How to add a honeymoon fund to your Target wedding registry in 3 steps

Choosing where to register for your upcoming wedding might seem like the easiest part of planning your wedding, but it does take some thought and research. What do you really need for your home? Will you be buying a home or moving shortly after the wedding? Do you need items for your home or do you really hope that your guests will give cash as a gift instead so you can put it towards your honeymoon?

With these questions in mind, it's no wonder that so many couples turn to Target for their wedding registries. The big-box store has thousands of locations across the country and a busy online platform that almost all of your guests will know. Target also offers thousands of home products and other goods that will help you set up your home.

Of course, there's no item no Target will sell: a complete honeymoon package. If you're looking to raise money to pay for your honeymoon, then you'll need to add a honeymoon registry to your Target wedding registry.

Not sure what to know or how to get started? Here's everything you need to know about Target wedding registries, honeymoon registries and how to combine them in just three simple steps.

Why so many couples turn to Target wedding registries

Target tends to be a favorite among engaged couples, and it's easy to see why. Most couples have grown up with the store and as adults have often said that they need to go on a “Target run” at some point in their lives. Target has a solid reputation of having a mix of products from the high-end small appliances to the reasonably priced storage and decor items.

Here are a few other reasons why engaged couples turn to Target for their wedding registries.

Guest convenience

Your wedding will be bringing together all types of people of different genders, ages and preferences, but nearly all of them have been in a Target, most probably within the last month. While some of your guests might prefer to shop for wedding gifts in the store, others will turn to Target's website and order from there.

Target does make it easy to accommodate both types of guests. When they pull up your registry online, the site will also tell users which items can be found at their local stores, so if it's too late to ship a gift, then they can buy online and pick up in store. Having this option streamlines the gift buying process for all guests so everyone feels at ease.

Product ranges

What draws couples to Target for wedding registries is the scope and range of products available. Not only can you find products for every room in the house, but you can also find a diverse scope of price points and styles.

You can also find some bigger items at Target that you couldn't find at Bed, Bath and Beyond, such as couches and dining tables. The store's in-house brands feature mid-century modern, transitional and farmhouse styles so you're sure to find a look that fits with your home. Although Crate & Barrel also sells larger furniture, Target's prices are usually lower and more manageable.

While not all products will be available in stores, Target's website offers even more options, so if there's an item you saw at another big-box store that you couldn't find at your local Target, check the website. Chances are you'll find it there.

Easy to use

You probably think that in order to set up a wedding registry, you have to go to the store, meet with an associate and walk around scanning all those items. But nowadays, you only have to go through that process if you want to, but if not, then you can do it all online.

It's easy to go to Target's website, create your registry and start adding products to your registry. In fact, you can even do both. You can start adding products online and then go to your local store to see more products in person and add what you want.

The limitations of a Target wedding registry

Although Target offers couples plenty of perks and products, the store can't be everything to everyone. It does have some limitations that are important to keep in mind as you decide how to set up your wedding registry.

Here's what to know about Target's wedding registry limitations.

Not all gifts will have free shipping

It's not an absolute guarantee that every item on your Target wedding registry will have free shipping, especially for those low-cost items such as spatulas and other kitchen gadgets. While Target's free-shipping threshold is pretty low, it can be a barrier for some of your guests.

Your guest list will include older relatives who can't wait to give you something large and extravagant, but it will also include friends and even young cousins who may be working to finish a degree, saving for a house or planning for a baby. They might be on a strict budget after losing a job or sending a kid to college, so having to pay extra for shipping can be a problem.

Gift cards only, no cash

It's not uncommon to want cash as a wedding gift, but it is considered tacky or outright rude to ask for it on a wedding registry. Some couples think adding gift cards can gently encourage guests to either give a gift card or just a check, but this won't always work.

Target offers a wide range of gift cards for restaurants, hotels and even airlines in addition to in-store gift cards. But once you get a gift card, you're stuck with it. Let's say you planned to fly to your honeymoon destination on a Southwest Airlines flight. Then at the last minute, you changed to another airline — and now you're stuck with a Southwest gift card. While you could try to sell it online, you probably wouldn't get the full amount.

Gift cards narrow what you can buy and where you can spend the money, which can be a major problem. If at the end of your wedding you no longer need items from Target, then you'll be stuck trying to find something else to buy that you don't really want or need.

Product quality

Target competes with other big-box companies such as Amazon and Walmart, and as a result, its low prices also come with low-quality products. While you might think it's great that your wedding registry has so many items at lower price points, you might find yourself annoyed a year later when you have to replace so many of your wedding gifts because they've broken after only one year of use.

It's important to notice the quality of the products that you add to your Target wedding registry so this doesn't happen to you. If you're in the store, hold and touch the product. Items made of real wood or marble will feel heavy, and you can notice seams coming apart on pillows and sheets if you look closely. If you're adding products online, read the reviews and avoid products with no reviews unless you're familiar with them. Reviews can be very enlightening, so listen to others before you add products to your registry.

