Honeymoon Registries??

sstrom22

Have any of you used those honeymoon registries where guests can "purchase" an activity, meal, or part of your stay at your honeymoon site?  I've looked into it, but wondering if I'm missing something in the small print or if it's just better to let people know where we're going and hope some give us cash as a gift to use towards our adventures
Good experiences?  Bad? 
Thanks girls!

lexa10

IDK what other posters will say, but I've heard that some think that it's rude. I persoanlly think it would be a cool thing. I know in my case that by boyfriend got an apartment and we went and bought the things we needed, so for the most part, we won't really need to register for a lot.. mostly just the things we may want to upgrade.
An optional idea would be to have the honeymoon registry and another registry just for those who would like to buy a 'traditional' present.
I'm also anxious to see what other knotties have to say about this.. It seems to be a growing thing these days!

fallbride1109

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:9743d37c-7707-4653-82e3-86a83eab068e">Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]Have any of you used those honeymoon registries where guests can "purchase" an activity, meal, or part of your stay at your honeymoon site?  I've looked into it, <strong>but wondering if I'm missing something in the small print or if it's just better to let people know where we're going and hope some give us cash as a gift to use towards our adventures</strong> :) Good experiences?  Bad?  Thanks girls!
Posted by sstrom22[/QUOTE]

Most will tell you that this is the way to go.

kaesha

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:0057e13a-3753-45e3-8e3e-dfbf090664ae">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Honeymoon Registries?? : Most will tell you that this is the way to go.
Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

I'm definitely one of those people!

strlzfan11

Me too.  I don't know of any honeymoon registry that actually books your honeymoon and/or activities for you.  You still have to pony up the cash to pay for your trip.

My two cents: if it's rude to request that someone else (i.e.- mom & dad) pay for your wedding, then it's rude to request that someone else pay for your honeymoon.  It's one thing if someone OFFERS to pay for it, but it's an entirely different thing for you to basically demand it of them.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

The "small print" is that they 1) don't book the activities for you, necessarily. They just cut you a check and tell you to book your own $100 couples massage. Some people see it as just a sneaky way of asking for cash. And 2) They take a small "handling fee" out of the gift. If it's 5%, that means you only get $95 out of a $100 gift. Whereas if that person gave you cash or a check, you'd get the full amount.

Plus, you have to book the honeymoon before the wedding, in most cases, so you'll need to pay for everything up front anyway.

Personally, we just got some cash and some checks and used a little of it on our honeymoon. But it was nice to be able to use that money for whatever we wanted - honeymoon, savings, completing our registry, etc.

If people ask, say, "oh, we have a small registry at BB&B, but we're also saving for a honeymoon/house/renovations, etc."

reese511

the honey fund is totally free.

strlzfan11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:9b044112-8560-43a9-ab63-4ccfcfa542e4">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]the honey fund is totally free.
Posted by reese511[/QUOTE]

Just because it's free doesn't make it right.  JMO.

klynn13

I have looked into this and you can find all sorts of comparisons on the different websites. Honeyfund is the only one I have seen that doesn't take a percentage of your money, BUT if you have a paypal account set up then paypal does take a percentage of your money but I think it is very small. My FI and I already live together and do not need pots and pans and whatnot. What we need is the money for a honeymoon! I think a honeymoon registry is much better than people giving money to you because they can feel like they got you something specific like a dinner one night or part of your plane ticket (even though all the money is just piled together). I just know that my family would find it very offensive to just ask for money. And with the honeymoon registry you can get the money BEFORE the wedding if you want to go straight on your honeymoon. 

strlzfan11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:e4c87e82-d56c-4c1f-aac0-7da9aaef246d">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]I have looked into this and you can find all sorts of comparisons on the different websites. Honeyfund is the only one I have seen that doesn't take a percentage of your money, BUT if you have a paypal account set up then paypal does take a percentage of your money but I think it is very small. My FI and I already live together and do not need pots and pans and whatnot. What we need is the money for a honeymoon! I think a honeymoon registry is much better than people giving money to you because they can feel like they got you something specific like a dinner one night or part of your plane ticket (even though all the money is just piled together). I just know that my family would find it very offensive to just ask for money. And with the honeymoon registry you can get the money BEFORE the wedding if you want to go straight on your honeymoon. 
Posted by klynn13[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure that most honeymoon registries don't let you take unlimited cuts of your gifted monies.  If you can only take one or two cuts, wouldn't one have to be after the wedding?  How can you pay for your honeymoon in full that way if you plan to take your trip right after the wedding?

strlzfan11

Ok, so you're basically getting your guests to pay someone else to give you $$.  That does not make any sense to me.  As a guest if I wanted to give someone $100 I would give them the $$ without involving a third party who actually takes a cut of that money.  That is just absurd. 

