Honeymoon Registry

Lindzpr45

Hi All! My fiance and I are looking into an all inclusive honeymoon.  Originally, his mom was going to give us half the money for the trip and the other half we were hoping would get paid through a honeymoon registry.  Hoever, in looking further, we found out the whole trip has to be paid for 45 days before the trip.  I assume most of my guests will not be giving a gift until it is wedding time so I guess my question is, what is the point of a honeymoon registry??

pomundson0

Thats a great question that I've been wondering myself... I don't know if they reimburse you for anything you paid that you get again in gifts or not, but there are usually options where their gift can be an excursion (horseback riding, candlelit dinner on the beach, scuba, etc) that I don't think has to be paid for before the 45 day mark. A call to the resort may clear this up, but since we haven't narrowed down one just yet, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for sure!

alithebride

which is why I always tell people who come on the board asking about the HM registries that they still have to book and pay for a trip they can afford without their guests help.

slpankuch

You might get very mixed comments on here and people might get defensive about whether or not you should have one.

It is a way to tell people that you would like strictly money for your honeymoon. They give you one large check most of the time and I believe (not 100% sure) that you can get it a few weeks before your wedding. Usually it's a way to pay back some of the money you spent so meaning you get the check after your honeymoon to put into your savings. Now many couples find this appealing especially since they already live together and don't need anything as far as traditional registries go. Some people find it rude to have one because it's basically asking for money.
I just wanted to give you both sides of the argument so you can form your own opinion..just remember it's your own opinion. If you feel your family is fine with it, go for it. If you feel they are more traditional, you may want to steer clear.

In my personal experience, my family is just better word of mouth as far as us living together and not needing any pots and pans. So I did not get one (I was considering it and almost signed up) but I found out that many registries take out a %..it's not much but my mother convinced me that our family is very close and people know we don't want household items so I decided not to register at all.

Again cater it towards what you think your family would want..don't let people convince you one way or another.

brandichamberlain

Honeymoon registries are considered extremely rude in most areas.  Essentially guests are paying a website X amount of money but you don't get the full amount.  Just register for small things and let word of mouth go that you are saving for XYZ but don't count on that for your trip.

Maggie0829

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registry-43?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:2e7e9e05-cefa-4e77-9eb6-19f93933fbe0Post:e337ad22-50b3-4d42-b904-12c7b664225a">Honeymoon Registry</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi All! My fiance and I are looking into an all inclusive honeymoon.  Originally, his mom was going to give us half the money for the trip and <strong>the other half we were hoping would get paid through a honeymoon registry</strong>.  Hoever, in looking further, we found out the whole trip has to be paid for 45 days before the trip.  I assume most of my guests will not be giving a gift until it is wedding time so I guess my question is, what is the point of a honeymoon registry??
Posted by Lindzpr45[/QUOTE]

You should never plan something that you can't afford yourself.  What would have happened if the other half wasn't paid for by your guests?

You should plan and pay for the honeymoon that you can afford.  If you don't want a traditional registry then just register for a few items at a store or nothing at all and your guests will get the hint that you prefer money instead.

Honeymoon registries seem like a great idea at first but 1) you should never expect people to pay for your vacation and 2) the websites always take a cut of the money coming in so say Aunt Sue buys you a $100 dinner, the website will take a percentage of that money so you and your H will only get maybe $90 of the $100 gift.  If I were you I would much rather receive a check from Aunt Sue at our wedding for the entire $100 rather then getting ripped off from a website.

MNVegas

There is no point to a HM registry except for the HM registry company to make money. People already know cash is a great gift and don't need some silly gimmick to encourage them to give cash gifts. If anything many people find HM registries rude, offensive and deceitful which could turn off guests from giving cash.

Doing a small registry and good old word of mouth still works best and it is less controversial.

jelenybeany

Don't do a HM registry. I was going to do one, and then realized how awful they were. H and I made a small registry at BBandB. Not one guest gave us a physical gift. We got cash and gift cards.

I'm also concerned that you are planning a HM you can't afford. You either need to plan something you can pay for right now, or delay your HM. H and I couldn't afford to take a HM right after our wedding. We spent two nights together in a local inn, and we've saved our pennies and are going on an all inclusive vacation next week, 8 months after our wedding.

You have two options: book a less expensive hm and go on it right after the wedding.

Wait until after the wedding and see if you get any monetary gifts. Save all this money and spend it on a HM for the near future.

fairyflower

I had been considering the honeymoon registry route, but I also don't like that essentially my guests would have to pay a fee in order to give me money.  That being said I like the word of mouth idea, but how did some of you get that ball rolling without sounding greedy/tacky?

jelenybeany

You don't want to expect gifts. People know that cash is appreciated. Only a small handful of people asked my MIL what we wanted and she would simply reply, "Well, I'm not certain, but I do know they're saving for a honeymoon."

You should never bring up gifts, but if a guest directly asks you what you want or where you're registered, it's fine to say, "We'll we're saving up for a vacation/house/boat/race car."

People get the hint. And if they don't and you get personalized salt shakers, be happy they brought you something they thought you'd love

Leenie10

To OP: most websites charge and that is an awful surprise for your guests. Also, agree with others that if you feel you cannot afford the trip you shouldn't count on a registry to cover it. If for no other reason than you could be sadly disappointed when you don't receive enough to cover your honeymoon. If you are set on doing a honeymoon registry, you should look into doing it with a travel agent. Some do it without charging a fee.
 

jpymm

FI and I paid for our flight & room, but the hotel offers a registry with other activities like massages, wine & cheese, snorkle packages, restaurant credits, etc.  We have a traditional registry & a hm one.
Check to see if your hotel does one directly.
We aren't really advertising it to our guests, but my bm's are including it as part of my shower theme.  I think it's all about how you use it.  You def should not expect anyone to finish paying for your honeymoon.