Honeymoon Kick-Starter to Disney World

[drewxes]

We are getting married in October of 2015 and we are planning our Honeymoon for sometime in December 2015. Instead of a wedding gifts registry we will be setting up a Kick-Starter type web page where our wedding guest can donate money for our Honeymoon to Walt Disney World. We usually stay at a Moderate Resort POFQ and CSR, but since we will be getting some extra money for our trip I hope to stay at a Deluxe Resort POLY,BW, AKL or the Contemporary. Planning will be an issue due to the fact that we will not know how much money to expect..... So I am asking if A) Anyone has done this before. B) Has tips on how to go about it.

 

[danikoski]

Disney has a honeymoon registry where you can pick out things you want (dinners, tours, activities, tickets, money for room, etc.) and then people buy them for you, like a normal wedding registry. It is Disney.honeymoonwishes.com. Hope that helps.

 

[drewxes]

Thanks! that helps alot.
Has anyone used this service before?

 

[bumbershoot]

Planning will be an issue due to the fact that we will not know how much money to expect.

Plan for what YOU can afford. Plan as though everyone will look at this registry as though you had grown two heads and refuse to donate to it. Because there will almost certainly be people who won't. I wouldn't back some years back. Actually we have friends who just got married and had a honeymoon registry, and we didn't participate. We did send a check, and they used it on the honeymoon, but I liked to think they might be able to upgrade their blender or buy a kitchenaid mixer or something that will last decades like that.

Plan for that, and budget for what YOU can afford, and use any wedding money for extras or to "pay yourself back". (which results in money in your bank account which you can then use to upgrade your blender or buy that awesome Fiestaware, LOL)




(says the woman who got insta-pregnant and by the time of the honeymoon cruise a week post-wedding was passing out at 8, KNEW what was going on and therefore couldn't bring herself to drink the rum drinks she had dreamed about for a year, couldn't sit in the hot tub, etc, and barely remembers ANY of her honeymoon...there are solid reasons why I would rather give people things they can use for years (and think of the giftgivers for years...DS and I just tonight had a conversation about the friend who bought us some of our fancy silverware) than give to something they *might* not even remember. Or like my mom's second wedding, she discovered a brand new, never had before, seafood allergy that involved projectile vomiting. Third wedding, she and my stepdad went to the Bahamas with his timeshare, it rained the whole time, and the resort didn't serve food they could eat so they ate salads the whole week...honeymoons aren't always awesome)

(we also blew a whole bunch of money DH's relatives gave us, just before the wedding and early in our honeymoon, and we regretted it terribly not 6 months later) (see insta-baby reference for what we could have spent the money on)

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

My cousin attempted to start a honeymoon kickstarter in lieu of gifts, and he was shot down pretty fast. A lot of my family members thought it was tacky and refused to donate. I think it would just be better to accept the traditional wedding gifts and plan the trip that you know you will have the budget for instead of relying on others to pay for it.

 

[danikoski]

Thanks! that helps alot.
Has anyone used this service before?

We used it and had what amounts to four table service meals paid for, including Hoop Dee Do Review...we picked things like special meals and activities... The Honeymoon wishes company just sent us a check for the value that people gave...you can also use direct deposit...
The registry also allowed for people to know we were going to Disney, so we received Disney gift cards as well. But we also registered at Amazon and Target for folks who weren't into the Disney stuff...
As an aside, we budgeted for the honeymoon when we budgeted for the wedding...we were going to stay at POFQ, but I received a 35% off pin code for deluxe resorts for our stay, so we upgraded to WL...after our wedding, we realized the generosity of our family and friends and upgraded to a studio at WL, largely because most of our meals are paid for. We leave for our Disneymoon on Jan.19th.
I would recommend booking what you can afford now and then upgrading after the wedding if you are able to. But still register at Disney Honeymoon Wishes because it gives folks something different to give, especially if you know you'll be at Disney

 

[mb187143]

Also note the Disney honeymoon registry charges a pretty hefty fee (7%ish if I remember right), that your guests have to pay on top of their gift, which will turn a lot of people off. We were going to use it, we got married in WDW and honeymooned on DCL/in WDW so we thought that might be nice but we didn't want our guests to have to pay that fee. Whatever gifts you get on there basically get added up and you can get a check or the funds direct deposited into your bank account.

