The top 6 things you can't ask for on an Amazon wedding registry

When thinking about where to register for your wedding, Amazon might feel like the best natural choice. After all, the platform comes with a number of benefits. You can find just about any product in any category from outdoor grilling to home theater, and if you and your guests have Prime memberships, then most gifts will have free two-day shipping and easy returns. Because so many guests use Amazon in their personal lives, they'll feel confident ordering through the platform.

But despite Amazon's massive product catalog, the platform does not sell everything. In fact, some of the things you and your partner might need most, such as money to pay for your honeymoon, can't be found on Amazon.

Here are the top six things that you can't add to your Amazon wedding registry.

Flight or hotel accommodations

Out of all the honeymoon-related expenses you'll encounter, none will likely be higher than the plane tickets or the hotel bill at the end of your stay. These two purchases can make booking the honeymoon a daunting task, especially if you're paying for your own wedding. You don't want to run up your credit card when you know you cannot pay it down easily.

That's why plane tickets and hotel accommodations are two of the most popular gifts on Hitchd and other honeymoon registry platforms. Many couples break down these big-ticket items into smaller gift sizes, such as $75 or $100. Think of it like this: roundtrip tickets that cost $2,000 altogether can be broken down into 20 $100 gifts or 10 $200 gifts. That means 20 people can now chip in $100 to help pay for your flights. Guests can even purchase more than one $100 gift if they so choose.

The best match that Amazon can manage is a Southwest or Hilton Hotels gift card, but that money needs to be spent with those companies. If you change airline or hotel reservations, then the gift cards for those companies will be useless.

Cash fund

The one gift almost every couple wants to receive above all else is also the one gift they cannot ask for directly — let alone put on an Amazon wedding registry. That's cash. Wedding etiquette dictates that asking for money as a wedding present is considered tacky and rude, but having a cash fund on your honeymoon registry solves this problem.

A cash fund is essentially an online money pool in which wedding guests, or anyone really, can give a monetary contribution to the happy couple. Unlike items on an Amazon wedding registry that have a fixed cost, cash funds have no minimum or maximum. Whatever amount your guests want to give is perfectly acceptable. If you have friends still studying or relatives on a budget, a cash fund lets them give whatever feels right for them. They won't see other contributions, so no one has to know how much they contributed. What matters most of all is that they still get a thank-you in the end.

To really get guests excited about giving to a cash fund, give it a theme. Try one of these:

• Down payment cash fund: Ask guests to chip and raise money for a down payment on your first home together.
• Furniture fund: Have the house but need the furniture? This fund can go towards nice chairs, tables and sofas that will last decades.
• Baby fund: If you're ready to start a family, a baby fund helps you get a head start on baby furniture and supplies.

When you designate a purpose to a cash fund, guests feel like they're contributing to a specific purpose, not just your household bank account. They'll get excited about visiting the house they helped buy or the nursery they contributed to before the baby arrived. Amazon has no real equivalent to a cash fund, but with Hitchd, you can build your own cash fund and give it any purpose that fits your needs.

Spa package

The honeymoon is all about relaxing and pampering yourselves. After all that hard work on your wedding, it's time to kick back and relax — and there's no better place to do so than at a spa.

Although you could add bath bombs, a back massager and a loofa to your Amazon wedding registry, it won't be the same as visiting a spa on your honeymoon. This popular gift on honeymoon registries is a favorite among guests who like to treat the couple to an afternoon of rest and relaxation, and it's a pleasant way to spend the day while on your honeymoon.

Pro tip: When building your honeymoon registry and adding the spa package as a gift, research the spas in your destination city and choose the one that you like best. When you find one that works, add links to the spa of your choice so guests can marvel at the amazing place they'll be sending you two. It helps to give guests an idea of what your experience will be like so they'll be excited to treat you both.

Products from West Elm or Crate & Barrel

If you find a West Elm sofa or a Crate & Barrel-branded product on Amazon, don't add it to your registry. It's most likely a fake or fraudulent product. The only place to get those hot-ticket items is at those stores, which means you cannot add them to an Amazon wedding registry.

But you can add them to a honeymoon registry on Hitchd.

When you add a gift to Hitchd, you have the option to add a physical gift, which can be from any store you want. The product can be anything from luggage to camping gear (for your honeymoon destination) to a new sofa. Instead of buying you the gift directly though, the guest will just send you the money if they want to give you that gift, and you make the final purchase. This gives you the ability to look for the lowest price and ensure you get the exact gift that you want.

If you have one or two gifts that would come from competing stores, then adding them to a Hitchd honeymoon registry is the easiest way to add them to a registry without creating two separate registries at both stores. With one Hitchd registry, everything is in one place.

Charity fund

Some couples meet later in life. They're established in their careers and have already bought a home together. Maybe they've been married before and plan to blend their families. At any rate, they have no need to ask for toasters, sheet sets or even honeymoon-related expenses.

If this describes you and your partner, then why not use your wedding to raise money for charities that you volunteer with or support? A charity fund functions just like a cash fund, but the money goes to any nonprofit or organization of your choosing. Some couples donate the money to a group they volunteer with while others give the money in honor of a loved one who passed away from a disease such as cancer.

Tickets to museums, theaters or sporting events

While some couples like to jet off for their honeymoons, others like to stick closer to home. A staycation or “mini-moon” allows couples to be tourists in their hometowns or large nearby cities. Since you're staying home for your honeymoon, you now have time to see that play at your local theater or see your favorite sports team play in person.

Tickets to events can benefit your local economy if that's something you're passionate about, and nonprofits in your area such as museums, zoos, and aquariums. These organizations generate a good amount of income from annual passes and memberships, and they make great gifts for couples who want to explore more of their communities.

While Amazon does offer just about every product under the sun, the company can also be detrimental to small businesses in your hometown. You can help reverse some of these effects by shopping local and supporting independent retailers. By filling your wedding registry with tickets, membership subscriptions and gift cards to local businesses and nonprofits in your hometown, you're generating more money for your town's economy and encouraging you and your partner to appreciate what's right in front of you every day.

It may be easy to create an Amazon wedding registry, but having one can be very limiting, especially when you consider all the possibilities of Hitchd. Not only can you ask for honeymoon-related gifts, but you can also set up charity and cash funds. And only through Hitchd can you ask for a season pass to your local zoo or aquarium.