Do you honestly think you're going to get enough $$ to pay for trip THAT far in advance to cover the costs of your airfare & accommodations?  Most people don't purchase wedding or shower gifts until the week before or sometimes the week of the event in question.  There's too much left to the unknown there.

Let's also not forget that you're not supposed to use wedding gifts received before the wedding until after the wedding actually takes place so taking the money out before the wedding is against all rules of etiquette.

reese511

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:210b4da7-55cd-458f-b299-27e1cbcf940d">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]From the Honeyfund website: "After searching high and low, we could not find a way to take online payments without incurring a fee. But there is a low-cost way  you  can accept credit cards payments directly from your guests: PayPal . Their transaction fees are very reasonable and you can  sign up for a free account in minutes . Guests will be redirected to PayPal to make their credit card payment as they would for any other web purchase (without needing a PayPal account). You'll receive the payments immediately into your PayPal account, directly from your guests." Everything is handled through Paypal and you can transfer money from your Paypal account to your bank account as much as you want. Paypal takes a percentage of each payment your guests make into your paypal account but it doesn't matter how many times you take the money out. 
Posted by klynn13[/QUOTE]

the giver has an option.  either send you a check for the item purchased.  OR go through pay pal. 

reese511

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:f6dae4af-e9a3-4a91-8be3-ea2a60e99380">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Honeymoon Registries?? : Just because it's free doesn't make it right.  JMO.
Posted by strlzfan11[/QUOTE]

i'm not saying whether its right or wrong.  its a matter of opinion. 
i was advising OP that there is a site that offers free HM registries.

jemmini6

I personally like the idea of a HM registry, but I agree that you absolutely should be able to afford it 100% yourselves.  Like one of the PP's said, no registry actually books anything for you, so you still have to be able to pay for everything up front (at least flight and hotel).  If you are solely relying on HM registry gifts, you'll likely end up without a HM at all.

crushme8602

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:dc009fa3-a7ea-43cd-bf9f-2e2e14eea15b">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]The "small print" is that they 1) don't book the activities for you, necessarily. They just cut you a check and tell you to book your own $100 couples massage. Some people see it as just a sneaky way of asking for cash.

And 2) They take a small "handling fee" out of the gift. If it's 5%, that means you only get $95 out of a $100 gift. Whereas if that person gave you cash or a check, you'd get the full amount. Posted by msmerymac[/QUOTE]

1) Not true. Our HM Registry included a list of activities that DH and I picked out, and people actually picked which one they wanted to give us. We got certificates saying what excursion they bought us, and the date and time it was already booked for. We didn't have to do anything but show up.

2) Not true. We got the full amount. There were no fees or anything at all.

Check into any travel agents locally that might offer HM Registries. You will usually have the best bet with them as opposed to an online site.

AND PS - as far as results go, about 1/2 of my guests bought something off our HM Registry, and the other 1/2 went with the typical (BB&B) registry.

sstrom22

Thanks for all of your posts!  Aside from the very opinionated and very negative comments, I think many of our friends WILL appreciate the option of paying for one of our experiences on our trip.  We CAN afford our entire trip on our own, and we're only asking for things like kayaking and tours... not airfare or lodging.  Our wedding is somewhat of a destination wedding (4 hours away from us) and I don't need any more dishes or cooking utensils.  I'm guessing people would rather get us something we'll actually use and avoid hauling a present up to the wedding.
Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions for us! 

megandjay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-registries-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:86048860-f0c3-4dfd-a594-1e4cde471de9Post:73ee3bf2-d016-4d7e-bf60-5d5cf4b7d63c">Re: Honeymoon Registries??</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for all of your posts!  Aside from the very opinionated and very negative comments, I think many of our friends WILL appreciate the option of paying for one of our experiences on our trip.  We CAN afford our entire trip on our own, and we're only asking for things like kayaking and tours... not airfare or lodging.  Our wedding is somewhat of a destination wedding (4 hours away from us) and I don't need any more dishes or cooking utensils.  I'm guessing people would rather get us something we'll actually use and avoid hauling a present up to the wedding. Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions for us! 
Posted by sstrom22[/QUOTE]

Beware that some of your guests may react like the folks on this board, not everyone will support this idea.