For adventurous couples, no simple honeymoon on the beach will do. You and your partner want to be out in the world pushing yourselves to the limit, riding your bikes up a mountain, exploring the deep blue sea and roughing it in the wilderness.
If that describes you two, then an adventure wedding registry could help send you and your partner on an amazing honeymoon that the two of you will remember forever. Here’s what that might look like and how to design the honeymoon fund to match.
What is an adventure honeymoon?
An adventure honeymoon has no exact definition. It very much depends on what your definition of “adventure” is, but that’s all the better. It means that you and your partner can decide what you do and where you go. Because you’re working your bodies, you may feel a little more exhausted on this particular trip, but the experience will bond the two of you and at such a special time in your life right after you tie the knot.
In general, an adventure honeymoon involves traveling to an exciting location with lots of outdoor activities to do. For you, these activities might include:
- Hiking or running
- Biking
- Rock climbing
- Scuba diving or snorkeling
- Camping
Typically these honeymoons differ from others because they involve a little more planning and gear. You might need to transport equipment, such as climbing gear or your bikes, and you will have to coordinate with personal tours or guides. All of this is wholly doable — it just takes a little more time to plan — and the result is the honeymoon you’ve always dreamed of taking.
How to fund an adventure honeymoon
Perhaps the biggest drawback of an adventure honeymoon is funding it. Even a more relaxed, low-key honeymoon can be expensive, but when you need to consider all the equipment that needs to be purchased or transported, those costs can pile up.
But if you’re also paying for your wedding, then funding your adventure honeymoon might seem completely out of reach. It’s tough to balance the cost of a honeymoon when you also have catering and other wedding-related expenses taking up room on your credit card. The key thing to remember is that neither your wedding nor your honeymoon are worth going into a large amount of debt for in the long run. You don’t want to still be paying off your honeymoon on your second anniversary, and if you damage your credit score, then you may have a tough time buying a home or taking out loans for other important purposes.
Instead of worrying and charging everything to your credit card, what you need to fund your honeymoon is an adventure wedding registry. These types of registries:
- Function like a regular wedding registry, except that all of the gifts are related to your honeymoon.
- Offer complete creative freedom so the couple can ask for just about anything from transportation costs to new hiking boots.
- Help you raise money for your trip by asking wedding guests to give you gifts related to your honeymoon, such as car rentals or dining.
- Ease anxieties for couples who may be stressed balancing wedding and honeymoon expenses.
Honeymoon registry platforms like Hitchd make it easy to sign up and start designing a registry that fulfills all of your needs. Our platform makes customising each gift a breeze, offering you the choice between experience, physical or cash fund gifts.
Unlike a traditional honeymoon, wedding guests won’t be giving you the actual gift, whether that’s buying the hiking boots or booking the scuba trip. When you add the gift to your registry, you’ll choose the amount of money that it will cost, and your guest will give you the money to pay for the experience. You’ll have access to that gift money right away using Hitchd, which means you can balance your credit card as you book your trip.
How to build your dream adventure wedding registry
It’s easy to get started creating a Hitchd adventure wedding registry that meets your needs and gets your guests excited to help you fund your trip.
Remember that as you go, the key to any successful wedding registry lies in how you show your guests gratitude. After all, no guest should ever feel required to give you a wedding present, although it’s customary to do so. Presents should be given out of the spirit of love and support. That’s why home goods have been such popular gifts for so long. Wedding guests want to feel that they’re helping the couple build a home and life together and that they’ll be remembered whenever the couple uses that platter or toasts their bread.
An adventure wedding registry can be just as special and encourage guests to help you and your partner create an experience that you’ll never forget, one that will always be especially meaningful to you.
Here’s how to create a memorable adventure wedding registry that meets your needs and gets your guests excited to send you on the trip of a lifetime.
Step 1: Sign up
With Hitchd, it’s easy to sign up. All you need is your name, your partner’s name, the date of your wedding plus an email address and password. That’s it. Once you provide the information, you’re in.
Step 2: Write out your introduction
The introduction to your adventure wedding registry may be one of the most important parts of your honeymoon registry. It’s the big welcome to all of your guests, and it provides some basic instructions for guests.
For an adventure wedding registry, there are a few points you need to include:
- A welcome to all guests and a thank-you for both coming to the wedding and contributing to your honeymoon fund, if they choose to do so.
- A brief explanation about where you’re going and why.
- Further explanation about the activities you’ll be doing and why they are particularly meaningful to you.
- Links to other sites, such as your wedding website, if necessary.
Feeling stuck with a case of writer’s block? Hitchd has plenty of introduction templates to help you get started. You can add your own info and customise as needed.
Step 3: Select your gifts
Now the fun part of building an adventure wedding registry kicks in: choosing all the gifts.
You have all the freedom in the world to build the honeymoon fund of your dreams with every gift you could ever want, but there are some important points to know as you build your git list. Here’s what to keep in mind:
- Add a brief description to every gift: The gift description should get guests excited to help you fund your honeymoon because they will have a clear idea about what a cool experience you’ll be taking. Use the gift description to describe the activity and how much you’re looking forward to it. If it’s particularly personal — maybe the two of you met while hiking — then share that story in the description. This shows guests that this trip is particularly meaningful to both of you.
- Include a mix of price points: Guests attending your wedding will have all types of budgets, so your registry should reflect that. Remember to include inexpensive gifts (a round of drinks for $25 or taxi fares for $40) and break down big, expensive gifts into small amounts. A $200 all-day scuba trip can be broken into four $50 gifts, so multiple people can contribute or pay for the whole trip if they choose.
- Choose your physical gifts wisely: You may want to ask for new hiking boots, swimwear or luggage as a wedding present. These are perfectly acceptable gifts, but be very clear how these gifts will impact your honeymoon. Guests want to give gifts that are meaningful. They don’t want to help you build a new wardrobe or help you pay your gas bill for the month. Connect your physical gift to your honeymoon, and your guests will be happy to give.
- When in doubt, add a cash fund: Cash funds are essentially money pools that any one can contribute to if they wish. These funds are helpful for guests when your registry is looking a little picked over or for casual acquaintances like coworkers who want to wish you well. There’s no minimum to contribute, so if $20 is all that a guest has in his or her budget (think about your friends still in grad school or paying for their own weddings), then that’s all he or she needs to give.
- Add photos and links: To show off where you’ll be and what you’ll be doing, be sure to include links to the tour companies or sites where you’ll be enjoying the gift. This shows guests that you’re serious about taking this trip and will use the money they give to do exactly as you’ve described in your gift.
Building all of your gifts should be a bonding experience for you and your partner. This is a great opportunity to map out costs and start a concrete plan for your honeymoon.
Step 4: Finish your registration
Once you’re done adding gifts on Hitchd, it’s time to finish up payments and launch your honeymoon registry. Hitchd charges a one-time fee for all users, and it offers several ways for guests to pay for gifts, including credit cards, debit cards and even bitcoins.
When your registry launches, save the link and add it to your wedding website. You can also send it to your parents and bridal party, as guests will likely come to them with questions about your registry.
Building an adventure wedding registry will likely be an exciting experience for the two of you. With Hitchd, the process is easy and offers you all the tools you’ll ever need to add whatever gift you need or include whatever message you desire in your introduction.
Ready to get started? Here’s how to start with Hitchd today.
Fund memories, not things.
The modern registry where guests fund your dream honeymoon. It's simple and beautiful. Start your registry