You know your guests better than anyone here does. For many people, the idea of giving money for a honeymoon is a big turn off, so plan to have to cover some of the cost of your trip yourself just to be safe.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

For the actual wedding I'd say 95% of your "gifts" will be cash, so you won't even need the (tacky) honeymoon registry, just put the money you get on your wedding day towards the trip.

Do everyone a favor a create a small traditional registry if you are having a bridal shower and use any cash gifts towards your honeymoon.

A quick google search will show you how the general population feels about honeymoom registries. Even if your friends and family won't say to your face how tacky they think it is, I guarentee they will say it behind your back. Weddings and showers aren't meant to be vacation fundraisers.

 

[Amanda999]

Also note the Disney honeymoon registry charges a pretty hefty fee (7%ish if I remember right), that your guests have to pay on top of their gift....

FWIW, OP, I wouldn't contribute anything to a wedding registry that charged a fee (even if it was 1%, and even if I didn't pay it - i.e., even if it was invisible to me, but came out what you ultimately receive). I'd send the couple a check instead (even if I thought they needed the extra 'push' to save up for the honeymoon via the registry, I personally think its a poor financial decision to pay a fee for this sort of thing).

And, just so you know what some guests might be thinking, I wouldn't contribute to a honeymoon trip that was high priced for no real difference (in my perception, of course). I think the deluxe resorts at Disney are lovely, but ridiculously overpriced, and that I (and, thus, a younger newlywed couple) should save their money for something better. (If someone has the money and that's what they want to spend it on, more power to them. But I wouldn't choose to spend my hard earned money on it - and, thus, would rather buy a blender for a wedding gift.)

HTH.

 

[mb187143]

Also note the Disney honeymoon registry charges a pretty hefty fee (7%ish if I remember right), that your guests have to pay on top of their gift, which will turn a lot of people off. We were going to use it, we got married in WDW and honeymooned on DCL/in WDW so we thought that might be nice but we didn't want our guests to have to pay that fee. Whatever gifts you get on there basically get added up and you can get a check or the funds direct deposited into your bank account. You know your guests better than anyone here does. For many people, the idea of giving money for a honeymoon is a big turn off, so plan to have to cover some of the cost of your trip yourself just to be safe.

Just an update - the fee is 7% but your guests don't pay it, the company deducts it out of your gifts. Still pretty % hefty though.

 

[pigletgirl]

Is there anyway you can start saving now? You will need to be paid in full at the 45 day mark, so be prepared for that.

Like the PP said, budget for what you can afford now, not what you might potentially be able to spend. It might be nice to come home from the vacation with some cash in the bank.

GL and congratulations!

 

[verleniahall]

I agree the the PP - budget for what you KNOW you can afford, not what you THINK you might get. When you are doing yoru shower cards, make up some "registry cards" like you get from say target or bed bath and beyond.

Remember - you have to be paid in full 45 days from check in.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

What are the demographics of the people you are getting gifts from? Older people generally won't contribute to an online honeymoon fund. Most shower presents will be physical presents, and most wedding presents will be checks or cash.

I agree with budgeting what you can afford and pay yourself back with the money you get on your wedding day.

 

[dimndgal1]

I, personally, find funding a couple's honeymoon slightly tacky because A) some people don't get a HM or can't afford one themselves, so funding one for others seems a bit like having your nose rubbed a bit and B) I'd rather give something personal and lasting. We often give Shutterfly gift cards so the couple can order prints or make an album of their wedding or HM photos, sometimes buy an appliance that we know they could use or that has 'meaning' to us (DH and his friends have dibs on blenders for each other over the last 10 years and 7 marriages).

