Planning A Honeymoon: Creating A Wedding Registry For Travel

Planning your honeymoon is an exciting part of the wedding process, but it can also be expensive. A honeymoon registry is a modern alternative to a traditional wedding registry, where guests can contribute to your dream trip instead of buying physical gifts. This way, you can make your dream honeymoon a reality without breaking the bank.

There are several honeymoon registry websites to choose from, each with its own unique features and benefits. Some popular options include Honeyfund, The Knot, Traveler's Joy, and Blueprint. These sites allow you to create a personalised page with details about your trip, including photos, descriptions, and even links to websites. You can also list specific items or experiences that guests can contribute to, such as airfare, hotel stays, romantic dinners, or adventure activities.

Creating a honeymoon registry is a great way to make your dream trip a reality and ensure you have memories to last a lifetime.

Include a range of gifts to suit all budgets

When creating a honeymoon registry, it's important to include gifts that suit a range of budgets. This ensures that all your guests can contribute something, regardless of their financial situation.

You can get creative with this and include a variety of options, from smaller gifts like $15 towards shrimp tacos at a roadside food truck in Hawaii, to larger gifts like $250 for a romantic dinner at a top restaurant in Paris. Mix up the amounts of the gifts and consider adding a "General Honeymoon Fund Gift" to the end of your registry, allowing guests to contribute any amount they wish to your trip.

Some guests may prefer to give a physical gift, so it's a good idea to register for a few items to complement your honeymoon, such as luggage or other travel-related gifts. This also gives guests who aren't comfortable with online transactions or unfamiliar with honeymoon registries an alternative option.

Remember to provide clear and concise instructions for guests using your honeymoon registry, especially if they are less technologically savvy. You can also include a printed insert card with your wedding invitations to direct guests to your wedding website, where they can find more information about your registry and gift preferences.

Make it easy for guests to navigate

Making your honeymoon registry easy to navigate for your guests is essential. Here are some tips to achieve that:

Choose a User-Friendly Platform: Select a platform with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This will make it simple for guests to understand and use. A complicated platform may deter guests, especially those less technologically savvy, from navigating and using your registry.

Provide Clear Instructions: Ensure you provide clear and concise instructions for guests who may need assistance. This can include guidance on how to use the platform, make contributions, or select gifts. Clear instructions create a seamless experience for your guests.

Include a Variety of Gift Options: Offer a range of gift options to cater to different budgets and preferences. This can include smaller contributions towards specific experiences or items, such as a romantic dinner or airfare, as well as larger items like accommodation or excursions. This ensures that guests can find a gift that aligns with their budget and your wishes.

Utilize a Wedding Website: Create a wedding website that serves as a central hub for all wedding-related information, including your registry. This provides guests with a convenient and easily accessible location to find all the details they need. It also allows you to include more information about your honeymoon plans and experiences, enhancing their understanding of their contributions.

Share Your Story and Itinerary: By sharing your story, itinerary, and travel plans, your guests can better understand where their contributions are going. Be descriptive about your chosen destination, the experiences you plan to have, and why this trip is meaningful to you. This helps guests feel more connected to your honeymoon and creates a sense of involvement in your special journey.

By following these suggestions, you can create a honeymoon registry that is navigable and guest-friendly, ensuring a positive experience for all involved.

Share your travel plans

Most registry websites have a space for you to write about your story as a couple and your upcoming travels. Be descriptive and honest, and outline your itinerary so that guests understand what they are contributing to. Include as many details as you can about your trip, such as where you're going, why you chose that destination, and what you're looking forward to doing there. Paint a picture for your guests of what your ideal honeymoon looks like, including the spots you want to see, the experiences you'd like to try out, and where you plan on eating.

Let your guests experience your trip with you by making your gifts as descriptive as possible. Your friends want to see and hear about the beautiful waterfall you will visit or the delicious dinner you will eat. Providing photos, detailed descriptions, and even links to websites will help your guests live vicariously through you and be excited about helping you make those memories.

Consider your personality as a couple. Are you fun, sweet, intelligent, or adventurous? If you are adrenaline-seekers, for instance, include opportunities for your friends and family to gift you thrilling activities like snorkelling, zip-lining, or even running with the bulls in Spain! Guests are much more excited to contribute toward a gift if they can really picture you enjoying it.

List gifts for many different budgets. This is perhaps the most important aspect of creating a successful registry. Listing gifts of different prices means guests with a variety of budgets will be able to find a gift to give. It could be anything from $15 towards shrimp tacos at a roadside food truck in Hawaii to $250 for a romantic dinner at the best restaurant in Paris. Get creative and really mix up the amounts of those gift items!

Provide a traditional registry, too

Although a honeymoon fund is a modern alternative to a traditional wedding registry, it is still a good idea to provide a traditional registry, too. This is because some guests may not be comfortable with contributing to a honeymoon fund. For example, they may not know how to navigate the platform or be happy about putting their credit card or banking information into a website they are unfamiliar with. Others may simply prefer to give a tangible gift.

If you are an established couple who already has all the housewares you need, or perhaps you live in a small space and don't have room for lots of new things, you could consider registering for a few items to complement your honeymoon experience. For example, you could register for some new luggage or other travel accessories.

It is also important to note that you should not include your registry information on your wedding invitation. Instead, you can create a printed insert card to include with your invitation, or direct guests to your wedding website for more details.

Include a honeymoon fund on your wedding website

A honeymoon fund is a modern alternative to a traditional wedding registry. It is becoming more common for couples to ask their guests to help fund their honeymoon. If you're planning to include a honeymoon fund on your wedding website, here are some tips to make it a success:

Share your travel plans

Be descriptive and detailed about your travel itinerary so that your guests understand what they are contributing to. Outline your destination, the spots you want to see, the experiences you'd like to try out, and where you plan on eating. Paint a picture for your guests of what your ideal honeymoon looks like so they can visualise their contribution.

Break it down into specific items

Instead of just asking for money, break down your honeymoon fund into specific items and experiences. This makes the gifting experience more personal for your guests. For example, you could include items like airfare, hotel stays, romantic meals, excursions, or even smaller items like a memory foam travel pillow or a hammock for the beach.

Make it easy for guests to navigate

Choose a user-friendly platform for your wedding website and provide clear, concise instructions for guests. Consider using a platform that allows you to continuously check your pacing towards your goal and see who has contributed, as this will be helpful when writing thank-you cards.

List gifts for different budgets

It's important to list gifts at a variety of price points so that guests with different budgets can find something to contribute. This could range from a small contribution towards a meal at a roadside food truck to a larger gift like a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. You could also include a "General Honeymoon Fund Gift" option, where guests can contribute any amount towards your trip if they don't find items within their budget on the registry.

Share your registry

While it's not appropriate to include the registry information on your wedding invitations, you can create a wedding website to share your registry details. You can also use social media to notify your guests about your honeymoon registry or ask your family and wedding party to spread the word.

Frequently asked questions