Ollie Rozdarz
Dec 13, 20185 min readWhile honeymoon registry websites are a new and popular non-traditional registry option for 2019, they can leave many couples a little confused about etiquette. When it boils down it, it's all about asking for money, and there's a tacky way, and a tasteful way, to do it.
Follow our 10 do's and don'ts to make sure you're doing the best thing by you and your guests for your honeymoon.
1. Don't: Ask for money in your wedding invitation
Simply place a link or address to your honeymoon registry on your wedding website. You don't want to be too discreet since this is most likely the main reason your guests are visiting your wedding website. The trick is to do it tastefully, so it doesn't feel transactional.
Try one of our favorite website builders:
Alternatively, if you don't plan on having a wedding website, you can allow a honeymoon cash registry, such as Hitchd, to do the talking for you by linking to it directly from your invitation.
2. Don't: Make it feel like a transaction
No one likes feeling forced to do anything, let along part with hard earned money. Couples should always aim to make guests feel that contributing towards a gift is entirely optional. One way to achieve this is by carefully presenting your honeymoon fund with a nice lead-in message on your wedding website and a similar, cut-down, message on your honeymoon fund registry.
3. Don't: Write tacky poems, especially for non-traditional registries
The key to crafting a great welcome message is keep it tasteful and getting straight to the point. The more information you provide, the more chance guests have to personally connect with what you're writing. When asking for money, don't forget that it still needs to sound as if it's optional.
Here's an example of what to write:
"Your presence at our wedding is genuinely the best present we could ask for. If you wish to contribute, we've set up a honeymoon registry: www.hitchd.com/your-registry-name".
Here's an example of what not to write:
"Your presence at our wedding is genuinely the best present we could ask for. Please contribute as much as you can spare so we can go on our dream honeymoon: www.hitchd.com/your-registry-name".
4. Do: Use a modern honeymoon fund registry that is well designed
It's only natural to want your guests to feel impressed by the fun and activities you've got planned for your honeymoon. However, it's poor form if guests are forced to use a honeymoon fund registry that is outdated, difficult to use, and clunky.
Fund memories, not things.
The modern registry where guests fund your dream honeymoon. It's simple and beautiful. Start your registry5. Do: Tell your story
For guests to feel excited about contributing money, they need to be engaged by your story. Our findings at Hitchd show that the average contribution per guest is approximately 20% more for registries where couples have provided more details about their trip.
More importantly, it becomes much more apparent to guests why each gift is special to you and your partner.
6. Don't: Scrutinize fees
Our biggest tip to avoid having a honeymoon registry fund that comes littered with problems is to not scrutinize fees. We all want the best bang for our buck, but as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." When dealing with money, especially money from loved ones, the last thing you want is an unsafe, or unreliable, website.
Many registries who claim to have the lowest pricing often have hidden fees or forced upgrades. If you don't want your guests being upsold, or deceived, stick with one of the reputable registries.
7. Do: Absorb or split the service fee
While on the topic of fees, chances are your guests are going to pay with a credit card, which generally carries a small payment provider fee (which can't be avoided), plus a service fee from the registry itself.
Some of the better registries will even let you choose who pays the fee. From an etiquette point of view, you don't want to add more onto the amount a guest is already contributing, and we recommend absorbing the full fee.
8. Do: Create a broad range of gifts
When creating gifts for your honeymoon fund registry, we've found that the more gifts, the better. You can also decide to go as small or as big as you like.
It's considered poor honeymoon fund registry etiquette to provide little, or no, options for guest's when they are exploring your registry - so even if you decide to make a few more substantial gifts, make sure they are broad enough for suit your guest's tastes.
It's wise to try and aim for a range of 20-50 gifts, with the more expensive gifts; such as flights and accommodation, being contributed to by many guests.
Pro Tip
Exciting and romantic gifts are usually the first to be funded, so make sure you create as many of these as you can. Create big ticket items for the late gifters. These guests are not usually the type of guests who worry too much about the exact gift they are contributing towards.
If you're low on time, you can always start with a handful of gifts and break them down into more detailed ones later, even after your honeymoon fund registry is published and live.
9. Don't: Make gifts too small
In 2018, the average gift contribution per person was $110.00 which increased from $100.00 in 2017. Our advice is to keep your gift goal amount equal or higher to the amount you are hoping to receive per person.
This way, your guests will feel comfortable to contribute whatever their budget allows, without feeling guilty or pressured.
Pro Tip
Keep in mind; this doesn't apply to big-ticket items such as flights and accommodation.
Our contribution data shows that guests usually know they only need to contribute to a portion of these type of gifts.
At Hitchd, we do this by having the price as an input slider, displaying it front and center, for when the guest decides how much they wish to contribute.
Did you find these tips helpful? We hope we addressed your concerns about honeymoon registry etiquette. We built Hitchd with these questions in mind, so you can rest assured that you and your guests will receive the best experience possible. It's free to signup and create your very own honeymoon registry.
To find out more visit www.hitchd.com.
Fund memories, not things.
The modern registry where guests fund your dream honeymoon. It's simple and beautiful. Start your registry