Why couples are adding honeymoon registries to their Target wedding registries

Because Target wedding registries do come with some major drawbacks like those listed above, many couples are acknowledging that they might not get everything they want from just one registry — and that's completely okay. It's not unusual for couples to register at two or three places in order to meet their unique needs.

For this reason, more and more couples are adding honeymoon registries to their Target wedding registries to help fill in the gaps.

Couples that want to politely and strategically ask for cash as a wedding gift often build small Target wedding registries and then add a honeymoon registry. This accommodates those guests who love to buy physical gifts for weddings while also nudging more guests to give cash. When a guest buys a gift on a honeymoon registry, they're really funding the gift, not booking the flight or hotel, so the money goes directly to you.

Honeymoon registries like Hitchd also offer flexibility in the types of gifts that can be added. Hitchd users can add physical, experience and cash fund gifts to their registries, which opens up a lot of possibilities. If, for example, you want to add a nice sofa to your registry but don't like the quality of Target's selection, then you can add a sofa from another store to your honeymoon registry. Some couples split the cost of expensive gifts into smaller amounts so multiple guests can contribute to one large gift.

What to know about honeymoon registries

If you're not familiar with what a honeymoon registry is or what it can do for you, then here's a quick crash course in what to know about them.

Honeymoon registries function just like traditional wedding registries

Think of a honeymoon registry exactly like you would a Target wedding registry, but instead of asking for only products at the store, you get to ask for honeymoon-related gifts such as spa packages, dinners out at nice restaurants and even adventure excursions like hiking or snorkeling.

Because so many couples are getting married later and living together before tying the knot, fewer of them need to build a home from the ground up. They already have nice sheets and towels and many of those small appliances. As such, it's difficult to build out a traditional wedding registry because they already have all of those products and what they do need will likely be expensive.

This is where a honeymoon registry comes in. Instead of physical gifts, guests give experience gifts to help send you on a wonderful honeymoon. You can set different price points ($75 for dinner or $20 for a round of drinks), ask for multiples of one gift (you'll eat dinner more than once on your honeymoon, right?) and break down big-ticket items, such as flights and accommodations, into smaller amounts. That way, several guests can chip in to pay for your hotel.

With Hitchd, you can also add physical gifts and cash funds, as mentioned earlier. Guests won't be buying you the physical gift. Just like experience gifts, they'll send you the money and you can make the purchase. This allows you to price compare and shop at the store that will give you the best discount or other perks.

Cash funds allow any and everyone to contribute money at an amount that feels comfortable to them. This is a great option for guests on a budget and for acquaintances that wish you well but won't be invited to the wedding, such as coworkers or old family friends.

You get complete control over how your registry will look

At Hitchd, all of our users build completely different and unique honeymoon registries. Some ask for only experience gifts while others add physical gifts such as luggage. This gives all users complete control over what they want to include.

Hitchd also offers tons of free stock photos and text templates to use as you build your honeymoon registry. This will help you generate ideas about what to ask for and then give you the text to explain the gift. Once you add a little personality and a few informative touches such as the link to your hotel or the tour company that will lead your snorkeling trip, your guests will get excited about the unique experience and will want to hear everything when you get back.

The money will be available right away through Hitchd

When a guest using a Hitchd honeymoon registry buys a gift, the money goes directly to the couple's account and will be available right away. From there, the guest can book the city tour or spa package or use the money to pay off the honeymoon expenses that have already been booked.

Unlike some platforms, Hitchd gives you instant access to your funds right away. Our platform offers multiple options for accessing your funds as well as payment forms for guests so no one has to provide a bank account number if they feel uncomfortable doing so. You can even give your guests the option to send Bitcoins if that's what you're into. The possibilities are endless so you can choose what works for you and avoid those extra credit card and processing fees.

3 easy steps to add a honeymoon registry to your Target wedding registry

Adding your honeymoon registry to your Target wedding registry takes just three easy steps and no time at all. Once you connect your registries, guests will have an easy time finding them both and exploring the different gift options available to them.

Step 1: Build your honeymoon registry and Target wedding registry. Take the time to think them through and add what you want to both registries.

Step 2: Link the two registries together. You can write your own introduction on your Hitchd registry and your Target registry. Use that space to provide a link to the other registry. This gives guests options, so if they don't see something in their price range on one registry, then they can check out the other one.

Step 3: Add both links to your wedding website so guests can find them both in one place. Don't forget to add the wedding website to your save-the-date cards and invitations. It can be considered tacky to add wedding registry links, so adding the wedding website is a great workaround.

Once you have your registries up and your links connected, feel free to share them with your parents, your partner's parents and your bridal party. These are the ones your guests will go to for any wedding-related questions, so make sure they have the right information to share. Of course if a guest asks you for the information, feel free to share it, but don't publicise the links on social media or a group email to guests. This will make them feel uncomfortable, as if a gift is mandatory to attend your wedding. Gifts should always be options, so make sure guests know this.

No one ever said you could register for your wedding at two different stores, so why should you limit yourself to just one platform? While Target offers a wide variety of products, its wedding registries might not be able to give you everything you want. With Hitchd, you can fill in the gaps Target leave behind and ask for what you really want as a wedding gift.