Instead of a gift registry, how about a honeymoon registry?

Who needs more stuff? Take a fab honeymoon gifted by family and friends instead.

Wed, Mar 14 2012 at 1:06 PM

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Eco-tourism

A couple stands on a sandbar at the beach looking out at an island.

Photo: nattu/Flickr

More than 70 percent of couples live together before marriage, and by the time most brides- and grooms-to-be start their walk down the aisle to say their vows, they have pretty much everything they need. Previously de rigueur wedding gifts, like Cuisinarts, dishes, decorative vases and other for-the-home items are long-ago bought and used by today's couples, who, according to both polls and anecdotal evidence, are more interested in experiences than stuff.

Combine the above info with the fact that there's an app (or site) for pretty much every desire these days, and now you've got the Honeymoonwishes.com registry. Simply, it's a site for guests to help out financially with your honeymoon, rather than give you a fondue pot that might end up in the back of the cabinet for the next 20 years. But it also involves the people you love enough to invite to your wedding in your honeymoon; they can see the cool places you'll be staying and the activities you have planned, which is pretty fun.

According to the How the Registry Works page, "Once they have selected their honeymoon location, couples then choose which 'honeymoon experiences and memories' they would like to have, such as snorkeling and diving excursions, hikes, tours, golfing, massages, romantic dinners, and more. Couples then send their wedding guests a link to their Honeymoonwishes.com registry where guests can make their gift purchases."

Check out a sample honeymoon registry here — it can include accomodation upgrades, car rental, a night out, a round of drinks, shopping for local art, or visiting a famous restaurant at the honeymoon destination — or pretty much anything a couple can think of.

Less stuff to fight over and a better honeymoon? What more could a bride and groom ask for?

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Comments: 12

josheyne Nov 10 2012 at 11:29 PM

Some honeymoon registries can be a bit tacky because what they do is have a large gift like 'Airfares' and they ask 20 people to contribute $50 each. They may as well just ask for cash, we used http://ourhoneymoonregistry.co because each gift is only allowed to be chosen by 1 guest, so the guests get an intrinsic connection to the gift

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jacq Apr 18 2012 at 12:41 PM

No matter how you look at it, you are asking friends and family to open their wallets. Gift giving is evolving. Many couples getting married today already have pots and pans and food processors - why would they need more stuff? A Honeymoon Gift Registry is a great alternative - friends and family contribute to a couple's overall experience and forever lasting memories through a trip of a lifetime. Not only is the gift giver contributing to something very, very special but when that couple returns

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they share pictures and stories of their adventure. In my eyes that is more special and meaningful than a pot or a pan. A recent Honeymoon Gift Registry study revealed that more money is given to Honeymoon Gift Registries than traditional gift registries. This trend proves that friends and family get more joy out of contributing to an experience rather than giving a material object. In addition, let's look at the dollars and cents of a Honeymoon Gift Registry vs. a Traditional Gift Registry. When you register for, let's say a set of plates at Crate & Barrel, you are asking that person buying the gift to pay full price for that item. (not to mention shipping costs) The mark up on items like that is incredible - upwards of 200%. When you are contributing to a Honeymoon Gift Registry whether the couple is doing a DIY honeymoon or working with a travel agent/planner the couple has options of getting the best bang for their gifted dollars. Finally, let’s look at the real costs of paying a Honeymoon Gift Registry Service. There are a few out there that are “free” but when is ANYTHING free? Those organizations are either selling your information to spammers (have you noticed an increase in spam emails since signing up?) or they are littering their website with all sorts of advertisements many of which go on your personal Honeymoon Gift page. There is a second tier of Honeymoon Gift Registries like my company, SendUsOff that don’t employ these tactics to get paid. We simply ask for a small percentage of the final total of what the couple receives. Remember that places like Crate & Barrel are asking for up to 200% on the front end; why not pay a much smaller percentage on the back end, get the gift you really want – a trip of a lifetime - and get a much bigger bang for your gifted dollars! Jacq Nichols with SendUsOff.com

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Jacq Nichols Apr 18 2012 at 12:36 PM

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they share pictures and stories of their adventure. In my eyes that is more special and meaningful than a pot or a pan. A recent Honeymoon Gift Registry study revealed that more money is given to Honeymoon Gift Registries than traditional gift registries. This trend proves that friends and family get more joy out of contributing to an experience rather than giving a material object. In addition, let's look at the dollars and cents of a Honeymoon Gift Registry vs. a Traditional Gift Registry. When you register for, let's say a set of plates at Crate & Barrel, you are asking that person buying the gift to pay full price for that item. (not to mention shipping costs) The mark up on items like that is incredible - upwards of 200%. When you are contributing to a Honeymoon Gift Registry whether the couple is doing a DIY honeymoon or working with a travel agent/planner the couple has options of getting the best bang for their gifted dollars. Finally, let’s look at the real costs of paying a Honeymoon Gift Registry Service. There are a few out there that are “free” but when is ANYTHING free? Those organizations are either selling your information to spammers (have you noticed an increase in spam emails since signing up?) or they are littering their website with all sorts of advertisements many of which go on your personal Honeymoon Gift page. There is a second tier of Honeymoon Gift Registries like my company, SendUsOff that don’t employ these tactics to get paid. We simply ask for a small percentage of the final total of what the couple receives. Remember that places like Crate & Barrel are asking for 200% on the front end; why not pay a much smaller percentage on the back end, get the gift you really want – a trip of a lifetime - and get a much bigger bang for your gifted dollars! Jacq Nichols with SendUsOff.com

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butlerbythesea Mar 27 2012 at 2:05 AM

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful information with us.

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Josie Mar 19 2012 at 12:46 PM

Don't forget Deposit a Gift! They're the only one that let you combine a honeymoon registry with anything else. So you can add your travel plans plus anything else like dishes or linens or charity or a home downpayment even

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jcy Mar 15 2012 at 4:12 PM

There's a site that's been doing this for a while. Deposit A Gift

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Pituca Mar 15 2012 at 10:48 AM

We used honeyfund,com and were very happy (and it was free to use, unlike some other honeymoon sites). Our guests really loved the idea of contributing towards a honeymoon trip to England. No one had anything bad to say about it and they were excited to know they were giving us an experience we truly wanted and were going to use (plus it made sense to them since they knew we already owned a home and had been living together for years). A win-win for everyone!

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Enter your name Mar 15 2012 at 9:50 AM

tacky. "we don't trust you enough to find us something we like or will use so we have made a list of pre-approved gifts, ahem, cash account for you to choose from. thanks in advance for your enormous generosity."

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Guest Mar 15 2012 at 6:54 PM

We had a honeymoon registry as my (now) husband and I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment. We only have two closets (no storage room) and these are bursting at the seams with 'stuff'. We are in need of no new things, so this is why we asked for help paying for the honeymoon. Friends and family bought us experiences, which we will never forget. That crock-pot you just gave someone, newsflash, they already received two others just like it. We received only positive feedback with regards to our honeymoon

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registry. It is just a more practical way to go for some couples. I do not think it is tacky at all.

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Enter your name Mar 15 2012 at 11:58 AM

Tacky? It is far more reasonable. People are already making a registry for "pre-approved" gifts. This is the logical next step. I wish my brother and his wife would have done this. I wouldn't have had to log coffee maker after coffee maker into the thankyou list for 7 different guests who didn't realize they had purchased the same item.