Fun Find: Honeymoon Registries

Have you ever looked at a bridal registry and wondered why people registered for certain items?  For instance, how often are you really going to use a $28.00 ceramic creamer shaped like a cow?

Here’s a new idea that is gaining popularity: Honeymoon Registries.  Instead of registering for things, couples are registering for honeymoons!  This was started in the late 1990s, mostly by travel agencies.  With the explosion of the internet, this has grown tremendously.  There are many sites dedicated to this, the most widely used being thehoneymoon.com, thebigday.com, and honeymoonwishes.com.

The idea of registering for a honeymoon is that instead of registering for a blender, for example, you register for dinner for two at a restaurant at your resort.  You can also register for things like airline miles, nights in a hotel, bottles of champagne, etc.  The couple simply chooses from a pre-made registry or creates their own.  Most of these sites offer a variety of things including blogs and photos to visualize the gift for your guests and downloadable and printable gift cards for them to give to the bride and groom to show them what the gift is.

There are usually no flat fees to use these services however sometimes there are service fees on items that are services or activities, usually 5-9%.

The debate about these types of registries has a lot to do with etiquette.  Some people feel like this is the couple asking for money.  I see it as not much different than a traditional registry; a bride and groom are still registering for things they will need and/or want.   According to the Emily Post Institute, “A honeymoon is a perfectly appropriate gift to request.  There is no objection to it from an etiquette standpoint.” And if anyone knows etiquette, it’s the people at Emily Post.  The only drawback I can see is not getting to use the fun scanner gun in the stores!  So register away and happy honeymooning!