It’s amazing to look back over the last 20 years at how wedding traditions and customs have changed. Before the internet, couples mostly created wedding registries at their favorite big-box stores, and guests had to go to the stores themselves and hope the registry wasn’t too picked over by the time they got there. Most registries were filled with home goods, and while money would always be appreciated as a gift, couples weren’t living together and needed help setting up their first home together.
Back then, it was far more common for parents to chip in or pay for the wedding entirely since their children hadn’t started earning a real income yet, and if one partner’s parents paid for the wedding, the other’s parents sometimes paid for the honeymoon. Couples were also more likely to be in their early 20s when they got married, and they were probably either just out of high school or college. They hadn’t lived outside of their parents’ homes, so they needed all the help they could get because, after the wedding, they’d be on their own.
Now, as you know, times have clearly changed. You and your partner are likely a bit older, probably in your late 20s, and you’ve both lived on your own or with roommates. You might have even moved in together already, and by now, you might have moved on from your first job out of school. You two feel established, and you probably have many of the home-good basics that were once the staple of wedding registries.
Even beyond wedding traditions, the world has changed now that the internet has become ubiquitous. People have become accustomed to modern conveniences like online shopping and money payment platforms.
So if the world has changed, then the modern engaged couple should change with it. If this sounds like you, then you might be wondering how you could allow wedding guests to send you money as a wedding present through PayPal. It would probably make life easier for some friends and family members who rarely use cash or cheques these days.
But be cautious. There is absolutely one thing about wedding traditions that has not changed and probably won’t ever change: Asking for money as a wedding present is still considered tacky and rude.
So how do you add PayPal as a payment option for a honeymoon registry? First, here’s what not to do with PayPal and your wedding registry, and then here’s how to do it right.
Why you shouldn’t use PayPal as a wedding registry
You might be thinking that the easiest way to make PayPal available as an option for wedding guests would be to just treat PayPal as a wedding registry or a cash fund. But there’s a major problem with this: PayPal was never designed to be a wedding registry. There’s no way to add gifts or create anything that looks like a wedding registry on the app.
Seeing a PayPal account name on an invitation will upset guests
You could, of course, just add your PayPal account name to your wedding invitations and ask guests to send you money as a gift to that account, but, you will probably offend more guests than will be willing to send you money through the app. This method will likely cause some confusion among wedding guests, and they might not like what you’re doing when they figure it out.
It’s one thing for friends and family members to send you money through PayPal to pay their half of a dinner bill or reimburse you for sports tickets, but it’s quite another for them to send you money as a wedding present through the app. It lacks a personal connection and touch, and some wedding guests might find the idea downright greedy. Though you might see it as a way to make things easier for guests, they might see it as if you were holding out your hand for money.
The true meaning of giving a wedding present
For many years, wedding gifts have been a personal choice. Sure, a toaster may not seem like a meaningful or thoughtful gift, but for guests, it was less about the gift and more about the gesture. As mentioned, engaged couples used to rely on wedding presents to help them set up a home after the big day, and so guests bought gifts to help in the hopes that when the couple put their morning bagel into the toaster, they would think of the gift giver.
Gift giving has clearly changed for wedding presents, but the meaningfulness and respect remains. So just requesting that wedding guests send you money through PayPal is going to go over like a lead balloon.
The most important aspect of any wedding is respect, respect for you, your partner, your traditions, your customs and of course your guests. All guests should fell welcome at your wedding, and they should feel wanted and respected. The best way to show your guests love is to make them feel appreciated and thanked.
How to add PayPal as a payment option for a honeymoon registry
Now having said all of that, there is a way to allow wedding guests to contribute to a honeymoon registry or cash fund using PayPal. After all, some of your friends may rely on PayPal or Venmo for sending and receiving money, and having the option might save them a trip to the bank.
The best way to add PayPal and other cahs payment apps as a payment option for your honeymoon registry is to sign up with Hitchd and add it as a payment method before you launch your registry. It goes like this:
Step 1: Create an account with your name, email address and password. This is the easy part, and it will get you started.
Step 2: Build a honeymoon or wedding registry that includes all the gifts, both physical and experience-based, that you could ever want. Hitchd provides you with thousands of free stock photos as well as introduction and gift templates. You can use these as a jumping off point as you add your personal touches and details.
Step 3: Choose the payment types you’d like to allow. The great thing about Hitchd is that it allows you to add just about any form of payment. Not only can you add PayPal and Venmo, but you can also add debit cards, bitcoins and even cheques. Of course, you won’t get the cheque right away, but at least you’ll know how much a guest intends to give you, so you can feel confident booking plane tickets or tours knowing the money will get to you eventually.
Once you add your payment methods and pay Hitchd’s one-time fee, then you’re ready to launch your site. Now guests with all sorts of needs and preferences can choose to pay for your wedding gift in a way that feels comfortable for them. You’re not forcing anyone to use one type of payment, and through Hitchd, you can send email thank-yous(followed by one in the mail after the wedding of course) right away so you can show guests how grateful you are for their gift.
It is wholly possible to add PayPayl as a payment method to your honeymoon registry. What you really want to avoid is making it the sole method of sending you wedding presents. You owe your guests a little more than that, and most of them will be expecting some sort of a professional-looking wedding or honeymoon registry. With Hitchd, you can add PayPayl, but still allow guests to pay in whatever way makes them feel good.
Ready to get started with Hitchd? Start here.
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