​Many brides and grooms already own the “traditional” wedding gifts for which young couples used to register.  Do you really need another set of towels or a new toaster?  Some couples would rather have cash for the honeymoon!  Several honeymoon registries are available online but many of them charge fees.  I just discovered Honey-fund - a completely free service, created by a real bride and groom who dreamed of a Fiji honeymoon but couldn’t afford one.  

Honeymooners-to-be create a dream honeymoon wish list - airfare, margaritas by the pool, skydiving, whatever you want!  Select items from a sample registry based on your honeymoon location or write up your own creative excursions.  Your guests select which activity they want to help fund (in $20 increments). Honeyfund helps you spread the word with e-mail, web, and print announcements plus your own Honeyfund website address.  You can also link to your traditional registries so guests have a choice. 

Your gift givers are instructed to pay you directly by cash or check, either by mail or presented at a shower or at the wedding, along with a printable Honeyfund gift certificate.  Sure, it’s essentially the same as putting money in a card but your guests will have fun reading about how you plan to spend their gift during your honeymoon.  

Guests may also pay by credit card or PayPal.  They’ll have to pay the fees charged by those companies (up to 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction) but this might be an easy, attractive option for out-of-towners who won’t be able to attend your wedding.

The site contains comments from several couples, explaining why they used a honeymoon registry and describing how their guests reacted.  Check out Honey-fund and let me know what you think.