first time, maybe last!

If Italy is a must do here is a thought ( rough outline)

Fly into Rome -4 nights
Fly to Paris- 4 nights
Train to Amsterdam- 3 night
Train to Brussels/Bruges to accommodate the wedding

Or you can start with the wedding and go the reverse and fly home from Rome

Doing HOHO in Rome may be less than ideal or not meet you expectations of your other experiences. Check out the routes.

My $0.02

The advent of the budget European airlines certainly allows travelers to take on other cities very economically.
Most great European cities are worthy of a 4 day/night visit, however if you study the city well and take a tour or hop on hop off bus, you can hit the highlights in 3 days.
Go for it.

thanks Joe and David for your thoughts! i needed to get some feedback before i proceeded any further!

Are Paris and Amsterdam also "must-do" destinations ? As noted above, there are low-cost-carriers offering intra-Europe flights that could get you to Italy -- but you need to prioritize your destinations to fit in your time budget. Make sure you consider flying into one city and out from another (multi-city ticket) rather than having to return to your first city to fly home.
Is this replacing your June anniversary trip ?

Janette,

Is 14 days the maximum you have for this trip? If you could share which airport you'll be flying out of, one of the other forum members may have some good tips on the best flight options.

As this is your first time, I'd suggest reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. That has a lot of good information on how to travel well in Europe. Once you've decided on which places you'll be visiting, use country or city specific guidebooks to play sightseeing, transportation, hotels, etc.

Hi Janette -

If you can get a flight that goes to Rome, it’s definitely worth 2-3 days exploration. Sure, you won’t see it all but you can get a feel of the place and see plenty.

Connect to Paris and Amsterdam by cheap flights from Rome - should be relatively straightforward to get cheap flights. Personally I’d start by searching the EasyJet site and see if that helps.

Have a great trip!

Ian

Lots of Rome is off limits to buses, but is very walkable. If you want a tour, there are plenty available if you want to get information from a guide. Some things you might just want to see, such as the outside of the colosseum. If you want to see the Sistine Chapel, consider taking a tour that gets you in first thing when it is only moderately mobbed (!)

3 days is plenty to see the highlights of Rome.

If you fly first to London, then I would spend 4 days there ( probably won’t do as much on the first day if jet lagged ), train to Paris for 3, train to Brussels for wedding & Brugge, train to Amsterdam for 2-3 nights, then fly to Rome. If I had to cut out a day, it would be from Amsterdam, then London, then Paris

Ashley, Stephen, Ian ,Ken and Laura,

thank you for taking the time! all this is so helpful to me, you have no idea.

thanks again
Janette