When Jenny Johnson and John Ericson got married, they didn’t bother registering with the traditional registries. They already lived together, owned a home, and had the household items they needed.Instead, Jenny and John registered with Honeymoon Wishes, (http://www.honeymoonwishes.com/), and received “pieces of their honeymoon” as wedding gifts.Jenny and John had a very successful honeymoon registry! “Our honeymoon included Spanish Language courses in Cusco and hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru,” says Jenny. “It was so much more fun creating a gift registry that included these experiential gifts we would always remember. Our honeymoon was filled with fantastic adventures we will never forget, and allowed us to tie these special gifts to our loved ones back home.”Honeymoon registries today are no longer “alternative” and are acceptable wedding registries. Honeymoon Wishes, which offers a free to the bride and groom honeymoon registry service, offers the opportunity for families and friends to give the couple something worth remembering for their honeymoon. However, because many people are not aware that honeymoon registries exist, it is important that the bride and groom (and their close friends, maid of honor and best man) let people know that their honeymoon registry exists and to “educate” their family friends about the concept. This will insure that they have the best honeymoon registry experience possible.

Honeymoon Wishes provides many tools to help create a successful honeymoon registry and to “get the word out” such as:

• Easy to use honeymoon registry templates to create a dynamic and customized honeymoon Registry announcement postcards to send to family and friends letting them know about your honeymoon registry
• FREE Wedding Website with your own unique Honeymoon Wishes URL which allows you to add up to 17 pages of information about your wedding, honeymoon and your HoneyLuna honeymoon registry!
• Email announcements via Honeymoon Wishes to send to family and friends letting them know about your honeymoon registry
• An easy to use website to for friends and family to view your itemized registry and purchase your gifts.

Although Honeymoon Wishes  provides some great tools to help you have a successful honeymoon registry, the bride and groom can also help make the honeymoon registry successful. Here a few things you can do to create a successful honeymoon registry.

1. Be Creative - Have fun with your registry. Don’t’ just ask for cash – include fun items and activities your friends and family can get excited about. HoneyLuna’s registry page allows you to include comments and even links to the hotel or activity to personalize your registry even more.
2. Include Gifts In a Variety of Price Ranges - When creating your registry do include a variety of items in different price ranges. You don’t want to leave anyone out, nor make anyone feel uncomfortable. With a wide variety of price ranges, guests can contribute anywhere from $25 on up – more if they want!
3. Upload Photos – Be sure to upload a photo for your Honeymoon Wishes  honeymoon registry page — as well as lots of photos to your wedding website.  The photo on your registry page makes it more personal for your friends and family when they are shopping on your HoneyLuna registry.
4. PROMOTE YOUR REGISTRY – Don’t be Shy – PROMOTE YOUR REGISTRY! For a successful registry let everyone know where you are registered. Include registry announcement cards in your engagement letters, shower, and wedding invitations. Advise family members and bridal party of your gift wishes, so that they may be actively involved in communicating directly to your guests. Use Honeymoon Wishes email announcements as a follow up close to the wedding date. People DO want to buy you a wedding gift, so you might as well make it as easy for them as possible.Here is an example of some language you can use in email notifications or on your own wedding website:Dear Tom and Susan:We would like to share with you our honeymoon registry.

We have registered for the items and activities of our honeymoon as wedding gifts through Honeymoon Wishes , a Wedding Registry for Honeymoon Travel! The gifts from our honeymoon registry will help us create memories that will last our lifetime! And, you’ll be really connected with our honeymoon!

If shopping on line is not your preference, please call Honeymoon Wishes at 1-877-699-5884.

Thank you so much for thinking of us. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our special day.

Nancy and Dave

Remember, the more you promote your honeymoon registry, the better your chances of having a successful honeymoon registry. Wouldn’t you rather have some fantastic honeymoon experience as your wedding gift rather than a zebra head cookie platter or another turkey baster?

Click here to create your Honeymoon Wishes Honeymoon Registry now! 

