For nearly a decade my dream travel destination was to visit Paris, and in 2017 my dream finally came true when my amazing boyfriend at the time took me to Europe over the summer! We had an epic 2-week adventure through Europe, visiting Belgium, Venice, Milan, and saving the best for last, Paris! Just when I thought my first trip to Paris couldn’t get anymore magical, he proposed to me on our last night there in front of the Eiffel Tower! Talk about a dream inside of a dream come true. On our way back home from getting engaged in Paris, I came up with crazy idea that it would be so fun to take my wedding dress back to Paris on our one year wedding anniversary to take some photos…
As we continued the wedding planning process, we started discussing what we wanted to do for our honeymoon. We both agreed that we definitely wanted to go back to Europe for another epic adventure, after all we had SO MUCH FUN the first time. When we were talking over logistics of the date we chose to get married and when we could go take a 2 week honeymoon trip to Europe, we decided to go on our honeymoon two weeks before the wedding, I know, not your typical wedding timeline. After all , we definitely aren’t your typical couple either, we don’t play by the rules.
Once we decided we were headed back to Europe for a totally unconventional honeymoon, I got so excited because here was my opportunity to take my wedding dress back to Paris to get photos where we got engaged. I became dead set on bringing my wedding dress with us on our trip to Europe and not only getting photos taken in Paris, but to find photographers to take pictures of us in Rome and Greece too. I mean, the dress was going to be there with us anyway…why not?! Everyone thought I was absolutely INSANE, and maybe I was. But looking back, what’s insane to me is the fact that I almost let everyone’s comments talk me out of doing it.
Just about everyone I told that I was taking my dress to Europe to get bridal photos done before the wedding said something along the lines of…
“…but what if your dress gets lost?”
“…but what if you ruin your dress?”
“…but what if your dress gets dirty?”
“…but what if someone steals your dress?”
Every single one of those things were 100% possible and valid concerns…and all I could think was, “But what if it doesn’t…?” If everything goes as planned, I get the most insane, once in a lifetime, fairytale photographs of my dreams. So, I took a chance of everything going wrong…because maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out absolutely perfect.
And it did.
Yes, my dress got dirty.
Yes, my husband saw my dress before the wedding.
Yes, my dress wasn’t absolutely perfect on my wedding day.
Yes, I was concerned it would get lost.
Yes, my dress momentarily got stuck in the trunk of an Uber in Paris.
Yes, it was a pain in the butt to carry around Europe from plane, to train, to car, to hotel…
But, it was 1000% worth it!
I had this beautiful vision in my mind I was 100% set on making a reality. Despite everyone making me feel crazy about my wedding adventure idea (even my husband) I was determined to make this vision in my head happen. (PS – he’s now so thankful that we got a little crazy and captured all of these amazing photos on our honeymoon.)
The experience of taking my wedding dress to Rome, Santorini, and Paris to take photos is something I will NEVER forget. We saw and experienced these cities in a way we wouldn’t have without taking these photos. It was truly magical to see Rome in the early hours when it was deserted and free of the massive crowds of tourists. It was the craziest adventure to be guided through the tiny streets of Santorini by the local photographers, standing on rooftops to see all the “picture perfect” views on the island. It was an absolute dream come true to create my fairytale vision, wearing my over the top princess wedding dress, in my “dream city” of Paris, where we got engaged.
When you travel, you typically take pictures of all the sights and places you go. This was a truly remarkable experience to not just take a picture of these places, but to BE a part of the picture. There are somethings in life you only get ONE chance to act on, if you miss it, the chance is gone forever. I am so glad I trusted my heart instead of listening to everyone else’s concerns, so I didn’t miss this chance to create the most amazing lifetime memory.
Moral of the story: Quit listening to what everyone else has to say and trust your heart.
This is your life, you get one shot at it…make it absolutely legendary.
My favorite part of this adventure? Knowing I left a trail of sparkle everywhere we went. A piece of my dress will forever be glittering the streets of Rome, glimmering in the Santorini sunsets, and sparkling next to the Eiffel Tower.
Don’t worry, there’s more! Dragging my beautiful (and very big) Liliya wedding gown across Europe with us was an adventure in and of itself, not to mention the insanely beautiful photos we captured along the way. Click the links below to see the magic we captured in each stop!
Wedding Adventure Part 1: Tomorrowland
Wedding Adventure Part 2: Rome, Italy
Wedding Adventure Part 3: Santorini, Greece
Wedding Adventure Part 4: Paris, France
Wedding Adventure Part 5: Wedding Day, Salt Lake City, Utah, 8.11.18