If you’ve decided to go the honeymoon registry route for your wedding registry, you might be overwhelmed with the number of honeymoon registry sites. While many online cash fund sites look similar, they are each unique in the way they handle processing fees and transaction fees.
When planning your dream honeymoon, you’ll want to keep as much as possible from the cash gifts you receive. With the costs of honeymoons averaging $5,000-$10,000+, you can’t afford expensive fees.
However, if you are looking for a honeymoon fund that doesn’t take a percentage of the cash you receive, you may not be in luck. There’s a reason why honeymoon registry sites charge fees, but you have options in the type of fees you’ll pay and the quality and flexibility of the wedding website you’re able to create.
What are honeymoon registries?
Honeymoon registries work just like any other wedding registry and can be exciting for both you and your guests if done right. The difference is that with a honeymoon registry, you generally register for experiences or travel, and with a traditional wedding registry, you register for household items.
Today, many couples live together before getting married and already have many of the traditional gifts you’d see on a wedding registry.
With the changing tides of cohabitation come shifts in traditional norms, like how millennials spend their money. People are more accepting of the current generation’s new values, like experiences over things and going against cultural or societal norms.
Sometimes called a “cash fund” or cash registry
You may see honeymoon registries referred to as cash funds or cash registries. Some even call them wishing wells or experience registries.
The concept is fairly straightforward - instead of gifts, you are (politely) asking for cash for your dream honeymoon.
With a honeymoon registry, you can set up a fund for guests to contribute cash for your honeymoon. Some honeymoon registries, like Hitchd.com allow you to break down your honeymoon into different categories to allow guests to contribute money toward categories that they feel drawn to support.
Honeymoon funds can be used for travel, adventure and items you need for your dream honeymoon
The great thing about honeymoon funds is that they allow you the freedom to add the experiences and items you really want, versus a limited number of items from a big box store like Bed Bath and Beyond or Target.
Here are some examples of things couples are adding to their honeymoon registries:
- Travel expenses like airfare, ride shares, train tickets or a cruise
- Hotels, resorts or AirBNB
- Meals and drinks
- Experiences like cooking classes, bike tours and sporting events
- Spa packages
- Items you need for travel like luggage, headphones or travel gear
With Hitchd, you can totally customize your honeymoon registry to include photos and links to help guests understand exactly what they’re giving you. You’ll also have access to thousands of stock photos, wording and gift templates to help create a truly unique registry.
Benefits of using a honeymoon registry over a traditional registry?
As you can see, the most significant benefit of using a honeymoon registry website is that you get the money you need to fund your dream honeymoon.
A lot of wedding guests give cash as their gift these days, anyway - why not make it easy for them and useful for you?
Experience a dream honeymoon vs. gifts you don’t need
The memories you’ll make from a honeymoon will last a lifetime, but that set of towels may last a few years at best.
If you plan to take a trip or even a staycation to celebrate your new life as a married couple, you’ll need some cash to make it happen. You may not get enough money to cover your entire honeymoon, but it will help you as you start to plan and can check items off of your list.
Easy and convenient for wedding guests
Honeymoon registries are easy and convenient for guests because they take the guesswork out of what to buy.
Do you ever find yourself perusing a wedding registry, looking for the items you think the couple really wants, versus what they just added because everyone does (we’re looking at you, gravy boat)?
With a honeymoon fund, your guests don’t have to think about what to purchase — they know that the money they are spending is going toward a gift you actually want. It’s also super convenient because they don’t have to wrap a gift or worry about bringing cash or a check to your wedding.
More secure than cash or check
With a honeymoon registry, your wedding guests pay with a credit card or bank account at the time of purchase. Most cash registry sites use encryption to ensure the money is safe and secure.
There have been many stories of money being stolen at weddings, or couples losing cards with gift cards, cash or checks.
Online honeymoon registries are a more secure way for wedding guests to give you cash without worrying about it ending up in the wrong hands.
How do honeymoon registries make money?
It should be no secret that honeymoon registry sites are a business. To provide a service, they require money to operate, just like any other business.
However, the way that online cash fund sites make money varies from company to company. Some companies charge processing fees or transaction fees on each “gift” while others charge one fee to set up your account, like with Hitchd.
Before choosing a honeymoon fund, make sure to know the cost of setting up your gift registry and any credit card processing fees.
Processing fees and transaction fees
Some honeymoon registry sites charge a processing fee on money that gift givers pay with a credit card. This is typically to cover the cost of what the credit card company charges them (the website) to operate.
These fees are inevitable with any company that takes credit card payments.
You may see these fees referred to as transaction fees or credit card fees, which can range from two to five percent. These fees can really start to eat into your honeymoon fund, so it’s best to find a registry with a low percentage fee.
One-time/set-up fees
Cash funds that offer a variety of features sometimes charge a one-time fee or a set-up fee. Typically this fee allows companies to keep transaction fees on gifts from gift givers low and offer higher quality customization options.
Hitchd charges a one-time set up fee so that we can offer the best options on the planet for funding your honeymoon, accessing your money and customizing your registry to reflect who you are as a couple.
Beware of “free” honeymoon fund websites
You have probably seen the cash fund websites that claim to cost nothing to you and your gift givers. However, this is rarely the case. Remember that all websites need money to operate, so they can’t provide a service for free.
Some honeymoon registry sites will have free options, but will charge you for multiple upgrades, like customizations to your site or for the way you receive your money. You may even notice that a cash fund site claims it doesn’t cost you anything, because they are technically charging your wedding guest the transaction fee.
Just make sure to do your research and read reviews on the honeymoon fund site that you choose.
What to look for on honeymoon registry sites
Before signing up with a honeymoon registry site or wedding website company, do some research on how they operate and what functions are available to you.
Here is a quick hit-list of items to consider when you are evaluating a cash fund site:
- What type of fees they charge. As we’ve learned, cash funds need money to operate, and they all charge fees differently.
- The variety of customization options. Hitchd offers endless customization options from stock photos to wording samples and thank you notes. Your honeymoon fund should be personal and allow you to speak directly to your guests with the text and images that reflect you as a couple. The more vivid you can paint a picture, the better the experience is for your wedding guests as they’ll feel they are a part of something special. For this reason, couples who used Hitchd received an average gift amount of $198 in 2021, which is 65% greater than the $120 industry average.
- How and when you can access your funds. When planning a honeymoon, you need money before your trip to book travel and experiences. Some honeymoon funds won’t let you access your gift money until after your big day. Others control how much or how often you can withdraw from your account. With Hitchd, your money goes straight to you in real time. This makes sense right?
Get more out of your honeymoon fund with Hitchd
Hitchd is a cash fund website that allows you to receive payments by credit card, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, direct bank transfer, or custom instructions. Design a beautiful honeymoon registry that your guests will love and be compelled to gift you the experience of a lifetime with Hitchd.
Fund memories, not things.
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