Hello All,

My fiance and I are getting married in November of 2017, and she's graciously allowed me to plan our honeymoon from start to finish! I'm working on a plan, and would love some input and guidance! Mods, I apologize if this is in the wrong category, please feel free to move it as appropriate.

Overview: I've been saving up miles and points for this trip, and I have a decent amount of miles/points across many programs, and would prefer to have as little out of pocket expense as possible. My current mileage/points balances are below. I can modify my spending/staying/flying between now and booking time in order to reach needed point balance goals.

Chase UR: 309575
Citi ThankYou Points: 21,500
Barclay's Arrival Plus Miles: 71186
United MP (currently United Premier Gold): 151030
IHG Rewards Points (Currently Platinum Ambassador): 137446
Marriott (Currently Gold): 113922

Experience:
My fiance and I have are very limited when in our upper-class travel experiences, so I'm hoping to best leverage my points balances in order to give her the most luxurious honeymoon possible, something that would be entirely out of reach for us if we were paying cash. I've attempted to concentrate the majority of my points earning these last couple years in the most flexible programs I could find, and hopefully that will make my job a bit easier.

Timeframe:
Our wedding is in November, and we are planning on taking our honeymoon at any time a few weeks to months after the wedding. We're planning on taking 9 days, 8 nights away (including travel time), give or take a night or so in either direction.

Destination:
We're open to any location OCONUS, really, but would like to keep the entirety of the trip in the same general section of the world. Since we only have around 8 nights away, I'd like to minimize superfulous travel time (i.e US to Europe to Asia back home to US). However, I'm hoping for two distinct destinations in the trip, both with a different vibe, with a short(ish) trip (plane or train) to get from one to the next, i.e. Paris/Cannes or Paris/Greek Islands. In addition, the (soon-to-be) Mrs. would like some relaxing and quiet down time on the water somewhere relatively secluded. None of these qualifications are really dealbreakers, but are all on my wish list.


Initial Thoughts:
After a good amount of research and investigation, I came up with the following Itinerary, for the first part of April, 2018.

Day 1: Travel day, Lufthansa First Class from RIC-CDG via JFK and FRA, with a four hour layover in FRA so we can spend some time in the First Class Terminal at FRA. Cost: First Saver Award 220000 United Miles, which I'll definitely have by the time Lufthansa opens award space two weeks prior to the trip. I'm a bit wary of space not being available, but I've kept an eye on it these last few weeks and it seems like it's pretty wide open once two weeks hits. I'll keep a better eye on it come April of this year, since that will give me a more accurate picture of what availability looks like the month I'm looking to travel.
Day 2: Arrive in Paris, Stay at InterContinental Le Grand for two nights. Cost: 120,000 total IHG points for a standard room. I'm hoping that my Platinum Ambassador status plus an excessive amount of begging and pleaading with the hotel prior to arrival will result in an upgrade
Day 3: Day in Paris
Day 4: Morning in Paris, flight in the afternoon to Athens, CDG-ATH on Aegean, 30K total United miles in Economy saver, ATH-CHQ, Crete on any puddle-jumper that will get us there that night, estimated cost no more than $300 total roundtrip (Barclay Miles to offset this cost)
Night 4: Check in to Domes of Noruz Chania for 5 nights. Total Cost, 160,000 Marriott Points (40k/night, 5th night free). This property is seasonal, and opens April 1, hence the 5 month delay post-wedding. Again, hoping my lowly gold plus shameless pleading will net positive upgrage chances.
Day 5-8: Stay at Domes of Noruz, hang out on the beach, maybe hop over to a nearby island for a day trip.
Day 8: Fly home, CHQ-ATH on a regional jet, ATH back home to RIC with a first saver award on United/Star Alliance for 160K total United Miles ea.

Total Costs:
380K United Miles
120K IHG Points
160K Marriott Points
Misc Barclays points to cover short hops and booking fees.

Things that drew me to this plan:
1. A true first class experience on Lufthansa using points. I know that there are better products out there (Etihad/Emirates/Singapore, etc), but most of them are not reachable with my United miles (or are very, very difficult to get with United Miles). Being able to sit up front with a great first class product, and spend time in the First class lounge in FRA is a big draw for me, since I'm hoping it'll make my fiance feel way fancy
2. Seemingly great and quiet resorts in Crete bookable with points.
3. A nice dichotomy between a couple nights in a busy city and a calming few nights on the water.

None of this is set in stone, and I'm asking for any guidance or thoughts on anything I've covered above. This *seems* like the most effective use of the points I have to book truly luxurious travel experiences, but I'm not tied to any part of it!

As always, the help of the FT community is appreciated. Let me know if I can provide any additional information!

Thank you in advance!