Wedding registry alternatives

We decided not to register since we put monetary gifts and came home with less. It helped than piling up on gifts unneeded. We were the same when got married.

On our invitations and our wedding website I made a note that we already have everything we need, so wedding gifts aren't necessary and would prefer to have a nicer honeymoon instead, but gifts would gladly be accepted, pending we didn't have the item already. We haven't set up a registry at a store specifically so people don't buy us anything.

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All of the honeymoon registry websites that I looked into wanted you to use the credit card option so they could make money from it, but you can turn that feature off on most if you look hard enough. I also opted to pay I think $35 to upgrade to a premium account so that I could choose a theme background and eliminate adds for the people viewing the registry. It was worth it in my opinion!

Borrow away!

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Thanks! I didn't like the Honeyfund fee and I'm glad the cash work-around works! And that's great language for the registry. I hope you don't mind me borrowing it when the time comes for us.

I decided to go with a travel agent and guests can choose any amount the want to donate in travel gift cards, since we won't be going till 2019. So they can pay for the gift cards in any form, and in US or Canadian funds.

This is what I put on our website and in on our registry announcements, and we did register at a store as a backup in case someone didn't want to donate.

"Honeymoon Wish
We’ve lived alone and together for quite a while, with all our pots and pans, we don’t need homely gifts, we’ve got another plan!

We know it’s not traditional and not the way it’s done, but rather than a wedding list we’d love a bit of sun. So if you’d like to give a gift and send us on our way a donation to our honeymoon would really make our day!!!!

Then while we’re relaxing on the beach or by the pool or site seeing or doing something adventurous, we’ll sit back and know this is truly all thanks to you.

But the choice is really up to you, and we would like to say, that the best give we could receive, is you, here on our special day.

But for those who really wish to shop and get us a gift we also provided a store registry option see link below.

Help us start our fairy tale in paradise :-)
We can’t wait to start the first days of the rest of our lives away from it all.
You can purchase a ***** Travel Gift Card in any amount $ you choose, to help us realize our Dream Honeymoon."

With love and appreciation."

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On our invitations for the shower, we listed that we were registered with the website and provided the URL. Honeyfund functions in 2 ways: you can activate credit card giving or opt for 'offline' giving, which is essentially the cash option. The registry works the same way a regular one does, where the person selects the gift they want to give and then they can check it off the registry. People for my shower either selected the gift they wanted to give and then put cash in the envelope along with a printout of the excursion, or they simply gave cash without specifying what they wanted us to use it toward. We chose the offline option for a few reasons...1. we weren't limited to CDN or US currency...2. there is a charge for credit card processing that you either have to absorb or you have to pass on to your guests...3. it was easier than figuring out processing payment and collecting the cheque from the website.

So, we technically never asked directly for money, but the way out registry was set up, it was essentially the only option. Honeyfund has done some updates now, and you can link other physical registries to your honeymoon registry as well (including airline vouchers, amazon, etc.)

In our intro on the registry site, I wrote:

"Hi everyone!

First off, we'd like to say that your presence at our shower and wedding is the greatest gift we could ask for! The time, effort, and expense of traveling to be with us is something we deeply appreciate in our hearts, and we are so thrilled that we will be able to celebrate this happy occasion with you.

We have been blessed to have a lot of the "essential" home items a newly engaged couple needs. We hope you find this registry as a way to help us make our perfect honeymoon come true! While we have taken some exciting trips together, we are very much looking forward to our first real adventure as husband and wife. It is because of the lifetime of memories we will gain from this trip that we finally settled on a honeymoon registry. We greatly appreciate and will fondly remember these gifts for years to come. After all, the memories from this honeymoon will last a lifetime!

We'll do our best to document our experiences and share them with you all!

Thanks again and we can't wait to see you at the shower and wedding (or earlier!)."

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That sounds great. How did you word the request for contributions?

For my bridal shower, we did a honeymoon excursion registry. We had already booked our flight and resort to lock in the price, but we used honeyfund.com to build our excursion wish-list and people could go on and purchase those for us. A lot of people opted to give cash instead but we got about 5 excursions paid for which is great!

And people loved it - no one had to go to a store, they made no guesses about what we would like or not like and they know we'll out their gift to good use. I was nervous about it with older relatives, but people were really receptive to it!

My FH and I have done a honeymoon registry and a traditional registry for the odds and ends to help finish off our home! Honeymoon Wishes is the website we used, maybe check it out and see if it fits with your honeymoon plans!

My fiancé and I don't live together yet but we are starting a new life together shortly. So older items will find new homes (donating) and we will be getting some new things as we both have had hand me downs from family members through the years. Other than both of us have new beds, etc. I have also seen on here someone had a jack and jill shower and had games and things and people played the games and they had silent auction prizes almost like a social idea so money went towards the honeymoon.

We decided on no shower and we're not registered anywhere either. We having trouble combining 2 complete households so we really don't need anything. I think most people will give money and that will help us out with our honeymoon or our renovations. It would be nice if we got some Home Depot gift cards!

A honeymoon registry is a great idea (I already booked ours so won't be going that route but live the idea). We have lived together for 9 years and have two kids so we also have what we need. I am doing a small registry for the shower just for new towels, sheets etc. If that's all used up by the time the wedding comes around I'm assuming people will give money or gift cards

We still did a registry even though we have most of what we need. But I'm having a bridal shower and most of my family prefer to give gifts. We have a couple big items that my family can go in together on and also my wedding party, but mostly it was new everyday plates, cutlery, and decor items. Oh and some linens. We would prefer monentary gifts if given a choice, but either way it's about having the people in our lives celebrating with us, gifts or no gifts.

I still recommend you do a small registry with upgrades, new soft goods, etc, especially for your shower. Once those items are gone people will know to give you cash. You can also register for other home things like tools, storage items, gardening and lawn supplies...

We also just bought a house so we told people we don't need anything but that if people really want to get us something they can get us travel vouchers through Trip Central as we really want to travel and we usually book through them. It's something you can purchase online or in person so it's easy

You could always do a honeymoon registry or just ask for eclectic things you'd like but not necessarily buy for yourselves.