want to use Iphone in UK and Italy
 

US family traveling to UK family and everyone going to Italy for a wedding
I want/need to be able to Text and keep in touch with our group as we travel around
UK and Italy.
want to be able to text and call family back home.
need access to e-mails
I am the only member on our phone plan traveling.
Want to take pictures with Iphone

How can I do this at a reasonable cost

Define "reasonable".

The zero cost approach is to only use the phone in WiFi hotspots and use a combination of whatsapp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and Google hangouts for SMS/messaging/phone calls. And only do your internet tasks when connected to a WiFi signal.

You don't mention who your provider is but if it was T-Mobile you can switch to the plan that gives you free international data.

Get a sim in each country for the appropriate level of usage you anticipate. This should cost about $25 or less in each country.

I am a Verizon wireless customer and for a recent 2 week trip to Europe I added a 1mo international plan incl data, phone, and text for about $40 for one month. That was a reasonable cost for me to be able to stay connected to the business at home.

To reduce data usage you can connect to wifi at your hotel, apartment, or look for free wifi that restaurants, cafe's, coffee shops, or even some towns may offer.

To reduce any phone charges, call using facetime or skype over wifi.

Taking pictures cost nothing. Uploading/sharing pictures you can do over wifi.

To reduce text per message costs, use facebook messenger over wifi (or cell network).

sparkchaser and J62 thank you for your suggestions. I'm with ATT I just don't want any nasty surprises with my bill when I return

Turn off data roaming in Settings > Mobile Data to avoid nasty surprises when you get the next bill. To see which apps use mobile data on your iPhone, scroll further down the Mobile Data page.