Luke & Romy, a couple from the island of Malta, Europe, recently got engaged and instead of wedding planning, they have decided to leave their life behind to explore the world for nine months prior to their wedding day. The goal? Learn more about each other in foreign places than they could have ever discovered in the comforts of their routine life. After all, its said true colors shine on the road less traveled, and in this case, the soon-to-be-married couple is putting that theory to the test!

We caught up with Luke & Romy, also known as the Tag Along Travellers, to find out how their pre-honeymoon adventure has been treating their relationship thus far.

Why did you decided to travel together instead of planning your wedding?

Romy: Our mantra is “Dream, Believe & Make it Happen”. In our daily lives, we choose to take our decisions based on that principle to make sure that we live the life that we feel is best for us. Last April, we got engaged, and getting married wasn’t the only thing Luke proposed. He also suggested that we travel for nine months before the wedding. So it started with me having the shock of my life, by seeing my securities crumbling down before me. That’s how it all started. It wasn’t an easy task to just leave it all behind. But something had to be done.

We were stuck in a routine that we didn’t like, one that was heavily dictated by what society wanted us to do. We were chasing money not our dream. Realising that we weren’t really following our own mantra we decided to start from scratch and invest in our relationship through travelling.

I was already absorbed in planning the wedding, but I quickly realised that focusing all our energy on planning a single day, the wedding day, is too much effort for our liking. And so we took our decision, together to quit our jobs, reduce the energy on wedding planning, and travel. This wasn’t an escape from reality; rather we see it as a ‘pre-wedding boot-camp’ that would not only solidify our relationship but also provides a blank canvas where we can shape the foundations of our future.

Now we have already started our travels. In August we flew to Colombia for three weeks, and right now we are on an epic 2 month road trip in Europe.

What has the journey been like so far?

Luke: For us, this journey is not a holiday. Rather, it is an investment in our future. Therefore, yes, we intend to admire the amazing new places we visit, and be-friend the great people we meet on the road, but we are also focusing on growing our relationship.

The Colombia trip and the two month roadtrip were relatively short and therefore particularly hectic. They involved so much moving around which tested our patience. While traveling, there are so many decisions to take on, i.e. where to go and what to do, and these have helped in us in learning how to compromise on decision taking, as well as budgeting.

I’m not saying that this journey hasn’t had its downs. We have argued, I mean who wouldn’t, traveling with someone 24/7 has its downsides. But this has brought us closer together as we are getting to know each other better, we are working on reaching compromises and learning how to forgive easier and not hold a grudge. In fact we have shared 7 lessons learnt through traveling as a couple, which we have learnt till now.

How did your decision to travel instead of wedding planning effect your relationship?

Romy: Before setting off on this adventure, we could dream together, what if? But now we are discovering the kind of life we want to live, because we are living it and we’ll keep on working toward that. This gave us a common vision for our future, not as two individuals, but as a soon-to-be married couple.

We are now bound to leave on a six month adventure to Asia returning only 55 days before the wedding. This journey will be focused more on reflection and on designing and building the lifestyle of our dreams. Our aim is not to be living on the edge, everyday trying to make the most of this year as if it is the last holiday of our lives. Many people who travel for a year go all-out traveling and forget they will eventually go back home and face reality again. We don’t want to have our travels finished, and end up in the uncomfortable position of needing a job. Instead, we are planning our days to be balanced between creating memories, nurturing our love and creating a source of income that allows us to live the life we want.

To follow along Luke & Romy’s journey, visit their blog TagAlongTravellers.com.