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What is a Honeymoon Registry

More couples are getting married after they have lived on their own and are established in apartments or homes. They have many of the household items that are traditional wedding gifts, such as pots & pans, toasters and dishes. Thus the nature of bridal registry has been changing. One offspring solution to this problem is a honeymoon registry. Honeymoon Registry Services offer a solution for these couples and their friends and family wishing to buy them meaningful wedding gifts. This is done through a three-step process whereby it is possible to buy parts of the honeymoon as wedding gifts. First, contact your travel agent for assistance in planning your honeymoon. Your agent can then suggest different honeymoon destinations and put together packages tailored to your interests. Second, your travel agent will then put you in touch with a honeymoon registry service, to finalize honeymoon activities and then set up a registry so that guests can help pay for your dream honeymoon. The honeymoon registry service should be able to make suggestions on possible honeymoon activities. Third, after a couples’ honeymoon has been planned, the honeymoon registry service can take those plans and put them into a registry list, just like one that you would find at a department store. But instead of the list containing household items, it contains pieces of a couples’ honeymoon.

Not only do friends and family have the opportunity to help the couple pay for airfare and resort accommodations, but they can also buy romantic gifts, such as a candlelit dinner. The items on honeymoon registry lists can include activities or “extras” that the couple would like to do on their honeymoon, the beginning of their new life together. Selected activities might include items such as breakfast in bed, a champagne welcome, scuba diving, horseback riding, ski lift tickets, casino chips, tickets to shows and much, much more.

Honeymoon registries are a new way of helping the couple begin their new life together. Dishes, toasters and china may break or get old, but a honeymoon gift will always be a memory of a special time in their lives.

However, not all honeymoon registry services are created equal. Some travel agencies advertise having a registry service, although all their service may include is allowing your friends and family to mail in checks towards your trip. Those checks may have to have been received 60 days prior to your trip. Not many guests will purchase gifts that early. You do need to make sure to choose the right service that will provide you and your guests with the best possible service and which will result in the most successful registry.

Following are questions that you can ask to help you determine how your honeymoon registry will be received:

• Does the company provide an itemized registry list or do friends and family simply contribute money? Most friends and family members want to feel like they are purchasing something meaningful for you as a wedding gift, and if they have a list describing what they are purchasing it will make a better gift giving experience for them. Simply asking for money is not considered proper etiquette.
• How will your friends and family make purchases? Does the company accept credit cards? Does the company have a toll free 800 number? How will they get the registry list to your friends and family? The process needs to be as accessible as possible, especially for out of town friends. A registry service should put your registry list on the Internet, where out-of-town friends and family can easily access it.
• Will your friends and family receive anything to show for their purchase? They should receive a gift certificate and a receipt. Without proper documentation, how will you know who has purchased what gift?
• Will there be an opportunity later for family and friends to see what items they have purchased as a wedding gift? Many couples take pictures during their honeymoon and have them posted on the company’s web site for everyone to view.
• Does the company specialize in honeymoon registry? Will the people answering the phone know who you are and help make the purchase as easy as possible for your friends and family?
• How long has the company been offering honeymoon registry? The company’s experience in offering such a registry will also reflect on the success.
• What certifications or memberships does the company have? A membership in the Better Business Bureau is always a good sign. You want to make sure to entrust your registry to a reputable company.

Many couples today find honeymoon registry is a great solution for the bridal registry dilemma. After I Do is a company specializing in such a service who was recently featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. They can be reached at 1-800-956-4436 or at their web page.

Liana Carlson
www.afterido.com

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