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Honeymoon
Registries:
A Guide to Asking for Your Honeymoon as a Wedding Gift
by: Jerry
Windley-Daoust
Is the cost of your wedding putting the
honeymoon of your dreams out of reach? Not to worry; if you already have
all the kitchenware and bedding you need, and if you have generous
friends and family, your problem might be solved by setting up a
honeymoon registry.
A honeymoon registry is much like a wedding registry. Just as a wedding
registry allows you to create a list of gifts you would prefer to
receive at your wedding, a honeymoon registry allows you to create a
list of places you would like to go and things you would like to do on
your honeymoon. The honeymoon registry enables your wedding guests to
purchase portions of your honeymoon. Yes, your guests could just
contribute cash toward your honeymoon, but somehow giving a particular
portion of the honeymoon—dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a carriage
ride, for example—is more meaningful.
Type the phrase "honeymoon registry" into your favorite search
engine, and you'll get thousands of results. There are three basic kinds
of honeymoon registries:
- Registries
that require you to book your travel through the travel agency
offering the registry.
- Registries
that allow you to book your travel either through the sponsoring
travel agency (or other affiliated travel agencies), through the
travel agency of your choice, or on your own. Usually these
registries charge an extra fee or higher service charge if you
choose not to book travel through the registry's parent travel
agency.
- Registries
that are not affiliated with any travel agencies, requiring you to
make travel arrangements on your own or through a travel agency of
your choice.
If a honeymoon registry sounds like the perfect solution for you, then
here is a quick guide to choosing, creating, and using one:
1. Choosing the honeymoon registry
Search for the term "honeymoon registry" on your favorite
search engine, and you'll come up with plenty of results. How do you
choose the one that's best for you? Here are a few basic tips:
Different registries offer various mixes of features and costs. Think
about what is most important to you. Do you want a slick-looking
registry with lots of automated features, or would your guests prefer
the personal service of a low-tech, high-touch registry? Does it matter
how much of a service charge your guests pay? Do you want the freedom to
arrange your own travel, or would you prefer to lean on the services of
the travel agents affiliated with your registry?
- Take
a "virtual tour" of several different registries. Start by
looking for the registry's FAQ page, then look at a few examples of
honeymoon registries.
- Look
for professionalism. Does the site provide a thorough explanation of
its services, including all fees and service charges? Does it
explain who you can contact or what you can do if you run into
problems? If the honeymoon registry is run by a travel agency, does
the FAQ explain the company's policy for cancelled or delayed
travel?
- Contact
couples who have actually used the registry. You can find couples by
looking up old honeymoon registries and doing a web search for their
e-mail addresses. Or look for e-mail addresses associated with
wedding home pages hosted by the registry service. Send a friendly
e-mail explaining your situation and asking for advice; most couples
will be happy to offer their advice.
- Talk
to someone from the registry service, either by phone or e-mail. If
the registry service falls short on customer service when you're
signing up, don't expect better service if a problem arises.
2. Creating the honeymoon
First, you submit some basic personal information—your names, the date
of the wedding, contact information, and so on. Then you create your
registry, which is an itemized list of all your honeymoon expenses. Some
registries charge a setup fee, usually between $100-$150; others charge
nothing to the wedding couple, but charge wedding guests a "service
fee” when they buy part of the honeymoon. Most honeymoon registry
websites allow you to create your registry right away over the web.
Other sites put you in touch (by phone or e-mail) with a representative
who helps you create your registry.
What can you list on your registry? If you can buy it, you can list it.
Typical registries list transportation, lodging, activities, special
amenities, and meals. Expensive items are usually broken down so guests
can choose to pay only a portion of the item. For example, a honeymoon
registry might list 10 gifts of $100 each toward your $1000 airfare
expense.
Some honeymoon registries allow you to personalize your registry with a
message to your guests and descriptions of the different parts of your
honeymoon, perhaps even allowing you to upload pictures to the registry.
3. Announcing the honeymoon registry
Once your registry is set up, you need to let your wedding guests know
that it exists. Many registries will provide you with printed cards
announcing the registry and its web address; you can either mail them
with the wedding invitation or separately. Some registries will e-mail
your wedding guests if you provide their addresses.
The more tactful approach is to let your guests know about your registry
indirectly. Let your parents, close friends, or wedding party members
know that you have a honeymoon registry; they can pass the word along to
guests. Or create a wedding web page with up-to-date information for
guests, and include a link to your registry on that page. You can then
list the address of your wedding web page in your invitation without
directly bringing up the issue of gifts.
4. Buying gifts from the honeymoon registry
Guests look up your registry by typing your last name(s) into a search
box on the registry website. After reading what you want, they click on
the item(s) they want to buy and pay for the items over the website.
Most registries also allow guests to purchase items by phone.
The gift-giver usually receives a certificate that is either sent to the
wedding couple or to the giver (to hand on to the couple in person);
some registries charge a fee to mail this certificate. Other registries
notify the couple of the gift by e-mail. On any registry, you can track
how many gifts you have received simply by logging into the registry.
It's important to note that most registries require guests to pay a
service charge for the privilege of contributing to your honeymoon. The
service charge is a percentage of the cost of the gift; the registries
we surveyed had service charges ranging from 3.5% to 15%. So if a guest
wants to pay $100 toward your airfare and the honeymoon registry website
imposes a 10% service charge, she will end up spending $110.
5. Paying for the honeymoon
The wedding couple are ultimately responsible for paying for their
honeymoon expenses. That means that any portion of the honeymoon that
must be paid prior to the wedding (airfare, room deposits and so on)
comes out of your pocket. Some or all of those expenses might be picked
up by your guests, although most couples' honeymoon expenses are not
completely covered by their registry. It's wise not to plan a more
extravagant honeymoon than you can pay for yourselves.
Whatever money wedding guests contribute toward the honeymoon is placed
in a holding account. The registry sends the couple a check (or
electronically deposits the funds into their account) on a predetermined
date, usually a week before the wedding. Even though the wedding guests
paid for certain parts of the honeymoon, the couple is really free to
use the money for anything they want.
6. Thanking guests
It's important to write thank-you notes to guests who bought part of the
honeymoon (just as you would write thank-you notes for any wedding
gift). It might actually be fun to thank guests for the honeymoon,
though, because you can describe your experience in the note—you might
even include a picture.
About the Author
Jerry Windley-Daoust runs the Creative
Honeymoon Ideas website, where you can learn more about honeymoon
registries, including a side-by-side comparison of six popular
honeymoon registries.
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