plan an unforgettable adventure together.

*Disclaimer* As a red blooded man who knows his role [stay in your lane] the extent of my ‘planning’ for the wedding involved saying “yes” or “I agree” to any important decisions.

From the moment we said "I do" the planning for our honeymoon began. Our strategy? Get as much as we could for free! We spent the next 2 years signing up for select travel rewards credit cards that helped us execute our plan by using a combination of sign-up bonuses and strategic spending. As a result we were able to plan an amazing trip that allowed us to stay in several cities, (Dubai, Maldives, Zurich, Milan, Venice, Orvieto, Rome) got half-off our plane tickets, got all of our hotels for free excluding the Maldives and had the adventure of a lifetime.

For less than $3500 dollars we got to see the world with and experience we will never forget it!



Over the course of a little over two weeks our free-planning landed us in Dubai, after an 18 hour flight (Half-Off: Barclay Arrival) where we stayed 3-nights in the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm  (Free: Hilton Honors), took a helicopter ride, enjoyed a desert Safari inclusive of camel rides, hawk training and a ride in a vintage 1950s Land Rover.

Next we spent four days in the islands of the Maldives in an over the water Bungalow (SO FREAKING COOL!!!) with a private Jacuzzi. The highlights of the trip included a seaplane ride to and from the island oasis, snorkeling, swimming with sharks and a sunset boat cruise. We ended up paying for our entire hotel stay in the Maldives because we chose an All-Inclusive option.  Our research showed that individual meals can average over $100 per meal, the all-inclusive option proved to be the most cost effective.

Our next adventure took us exploring Europe by train. First stop involved spending a day exploring Zurich, Switzerland with a stay at the 5-star Park Hyatt Zurich (Free: Chase Sapphire). A 3-hr train ride later we were in Milan, Italy where we stayed one night at the 5-Star Park Hyatt Milan (Free Chase Sapphire) and enjoyed the beautiful city of fashion. Another 2-hr train ride to Venice, ‘the floating city’, were we stayed 2-nights at the Hilton Molino Stucky (Free: Hilton Honors), where we enjoyed the romance and beauty of the city on the water.

We were scheduled to go directly to Rome from Venice, however while we were in Dubai we befriended some fellow travelers that invited us to visit them in Orvieto, Italy at a family orchard. As a result we detoured our plans for a day and spent a lovely evening in the charming Italian city of Orvieto. The following day we resumed our journey to Rome, where we stayed two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn (Free: Hilton Honors). Rome was a lovely enriching experience of culture, cuisine and history that included the Coliseum, Roman forum, Trevi Fountain, and Vatican. Our return trip involved a short overnight stay back in Zurich at the Kameha Grand Zurich (Free: Hotels.com Rewards) before our return stateside.

To answer the question “Why did I spent 2 months planning a wedding & 2 years planning a honeymoon?”

My wife spent her entire life planning the wedding of her dreams [Insert husband here]. My gift to her was the honeymoon worthy of the fantastic way she makes me feel, so I decided to give her the world or at least as much of it I could fit into 2-weeks.

This trip was a hectic adventure. It also was not easy; it required extensive planning and research, 3am flights, plane sleeping, running to catch trains, a lot of Jet lag and overpriced bottled water. 

*Travel Tip* when you get an opportunity stock up on cheap bottled water, DO IT!

Did I mention we found out my wife was newly pregnant shortly after we booked our trip? That made it even more of an adventure and in the end we created a memory that will last a lifetime.

The only question left is “Where to next?”

I know a lot of websites tout the benefits of using points and credit cards to get insane trip deals for a fraction of the cost. I am not a travel expert, and I can’t rack up 150K points in one year to get a first class ticket to the other side of the world. But with a little careful planning I was able to make one person’s dream come true, and to me that’s all the reward I need!


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