Wedding Guests Contributing to Honeymoons
The high, and seemingly ever-increasing, costs of travel and accommodations make it challenging for many newlyweds to realize their dream honeymoons.
Enter honeymoon registries! Honeymoon registries make it easy for couples to create a list of desired experiences, accommodations, or activities for their honeymoon, much like a traditional gift registry. Instead of, or in addition to, registering for physical gifts like household items, couples can list elements of their honeymoon, such as flights, hotel stays, excursions or meals. Wedding guests can then contribute financially to these items or experiences, helping the couple fund their dream trip.
This type of registry has become particularly popular among couples who prefer experiential gifts over traditional ones. And many guests prefer contributing to a honeymoon fund over purchasing traditional registry items. This approach enables them to be part of creating a memorable experience for the couple, rather than giving a material object. Afterall, who remembers who gave them a set of knives, place setting or set of towels for their wedding?
Here is a handful of popular honeymoon registries:
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Hitchd: Hitchd is a honeymoon registry service that offers a variety of contribution methods including PayPal, Venmo and Cash App. Some of these methods are free for both the couple and their guests. However, if guests contribute using credit cards, there is a small processing fee.
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Honeyfund: Frequently ranked as a top choice for honeymoon registries, Honeyfund allows couples to create a honeymoon registry where guests can contribute to their honeymoon expenses. Guests can contribute using gift cards, PayPal and Venmo with no fees, while a small fee is applicable for other methods.
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Honeymoon Wishes: Honeymoon Wishes offers a free sign-up and registry creation. Depending how you choose to receive your funds there may be fees ranging from $4.95 to 7%. As their website points out, this is often less than the shipping, taxes, and gift-wrapping charges of traditional registries.
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Travler’s Joy: Traveler's Joy allows for cash, check, or direct transfer gifts free of charge. For credit card gifts, a 2.95% service fee is deducted from the gift amount, which can be covered by either the guests or the couple.
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Zola: Zola provides a honeymoon fund as part of its broader wedding registry services. They charge a nominal transaction fee for honeymoon funds to cover credit card processing costs. Couples have the option to either absorb this fee or let guests pay it at checkout. There's also a zero-fee option for guests who contribute directly to the couple's Venmo account.
Of course, it's important to compare options and to understand the terms of service before committing to one of these services. We also recommend reading recent customer reviews at sites like Trustpilot.
Thanks to Corinne M. for writing to share her honeymoon registry experience: "I checked out several registries - used Honeymoon Wishes and absolutely loved it! Everything was so professional and my guests raved about it. They even took the time to read my whole registry to my Grandma over the phone!"
Article updated November 2023.