Honeymoon Registries: The New Wedding Gift
What is a Honeymoon Registry? Is a Honeymoon Registry For You? These are all the questions we answer below. When in doubt, just do it! Why? Because who needs more stuff!!!!
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What is a Honeymoon Registry?
Sorry Target, sorry Bed, Bath & Beyond, sorry Williams & Sonoma, there are new kids in town. More and more brides are getting married later in life, meaning they have lived with their significant other and probably have already accumulated a pretty good stock of kitchen supplies, towels, household items, etc.… so likely you are looking for something different. What do you and your future spouse need or even want??
Well, you may just be looking for a honeymoon registry. These registries are a game-changer, and definitely better suited for the modern couple—and bonus, now you won’t feel guilty about giving away that Tervis tumbler set your mother-in-law bought.
Are Honeymoon Registries the New Trend?
Honeymoon Registries. Give the Gift of Experience. Have your friends and family help you choose some of the best adventures out there for the perfect honeymoon #vacay.
One of the growing trends is the honeymoon registry. Instead of the traditional registry where you get a bunch of household items, this allows you to ask for cash, massages and fancy dinners to enhance your wedding/honeymoon experience without feeling guilty. There are so many options but here we will give you a few that are worth a few extra looks.
1. Wanderable
Wanderable is ideal for honeymoons. You can actually take this registry to the next level with a stylish page design. They definitely win in style points. You choose your destination, and you get to start adding experiences. It's cool because it pulls in real activities that you can only do in that area, which is nice. You can also have money direct deposited and/or sent via snail mail. When guests pay using cash or check it's free, no fees!
Bonus: They have additional features on the iPhone app that creates thank yous from your own photos.
2. Honeyfund
This registry started as a way to raise money kind of like a GoFundMe or other crowdfunding sites except it’s only for weddings. The cool option on this one is you can create a special fund such as a house down payment, adoption, donations to your favorite charity, heck a newlywed bathroom remodel fund if you want. They have no transaction or setup fees and gives you contributions directly without any third-party service provider. It’s simple and easy if you are looking to gift something like cash.
3. Honeymoon Wishes
This registry partners with every supplier known to man. This is a HUGE PERK!!!! This is also probably the major player in the business. Whatever cruise, resort/hotel tour operator; they have it. I think they are the only vendor where you can have the gift sent directly to wherever you are going vs. you getting the money and paying the seller. It's all taken care of for you, right online. The downside is the service fee. But with that said, this site gives you an actual service that is similar to a travel agent. They also have some planning tools so you are getting a little more bang for your buck. They have been featured in The Knot, and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine.
4. Traveler’s Joy
I personally used this one for my wedding. It was great as we linked it to our Knot wedding website, and it was easy to add all the activities and excursions we wanted to see. There was a processing fee, however, it did not charge any guest and was just deducted from the gift amount. We linked our bank account, which was free. They also have some cool destination guides. Traveler's Joy is also the official registry for The Knot, Wedding Wire, and Wedding Channel.
5. ZOLA
This is the trendiest registry for those couples who aren't quite ready to give up all the tradition. It allows a couple to look for a broad range of items from dinnerware to honeymoon funds. You will receive a direct deposit straight to your bank account. There are credit card processing fees that are deducted from either you or your guest. You get the best of both worlds, experiences, and a little bit of stuff.
6. HITCH’D
HITCH’D is a modern, personalized registry that allows your friends and family to give any type of gift, experience or cash. Everything is totally custom and they make it easy to add a welcome message, include your wedding hashtag, and even use a custom URL. The best part is they make it really easy to get the gifts you want like experiences, not just a blender.
7. THANKFUL
THANKFUL REGISTRY allows you to choose the gift you want but also makes it easy to give back. Their slogan is “Gratitude makes the world go round” and that is because you can easily add a charitable donation option to your registry. 100% of the donation will go to the charity of your choosing. There is a one-time $30 fee but once that is paid you have access to your registry forever meaning you could use it again later on for a baby registry. They also allow you to make your registry password protected and it is of course customizable. Thankful does offer a free trial so you can check it out free of charge.
Which Honeymoon Registry Should I Choose?
Which is the right choice for you? Check them out, try for yourself. There are a few that are better for specific destinations and experiences than those that have flexible options, or if you want to plan everything yourself and just need the funds, Zola and Honeyfund will do the trick.
Some Honeymoon Registry Tips:
Set a realistic spending plan. Don't expect guests to cover your whole trip. Have some money saved, so you don't have to worry about not going to see the Great Wall of China. Think of this as icing on the cake.
Fees—if I were you, I would not have guests absorb the processing fees. Having them pay for this and the gift is a little much, especially if they are traveling to be with you on your special day.
Always read EVERYTHING on the website—you know, that fine print we can’t see. You want to make sure you get the gift and are not scammed or overcharged.
Include your registry on your wedding website, and any pre-wedding parties (engagement/bridal shower)
When deciding, look at all the factors: fees, security, style, features, and extras. As far as security, Honeymoon Wishes, Wanderable and Traveler's Joy are the only sites to take extra PCI compliant measures for encrypting data—meaning they are comparable to PayPal.
If these do not do the trick, here are a few others to check out: NewlyWish and/or Blueprint Registry. I have also heard that Tendr allows you to create any kind of registry for any kind of event so maybe you give that one a try!
Happy Honeymooning!!!!
Courtnie
xoxo
Courtnie is the founder & CEO of TravelBash. After years as an ambitious fundraiser, she took her passion for travel full-time. She has lived all over the U.S. and abroad and after planning her own destination wedding, she decided to help other couples plan their big day abroad too. She has written “Passport to Paradise: The Complete Destination Wedding Guide,” a top seller on Amazon. She has also been featured in Travel + Leisure, Destination I Do and The Washington Post. As a certified travel advisor, expert event planner and natural connector, she uses her powers to create VIP travel experiences.