I agree with PP - you will most likely get some money from your wedding; use that to upgrade but pay for the trip you can afford for now. If the wedding is taking a chunk of change right now, put your HM off a few months - DH and I did our HM around our 1 year anniversary and found it a lot easier to 'splurge' on the little things since we hadn't just paid for a wedding. Just me $02!

 

[emldrl]

I'm really surprised at all the PP calling the OP's request tacky! How is it ok to give a couple what YOU think they need, rather than what ThEY have requested? Do you do the same for birthdays and Christmas? Or do you give people what you think they WANT?

We didn't have money for a honeymoon, and still haven't had one after 13 years. I would've loved something like this, so that we could've had one at all. Maybe OP already has all the household goods they need, even the ever popular blender!

OP, maybe, if the website thing doesn't work out, let people know what you would like to do with your wedding gifts, and I bet most people, being family and friends, would be happy to help. I know we would. Good luck, and congrats!!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

I'm really surprised at all the PP calling the OP's request tacky! How is it ok to give a couple what YOU think they need, rather than what ThEY have requested? Do you do the same for birthdays and Christmas? Or do you give people what you think they WANT?

I've been giving gifts wrong all these years... here I was thinking that ANY gift I give would be appreciated. Pfft. How stupid of me. For the record, my favorite wedding gifts were things that weren't on my registry, because if you're coming to my wedding you should know me (or my husband) well enough to know what I like.

Look, the OP is going to do what he wants, I was just letting him know that it isn't well received -- as was evidenced by other posters.

 

[Lynne M]

OP, I'm going to move this to our weddings board, I bet you'll find others there who've done, or are doing, a honeymoon registry.

 

[Elevationist]

I'm really surprised at all the PP calling the OP's request tacky! How is it ok to give a couple what YOU think they need, rather than what ThEY have requested? Do you do the same for birthdays and Christmas? Or do you give people what you think they WANT?

We didn't have money for a honeymoon, and still haven't had one after 13 years. I would've loved something like this, so that we could've had one at all. Maybe OP already has all the household goods they need, even the ever popular blender!

OP, maybe, if the website thing doesn't work out, let people know what you would like to do with your wedding gifts, and I bet most people, being family and friends, would be happy to help. I know we would. Good luck, and congrats!!

I second this! I don't think it's tacky at all. What I think is tacky is assuming I, as a new bride, need a blender or a stand mixer, or that I even WANT one. It's a bit archaic to think that getting married means spending all your time barefoot and in the kitchen. Couples are also getting married later in life these days, and quite often times between the two of them, they already HAVE everything they need for a home, but maybe are struggling to have a nice honeymoon.

But then again, I'm a person who always gives gift cards for Christmas and birthdays, either to stores I'm positive the person loves, or Visa gift cards. It's important to me to know that the gift I give somebody will be something that they actually want and/or need. I find that far more thoughtful than attempting to pick something out myself, and risk it being something they already have or maybe just don't like, and putting them in an awkward position of "Great, what the heck am I going to do with this???" IMHO, gift-giving shouldn't have any ego attached to it. Just my 02 cents.

 

[andeesings]

I wouldn't use the Disney honeymoon registry, the fee is OUT OF CONTROL. For ever $100 your guests spend you get $93?! Sorry, no.

I agree with the people who suggesting signing up for the Honeymoon you can currently afford, register at Target for Disney giftcards in addition to anything else you might want (I think the most important thing is to give people choices, and who can't find stuff they want from Target??) and use that $$ to upgrade your honeymoon once it comes in.

That makes sense, right? I ramble sometimes.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I got married this year and looked into doing the Disney honeymoon fund or any honeymoon fund. I couldn't believe the fees they charged and realized that our family/friends already knew that we were a couple who bought a house a year before the wedding so we really don't need kitchen appliances. Let's just say that we got money for 95% of the guests. I agree that some people will get turned off by the couple asking for money to fund their honeymoon straight out.