Bridal Registery Do's and Don't's

[CBREWSTER]

I love the Honeymoon registry idea. Think I will check it out! Thanks Ladies.

[Brenners]

I just spoke with another bride today who said she wasn't going to register until she got pressure from family and friends.  I still find it so odd but will need to sit down with my FI and be very thoughtful about what items we register and where.

[lesley_mexico_bride]

I have registered using honeyfund.com. I started a registry a while ago on theknot360 but its just not my thing. I have never been the type of girl to obsess over kitchen appliances, I prefer experiences. I already have two sets of dishware, my parents and my great grandmothers. My fiance and I live together in a small one bedroom apartment. We have no plans to move into a house until at least 6 months to a year after the wedding (hopefully!). We are also paying for the wedding ourselves....basically we will need money after the wedding and have no room to store stuff that we might use in a bigger house. I know we could upgrade a few things, but I don't want to register for stuff like that, I like finding that kind of stuff on a whim on my own. We have made it be known that traveling to Mexico would be the ultimate gift from a guest, but of course people want to give gifts. I don't get how people think its slightly tacky but proper to ask for 2000 dollar mattress but not cash (in a much smaller amount). I mean, we know how much you spent on us when you buy the toaster that we registered for right? Whenever my dad sends a birthday card, he says my gift is inside in my favorite color: green. I don't think its tacky, I think thats awesome, just what I really wanted and needed!! We registered for romantic dinners, excursions, a furniture fund, and even charities in Puerto Vallarta to donate to, so we did not specifically ask for money only I also made it so if something cost say 100 dollars I would request ten $10.00 contributions that could be divided up among people.

 

Anyway, my MOH and bridesmaids are throwing me a bridal shower soon. Has anyone had a bridal shower using a honeyfund registry? Any fun creative ideas on how to do this? What if people just brought cards that said what they purchased like, "I hope you all enjoy a romantic beach dinner on us". or am I just totally crazy?

[Brenners]

Lesley, I will need to check out honeyfund.com.  That is a great tip!  Thanks!

[Gatorgirl]

 

We too have gotten several questions asking where we're registered. We chose not to do the wishing well sites or honeyfund.com because of all the fees associated with it. People lose money just by making a donation b/c of the fees. And then I think it would charge us a fee at the end to withdraw the funds donated. That's a waste of $$! They'd be better off giving you a check b/c it would be dollar for dollar.

 

So we decided to register with Marriott for our honeymoon!  https://www.marriottregistry.com/   Its completely free! No fees for anyone!

You can add different types of services too that people can donate against. (your room, spa, wine, etc).  You also get 100 free registry cards! People just go to your website once you set it up and its done. Marriott will simply send you a gift card(s) with the amount of money that is donated. Easy! Then you can use it whenever, wherever you like for your honeymoon b/c there are Marriotts everywhere!

 

We also struggled with how to put this info in our invitation and decided to word it like this, which sounds nice and you don't come off sounding greedy:

 

Registry

For those of you traveling with us, your presence at the wedding is the best gift we could ask for! We thank you for joining us on our special day and we don’t take it for granted, especially in these tough economic times! Due to inquiries we have received from those unable to attend, we have registered with Marriott for honeymoon services for your convenience.  Please see link below.   (INCLUDE LINK HERE)

 

[KCB2011]

We are also sticking to our "presence is your gift" policy - but if people have asked, we have given all of our parents a few ideas of things that may be useful to us.  We figure, since we don't want any gifts, saying that your presence is your gift and then telling them where we are registered is a little contradictory.  For those that ask us directly because they are unable to attend and would like to send a gift instead, we usually say that we will appreciate whatever it is that they decide to get us.

[shan0487]

I never thought of this, that's a great idea! I wonder how many other hotels/resorts do this!!!! 
 

Originally Posted by Gatorgirl 

 

We too have gotten several questions asking where we're registered. We chose not to do the wishing well sites or honeyfund.com because of all the fees associated with it. People lose money just by making a donation b/c of the fees. And then I think it would charge us a fee at the end to withdraw the funds donated. That's a waste of $$! They'd be better off giving you a check b/c it would be dollar for dollar.

 

So we decided to register with Marriott for our honeymoon!  https://www.marriottregistry.com/   Its completely free! No fees for anyone!

You can add different types of services too that people can donate against. (your room, spa, wine, etc).  You also get 100 free registry cards! People just go to your website once you set it up and its done. Marriott will simply send you a gift card(s) with the amount of money that is donated. Easy! Then you can use it whenever, wherever you like for your honeymoon b/c there are Marriotts everywhere!

 

We also struggled with how to put this info in our invitation and decided to word it like this, which sounds nice and you don't come off sounding greedy:

 

Registry

For those of you traveling with us, your presence at the wedding is the best gift we could ask for! We thank you for joining us on our special day and we don’t take it for granted, especially in these tough economic times! Due to inquiries we have received from those unable to attend, we have registered with Marriott for honeymoon services for your convenience.  Please see link below.   (INCLUDE LINK HERE)

 

[sxcT]

We are doing a Honeymoon Regstry as well.  This way ppl can contribute to us have a great time on our honeymoon since all our money is going to the wedding (paying for everything ourselves).  We don't expect anything from anyone and we mention it on our website -  "For those coming to Mexico your presence is gift enough.  For those who would like to provide a gift we ask that you contribute to our honeymoon registry."  It was easy to setup and we listed lots of fun things we want to do.  I think its the best idea.

 

We also plan to do another registry for house items once it gets closer and for those coming to the AHR.  We don't live together yet so we could use nice new home goods.  =)

[skp1]

That's pretty cool about the Marriott registry.  Most hotels offer gift cards and that was what we were going to tell our guests to get us.  But I've never seen the actual registry so guests can pick what they get you.  Guess hotels are adapting to the times....I'm sure we'll see this more often in the future. 

[Brenners]

So do you go to the hotel website to find this and register or do you have to call and inquire if your hotel does this??