Europe + Seychelles: desperate help needed

Hi everyone! I’m trying to plan our June 2026 honeymoon and could really use some advice / fresh ideas.

Context:

• we’ll get married on a Saturday night and want to fly out 48h later on the monday
• total trip length 12 – 15 days
• flights will be on points from the east coast of Canada; on-the-ground budget is USD 8-9 k
• plan is one European city for 4-5 days and then 8-10 days in the Seychelles
• not interested in Paris, Vienna, Athens, Istanbul, Madrid, Barcelona, or Zurich (been recently)
• we’re pretty adventurous (Patagonia 8-hour hikes, Tanzania safari, Vietnam, Egypt, etc.) but for the honeymoon we want a balance of adventure and beach downtime
• activities we love: hiking, snorkeling, diving, good local food & wine
• happy to island hop between the Seychelles since everything is pretty close by

What we’re stuck on:

• which single European city would be the best for us to visit as a first stop from Canada?
• best way to split time (and budget) across the Seychelles islands without blowing past USD 9 k
• any must-do hikes or dive / snorkel spots in June?
• hidden costs or planning pitfalls we should watch for?

If you’ve done anything similar or just have thoughts on great Europe + Seychelles combos please let me know. Thanks in advance!