How can I create a personalized honeymoon gift registry?

April 14, 2006 10:16 AM

I'd like to set up a honeymoon registry (aka vacation wishlist) for my 07/07/07 wedding, but none of the online ones that I've seen are to my taste. Is there any easy way to create my own, perhaps with a tool similar to DropCash?

My fiancé and I would like to ask our guests, if they feel like getting us gifts, to help us attend our honeymoon to Spain and Italy.

I found a format that I like: the gifts are actually descriptions of things that the couple would like to do on the trip. This allows guests to sponsor specific aspects of the trip, even down to subsidizing the airfare. Unfortunately, the sites I've seen have all been travel agencies which require you to book travel through them. We'll be booking our own travel.

DropCash allows you to create a campaign and receive donations via Paypal. I'd love to create something similar that is simple and personalized. I'd need the ability to receive and track payments. I'd also need to be able to display a list of gifts requested, gift prices, the number requested, and the number received.

If there's a great website that already does this, I'd love to hear about it.

posted by bjennings to computers & internet (6 answers total)

I went to a wedding where the couple registered with http://www.honeyluna.com/. I found the interface a bit clunky, but I think it might be what you are looking for.
posted by JuliaKM at 10:42 AM on April 14, 2006

If you don't want to register with a travel agency and you don't want to register with a travel retailer, and all you really want is for people who want to give you gifts to give you money instead, my suggestion is to have your parents (and/or close family) informally spread the word by word of mouth to all the guests. Even if you *do* find an online registry, some of your guests may not be tech-savvy enough to use it, and it would be in your best interest to set up a low-tech alternative for those people.

Also, and you probably already know this, some people refuse to give money and only want to give actual wrapped gifts. Without a registry made to your taste, you're likely to end up with something to their taste.

Also-also, if you don't know this already, you should probably be informed that asking for cash, even in the form of helping-to-pay-for-the-honeymoon, is considered in some circles of American culture to be tacky/tasteless/greedy.
I don't mean it as a judgment, I just think you should have that information so you are prepared for the reactions you might get from guests.

All these things considered, perhaps you'd like to register for a variety of items at Bed Bath & Beyond? You can return registry items to them for CASH. This way Aunt Jane is happy buying you a coffeemaker, and you're happy exchanging it for part of your airline ticket.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 1:34 PM on April 14, 2006

You should look at this website:

http://www.travelersjoy.com/

From the site:

Create your dream honeymoon registry

Do you prefer flight patterns to china patterns? If so, you've landed at the right place. Get the wedding gift you both really want with a Traveler's Joy Honeymoon Registry. Our service is similar to a traditional wedding registry, but rather than offering gifts such as housewares and fine china, Traveler's Joy helps you register for the honeymoon of your dreams. We're not a travel agency. You decide when and where to book your honeymoon — and we help make it happen.
posted by JpMaxMan at 2:06 PM on April 14, 2006

In general, people want to give gifts to express their joy for someone, and their wishes for their happiness.

But they don't want to feel like they're being expected to fund someone else's dream honeymoon vacation. I just bring this up because in general, etiquette mavens say that registries should not be up in peoples' faces. It is more approriate when the registry is quietly done, and if people want to, they can ask the bride or groom's parents or close friends, "Are they registered somewhere? I'm not sure what to get..." And the information passes discreetly through the social network that way.

And I think it would be best to be especially discreet about this registry.
posted by overanxious ducksqueezer at 5:16 PM on April 14, 2006

We registered at thehoneymoon.com because we had the same issues with the other sites. They were either affliated with a travel agency or charged hundreds of dollars to get set up. Since thehoneymoon.com is free, it's a little low-budget, but we were happy with it.

That being said, virtually no one used it. We were discreet about it, but our family and friends were good about getting the word out. I think the problem was mostly that people really didn't understand the concept. People are reluctant to go on a strange Web site and give their credit card number for something intangible like this. We mostly ended up getting cash instead, which is what you're after in the first place when you create a honeymoon registry. So, in a way the registry worked, but just don't be surprised if people go the cash route instead.
posted by boognish at 6:50 AM on April 15, 2006

www.sendusoff.com seems to fit the bill. You personalize your honeymoon items - and you can put every, single aspect of the honeymoon on the website, and then you get a check in the mail a week before the wedding. My friends did it and loved it.
posted by Amizu at 12:15 PM on September 8, 2006