Planning a destination wedding in Italy could be one of the most exhilarating, romantic experiences for you as a couple. After all, you’re living your fairytale Big Day dream in a luxurious setting with your favorite peeps!
However, a destination wedding incurs significant costs to your guests. Therefore, choosing a wedding registry for your destination wedding should include options that aren’t too overwhelming for your invitees. Ultimately, your guests, whether they attend or not, would still want to contribute with gestures like a “wishing well gift”.
Here are three reasons to make a destination wedding registry:
- Getting married away from home doesn’t make you ineligible to receive gifts to celebrate the occasion. You’re still embarking on a new life with your significant other. Moreover, your friends and family would always want to offer you a wishing well gift for your new beginning.
- It helps in making your guests who won’t be able to attend feel included. (N.B. You might want to consider live streaming your wedding on Zoom).
- A wedding registry eliminates the hassle for your guests of not knowing what to offer you – been there, done that!
Now if you’re feeling more comfortable with asking for gifts for your wedding, what would you choose: a traditional registry or a honeymoon fund? Both have pros and cons so it’s advisable to have a combination of both as some guests would still prefer giving physical gifts.
What is a traditional wedding registry?
Traditionally, your invitees would bring you a gift to celebrate your wedding which could end up resulting in duplicate or triplicate sets of pans, or 10 vases that you have no use for – all of which end up cluttering your future home. A wedding registry on the other hand, suggests plenty of ideas for your guests on what to gift you within different budget ranges to cover what you actually need. The items are usually picked from one store, however, nowadays different websites such as Zola offer you options to register for items anywhere on the web and you can track who gifted you what, and even send them a thank you note on the spot. This concept has even progressed to asking for money, literally to be input in your bank account or via gift cards. Just beware not to set the shipping to your destination wedding as shipping the items back home will be a huge hassle – unless you really need some of the items on your trip of course!
How to word a traditional wedding registry when you are opting for a destination wedding?
As a rule of thumb, don’t mention your wedding registry on the invitation. It’s better to add your wedding website instead and most wedding website builders include a wedding registry tab in their custom design templates.
As mentioned before, the traditional wedding registry might not be the perfect choice for you, especially if your house is well furnished and you only need a few non-essential items. In this case, opting for a honeymoon registry or honeymoon fund would be most suitable as it’ll spare you some cash to spend on your honeymoon and you would avoid receiving gifts that you don’t really need.
What is a honeymoon registry or honeymoon fund?
You’ve long dreamed of your honeymoon, but with all the wedding expenses, you’re short on cash to make it happen. A real bummer, considering that you’re already in your “dream” honeymoon country! Therefore, instead of registering for gifts, you might want to consider asking for money to finance your honeymoon. It’s off the beaten path, and its popular acceptance is still “arguable” to some extent, but, you’re already breaking up with traditions by planning a destination wedding. So, why not?
Moreover, besides providing your guests with different gift budgets, a honeymoon fund brings out your fun and creativity! A win-win we’d say?
So how do you plan your honeymoon registry or honeymoon fund?
- To start with, break down big expenses into smaller budgets. For example, if you’re planning your wedding in Tuscany, you might want to go on a horseback ride through the vineyards, therefore, options for your honeymoon fund might include taxi fares for a day, a horseback ride fee, a wine tour pass and more.
- Then, share with your guests the significance of each activity to you and your new spouse: Is it a much needed couple’s massage to release the post-wedding stress? Have you been longing for ages to go on a wine tour in Tuscany?
- Finally, involve your guests! Include links to restaurants you plan to eat at and activities you plan to do, it’ll help materialize the experience for your guests and get a grasp of what you’ll be using their money for.
Which sites can you use to set up an online honeymoon registry or honeymoon fund?
Since you’re having a destination wedding, using the “honeymoon fund mason jar” wouldn’t really work. Instead, you might want to consider some of these registry websites:
- Honeyfund is an online registry system where you can raise money for your honeymoon in a method similar to crowdfunding.
- Blueprint Registry allows you to streamline your registry from the RSVP to the honeymoon fund.
- Zola combines the classic gifts registry, experiences and a honeymoon fund, allowing you to mix and match as you like! It’s a turnkey solution for your destination wedding registry.
How to word a honeymoon registry or honeymoon fund?
Now that you’re technically set up, it’s still not acceptable to mention the registry on your wedding invitation. Some guests might be unfamiliar with the honeymoon fund concept or be more into the “traditional registry” so to make the concept clearer, simply slip in a note in the RSVP card explaining it.
Make sure to end it on a high note!
Wedding website and registry builders allow you to create customized thank you notes, so make the best of them! Send a photo or postcard from your wine tour experience to your friend who offered it to you. It’ll show the everlasting aspect of their gift! For an extra touch, you can even have it printed and sent by mail.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for inspiration for your destination wedding in Italy, head to WedBoard where you can set the style of your wedding and connect directly with the highest qualified vendors and venues across Italy. Happy planning!
Feature Image Details: Photo: Sergio Eblo Films
