Celebrate Intimate Weddings

with Relationship Speaker/Author/Coach...
Larry James

"Honeymoon Bridal Gift Registry" by Larry James was featured in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of The Wedding Chronicle.

What a terrific wedding gift alternative for the modern Bride and Groom. Instead of conventional wedding gifts, friends and family can shower you with a honeymoon gift that will provide you with a lifetime of memories.

On a traditional wedding registry, couples register for china, flatware and kitchen appliances. You may already have most of the necessities. Some couples have enough household items between the two of them to stock an entire home or apartment. These couples would greatly appreciate help paying for a honeymoon instead.

When wedding guests ask, "Where are you registered?" direct them to a honeymoon travel registry.

A honeymoon registry is a trendy alternative to a traditional wedding registry and allows your guests to help you to achieve your dream honeymoon vacation by purchasing pieces of the trip as a wedding gift. It is a relatively new and exciting concept that began in the 1990s as an additional service.

Some are still set up in this manner and require wedding couples to use their travel agency to book their honeymoon. More recent honeymoon registries are not involved with the planning and booking of the honeymoon. Instead, they provide the bride and groom with a customizable web page to share their honeymoon plans with others and accept gifts toward the honeymoon.

It's time to let your imagination soar! What would it take for you to have the honeymoon of a lifetime? You could take a cruise, stay at an all-inclusive resort, rent a condo on the beach, a honeymoon suite, include airfare, breakfast in bed, a relaxing massage, a romantic candlelight dinner at an elegant restaurant, scuba diving lessons, entertainment, a relaxing day at the spa and even shopping funds.

Your friends and family participate by purchasing pieces of the trip as a wedding gift. For example a $1,000 gift item can be divided into 20 $50 increments. Guests save time on buying gifts because everything can be purchased online and an added bonus is that there are no gifts to wrap or carry to the reception! The benefit for the bride and groom, you avoid incurring a massive honeymoon debt.

Registry activities are displayed in an organized and user-friendly inventory format on their customized registry page. As wedding guests browse the registry page, they can make a gift, typically using a credit card, of any of the listed activities or give a general monetary gift of any amount towards the honeymoon.

Some travel agencies also provide honeymoon gift registries services. Some are free, however nearly all honeymoon registry services charge a service fee (usually 7 percent to 15 percent) on collected funds. As with anything else, you need to be a smart consumer when choosing a honeymoon bridal registry. Fees vary by service provider, though some sites may lower or eliminate fees if a certain amount of travel is booked through an associated agency. You typically receive a check for the total gift cash contributions minus the company's percentage.

There are several services that eliminate service charges by allowing couples to accept cash, check or PayPal payments directly from guests - some are funded through advertising, others by a setup fee. Check them out carefully and remember you usually get what you pay for.

Etiquette says that registry information should never be included with wedding invitations. However, it can be sent with shower invites. Some provide free printable announcement cards to insert into bridal shower invitations as well as free electronic thank you cards. You can also give registry cards to your immediate family. They are the ones people will ask when they want to know where you're registered.

Remember, before you get carried away with registering for pricey excursions, you must have airline tickets and hotel reservations to take a vacation. Determine your priorities and proceed accordingly.

Your honeymoon should be the highlight of your wedding experience. Honeymoon registries should help enhance that experience by not only helping get it paid for, but also helping put your mind at ease that your honeymoon is in the hand of capable, competent experts.

Some wedding guests may see a honeymoon registry as asking for money. Those with traditional views may consider this rude. However, just as most couples register with multiple retailers, couples may also register with a retailer and a honeymoon registry.

Check out Travelers Joy Honeymoon Registry, www.TheBigDay.com, or www.TheHoneymoon.com.

When researching your honeymoon registry, we recommend that you ask:

• How long have you been in business?
• Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau?
• Is the money in my registry account secure? How??
• Can I make all of my arrangements, including travel, with you (i.e. "one stop shopping") or,
• Do I have to use you for our travel?
• Is your website secure? How?
• What is your privacy policy?
• Do you have an 800# in case my friends in family don't use the internet?
• Can you provide me with references to substantiate your service?

Copyright © - Larry James. All rights reserved.

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