Honeymoon Fund?

We're booking our HM through First Choice and I am led to believe that they give you a reference number to give to guests so that they can make donations towards it? We will still have the money though to pay for it if no one "coughs up"... JOKING..... lol

I dont have any qualms (call me heartless) but everyone coming to the wedding are very close to me and would ask me anyway what we want as gifts etc so I have no issues about directing them to the travel agents.

My Mum's suggested this idea to me but I feel really guilty if my family get me gifts since they bought me stuff the first time... (I have a new set of friends now but that's hardly the point!) Not sure what to do!

We are hoping that people will give us US Dollars for our honeymoon and out Best Man has said that we can put his contact number on our invitation card and tell people to contact him for gift ideas and he will direct them along that route...

He best do - there's a Tiffany & Co. in Barbados!

I'm saving up for the honeymoon in my big tin, started it at the start of the year and wont open it until a couple of weeks before the wedding. Think it must have about £30 in change already inside, soon mounts up and I don't notice it disappearing out of my purse (Or OH's pockets )

We're only going somewhere down south in the UK so will only need under a grand.

You could always ask for travel vouchers - My Mum asked for them for Christmas so thats what everyone bought her.

Were just googling now and may just ask for thomas cook vouchers?

Nursebride dont feel bad?!

I would go down the route of either asking for travel vouchers or doing a gift list through a travel agent. I say this because I'm pretty sure that all of the honeymoon money type sites will either charge you to draw the money down/open the account or your guests a transaction fee when they deposit for you.

We are doing this - probably with Travel Counsellors - they charge £25 to set up the list, which includes managing your account, gift list cards and thank-you cards. No other charges and the cards are really nice!

My cousin used First Choice and you could select specific gifts, like seat upgrades, champagne, dinner, airmiles etc.

My friend used Honey Money who also have specific gifts, but they take a % of all the guests gifts.

We're trying to save up the money for our honeymoon ourselves - can't afford much, but are going to Santorini (Greece) for two weeks. However, we are going to ask for contributions from guests as we've lived together for 10 years now! I know some people frown upon asking for money but we've never had a problem with doing it for other people and people who have asked us about gift lifts are fine with it.

We're making a list with Honeyfund.com. The service is free but you can upgrade to a premium website for $29. They don't take any commission and it's really easy to set up. x ?

Tanya77- snap, we are going to Santorini too. Do you have your eye on a hotel yet?

I've always had a honeymoon in mind as our wedding present, but after asking around i've decided it's best to ask for cash. We were hoping to be able to book as a last minute thing a week or so after the wedding. so I don't want to commit to a certain travel company in case we can get a better deal elsewhere.

My cousin asked for Thomas Cook vouchers and were far from happy with the service when booking their honeymoon. It's put me off a bit.

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We're thinking of going to Santorini too and then have a big holiday the following year as our one year anniversary holiday. Have you sorted out where you're staying yet? I need ideas!!

We used trailfinders to book our honeymoon and set up a giftlist with them. The way it works is that you pay for the holiday as you normally would and they give you a reference number for you to pass on to your guests. They can contribute online, over the phone, in the shop etc, and then when the list closes any funds donated are refunded to you.

The service was really good, I'd recommend it.

Re wording, we put the following on our info sheets:

Joining us in York is gift enough, but if you would like to give something a contribution to our honeymoon would be wonderful. We have an account with trailfinders, ref XXXX.

Trailfinders also supplied little info sheets which we included with the invitations, and they had details on how to donate.

being a travel agent, i would recommend you be very careful if asking people to pay towards it. from experience, some people who do not know the booking/honeymoon couple will take payments and send the reciept to the person whos paid (as most people request it) and it holds all your details of holiday including what you've paid and this can upset alot of people!!! so i'd make sure you tell whoever you book with NOT to send anything out to anyone else, and that they send the reciept to you so you can track whos paid what and send thank you cards.

Also forgot.................................... you'd need to pay for honeymoon around 10/12 weeks before so some people don't like giving the present 3months before wedding so maybe money towards spends is a better option!

i've got a moneybox that i cannot get into unless i smash and thats what we're using for our savings. only putting £1's, £2's or ocassionally notes it though.

We have booked our honeymoon through trailfinders and opened a gift list with them. We have to pay for the full cost of the honeymoon in advance but if we get any contributions then they will be refunded to the credit card we paid with.

We have also included some text about vouchers for homewear stores to give guests as options as although there are some things we want to buy they are big things like garden furniture that you can't include on a list.

My daughter has opened an account with Trailfinders where guests can donate on line, over the phone or send cheques. They also send you little leaflets with your names and date of the wedding on which you can pop inside your invites.

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One word about Cooks vouchers, we had some bought for our silver wedding and you can only use them against travel companies that Thomas Cook are agents for and, unless they've recently changed the rules, we couldn't use them on line as this is a different sub company of Thomas Cook to the high street branches.

I've seen this done before and I'm not a big fan of the concept personally - if you can't afford an expensive holiday, should you be asking others to pay for it?

I think, as a guest, I'd prefer to buy something tangible that will last - but that is a personal preference.

There are lots of ways to go on a great honeymoon at a reasonable price. We've decided to go to the Greek islands - Crete, Mykonos, and Santorini, with a stop in Athens also - and have booked everything on local airlines (Aegean + Swiss) and Booking.com.

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TBH we are only lookling at something like Egypt, not a huge holiday all around the world. We could afford it ourselves but the thought of wandering around John Lewis picking up crystal vases and toasters (!) fills me with dread and as time with MrMini is v limited a holiday would be perfect.

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We are booking our Honeymoon through Thomas Cook and the offer the guest fund service. They give you inserts for the invites and geuests can donate online, by phone or in store. I mentioned it to peopl who we are close to and will be at the wedding and they thought it was a fantastic idea. We will have been in our own home for almost three years when we get married, and so there is nothing that we need. Ornaments wouldeithe end up in a cupboard or a charity shop. I would never be offended if someone asked this of me as a guest - at least I know I'd be getting something they want. I don't think it's any more presumptious than registering a gift list somewhere, as this is what it is in effect. Guests can buy a bottle of champagne for the flight if they wish, or contribute towards a flight upgrade - at least their gift will be appreciated as opposed to gathering dust.

I say go with what's right for you.

Look at wishing wells. Type them into google. me and my fiance are asking for money towards our honeymoon, we already live together and have a little boy. we dont need any household things, so very politely at the bottom of our invites we are asking for a donation. most of our family and friends know that we struggle and arent well off. At end of the day they buy you gifts as something to make you feel happy, a honeymoon will make you happy! so just be honest, dont worry about anyone else, if they dont want to give they dont have too xx