Do not expect your whole trip to be paid for unless your parents or grandmother have already indicated they will treat you to a nice honeymoon!
After booking the honeymoon that suits your style and budget, why not ask your friends and family to gift you with extra special experiences such as an upgrade to beach front lodging, a couples massage, a snorkeling tour, or private dinner on the beach instead of more towels and a toaster?
Your friends and family will love being able to gift something special for your wedding that they know you would like, but yet have options to choose what they can afford. With out of town relatives or a destination wedding, it also saves them money on gift wrap and shipping it to your home.
There are 2 main honeymoon or travel registry systems to consider:
Gift certificates for a specific activity they book through your travel planner (who has your wish list). Or a dollar amount applied to your honeymoon package. This version works well for older relatives and those not comfortable with the internet. Any reputable travel agency can do this and may have cards so you can announce your registry.
Online Registries where you have a page to post your wish list broken into smaller increments much like a set of dishes split into place settings. The better your description is – the more likelihood of getting the gift! Some companies charge a fee to the bride & groom. IMO, that’s paying to receive your gift. Other companies charge a small handling fee to the giver which ends up costing less than wrapping and shipping housewares.
When do you tell people you have a travel registry? As soon as you have booked your trip. Or when you send “save the date” notices. That way you might get some great experiences for shower gifts. Or a with a card inserted in your printed wedding invitations.
When do you get the funds? Gift certificates would be as soon as the person gives it. Online registries work like an escrow account and you receive one check just before the wedding and sometimes a second one a couple weeks after with the last minute gifts. Since registry funds come in after you have made your package final payment – it’s best for adding optional experiences, upgrades and during travel expenses.
Of course, you send a Thank you card saying how much fun you had with or doing the gift they selected not thanks for the cash….
From my experience, many couples keep their options open with a combination of agency gift certificates and our affiliation with the oldest online registry plus a store registry such as Macys or Target.
Contributed by Puget Sound Wedding Professional Member Paula Demmer of Travel Leaders.
This is soo helpful, just organising my Honeymoon Registry now, will probably pay for half of it ourselves, but all the contributions from family and friends help!
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