A honeymoon registry can pay for your entire post-wedding getaway

July 18, 1:54 PMSF Honeymoon Travel ExaminerSuzie Rodriguez

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Couple relaxing in a heart-shaped tub    (Credit: Caesars Poconos Resorts)

Honeymoon registries are a newish take on the old bridal registry formula. Instead of registering for table place-settings and stainless steel pots that friends and family will buy as your wedding present, you register for honeymoon goodies—one or more nights in a hotel room, room upgrades, a couples massage, an all-day jeep safari or kayak tour, a champagne breakfast delivered to your room, all or a portion of your air flight, or whatever else you might ask for.

Establishing your registry is easily done online. You'll end up with your own Web page which friends and family can visit. They'll see your wish list (with prices of each item), choose their gift, and pay by credit card. The registry informs you each time you receive a gift, keeps track online of what’s been purchased for everyone to see, and sends you a check before the wedding for the account balance.

How can registries afford to do this? They charge a fee (see individual registries below).

Some hotel/resort chains, airlines, and tourism destinations offer something similar to the registries described above. Be forewarned, however, that they typically allow you to select only items and activities falling under their umbrella. Rather than send a check or other form of straightforward monetary payment---which allows you to spend the money as you like---they send a gift card or a company credit to be applied against your bill. Often they charge the top rate for everything purchased through their registry—rather than the bargain rates you might get were you to book ordinarily.

A completely different take is the wedding/honeymoon registry offered by adventure tour company Mountain Travel Sobek. Friends and family can contribute money toward the kind of adventure honeymoon you’ll never forget—crusing the Galapagos, or climbing Kilimanjaro, or any of the other adventures they undertake in 65 countries around the world. Best thing: MTS charges no fee for their registry service.

And for couples who already have everything they need, consider this idea: register with Britain's Carbon Footprint, where friends/family can buy one or more trees in your name to be planted in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. The service is free; gift-givers pay no fees aside from the modest per-tree cost of around $13.

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The following companies have reliable reputations in the traditional honeymoon registry business. Each has a unique fee structure, and extra charges may apply for some services, so read the fine print carefully (which you should always do anyway). Keep in mind that most of these services charge a credit card transaction fee, which, when combined with the typical 7% service charge per transaction, amounts to a 10% fee. One exception to this is Traveler's Joy, which includes the credit card fee in its 7.5% service charge.

The only service that operates differently is the first one mentioned below, Buy Our Honeymoon; it charges a one-time fee at signup.

• Buy our Honeymoon charges a one-time fee (currently $64) and that's it. No commission is taken from you or anyone who buys you a gift. You can include any items you like in your online registry, even mixing hotel and travel options with household gifts. The money is not held by Buy Our Honeymoon; rather, it's paid directly and immediately to you through PayPal or other options.
• HoneyLuna charges a 7% service fee that can either be added to or deducted from the cost of the gift. If credit cards are used to fund the purchase, an additional 3% credit card fee is imposed.
• The Big Day deducts a 7% service fee from the gifts purchased. In other words, if a total of $1000 in gifts are purchased, you’ll end up with a check for $930; essentially, you pay the fee. The service fee is reduced if you book your travel through The Big Day. In addition to the 7% fee, purchasers are charged a 3% credit card transaction fee.
• The Honeymoon charges the buyer combined service/credit card fees ranging from 8.85% (for a gift costing up to $500) to 5.85% ($1000+). The fees are added on top of the gift price, so that if $1000 in gifts are purchased, you’ll end up with $1000; in this instance, the buyer pays the fee. I had to really search the site to find this info (it's in the FAQ; the link is located in very tiny type at the bottom of the home page).
• Honeymoon Wishes lets you choose whether you want the 7% fee added to or deducted from the gift amounts. An additional 3% credit card transaction fee applies.
• Traveler's Joy deducts 7.5% from the total amount of gift money you receive (i.e., you pay the fee)---this percentage includes the usual 3% credit card transaction fee.

• © Suzanne Rodriguez 2009