Not sure where you want to go on your honeymoon? Honeymoon Wishes,the best honeymoon registry service offers some advice on choosing the honeymoon destination that’s perfect for you.It's a big world, after all! And there are so many places that sound wonderful for your honeymoon. And it is the trip of a lifetime right? How do you decide where to go on your honeymoon? It may seem obvious, but the first step in planning a trip is deciding where to go. Here are some simple guidelines:

•  Be realistic – the first step is determining how much time you have to travel, and as important, how much money do you have allocated for your honeymoon. (Using Honeymoon Wishes honeymoon registry can give extra cushion to that budget!)
• The best way to start your planning may be to choose a list of specific destinations that interest you. Then start reading and researching these places to see if they fit your desires. If there are only beach and water sports and you don't tan and can't swim, then it may not be the place for you.
• Narrow your choices. The world is big. Even one country is big. You can't see it all in a lifetime, much less in a week or a few weeks. Most people try to do too much in too little time. You'll have a much better experience if you can actually take the time to enjoy where you are – instead of being exhausted because you're running from one city to the next, one country to the next. (This makes for some cranky travelers!)
• Choose a place that interests you – not just for the monuments but also for the culture and way of life. Your daily activities and the people you meet have more influence on the quality of your travel experience than the sites you visit or the sights you see.
• Make your own choices. Don't go somewhere just because someone else liked it or told you to go there. See above – again, just because a friend enjoyed the trek through the Himalayas in freezing temperatures carrying a 60-pound bag doesn't mean you will. If you're idea of roughing it is a 5 star hotel in Tahiti then a river-rafting trip down the Grand Canyon may not be for you!
• Think about who is giving you advice and what their knowledge is based on. Have they actually been there or are they experts on this destination? Look for resources from and by people in the places you are thinking of going for the most accurate picture of what travel in those places will really be like.
• Travel in the present. Learn about contemporary life and current affairs in the places you are going. (The Internet makes this much easier than ever before.)
• And most importantly, be sure that you and your fiancée are on the same page. If you want a week at a luxury hotel with a spa and a swim up bar, and he wants to go to a dude ranch, then you need to talk about that early on and find a way to compromise. (That is what you do in marriage!) Perhaps you can go to Kauai and stay at the Princeville Resort, which has a wonderful spa and is conveniently located by the Princeville Stables!
• Once you've made your decision, book early! Waiting for those last minute Internet fares is not honeymoon appropriate. The most popular honeymoon destinations such as Tahiti sell out months in advance!
• Don't forget to say "I DO" and go have the honeymoon of your dreams. You should come back from your trip feeling like you've just experienced one of the most memorable and enjoyable events of your new life together.

Traveler's Code of Ethics

Traveling is a wonderful privilege and a fantastic way to enrich our lives. For many though, especially when traveling out of the US and especially to third world countries, our “comfort zone” is often pushed a bit. Also, customs vary greatly from country to country. So what is acceptable here, for example, may not be acceptable in Bali.

In a lot of Asian Destinations, people get into trouble when it comes to customs of the head and feet. For instance, in Western Societies, rubbing or patting a child on the head is a form of endearment or play. However, it is very frowned upon in Asia and particularly Buddhist countries where touching someone's head, resting place for the soul, is definitely not acceptable.

Another area that can get us in trouble is the feet! Most of us are are not accustomed to sitting on the ground much or with our legs crossed behind us (as is custom in Asia). The feet are considered very dirty and to point them at someone, even just sitting with your legs out in front of you is an insult. I was on one of our group trips once where we went inside a Buddhist temple, all sat down on the floor in front of Buddha, and a woman in the group literally started stretching and doing calisthenics saying her joints were to creaky to keep her legs folded behind her – completely oblivious her legs and feet were stretched out and pointed right at Buddha to the dismay of the locals there paying homage.

Years ago I found this "Traveler's Code of Ethics" and wanted to share it with our Honeymoon Wishes clients as few simple "rules" or thoughts before, during and after you honeymoon.

(We didn't write this but we think it's great!)

Travel in a spirit of humility and with genuine desire to meet and talk with local people.

Be aware of the feelings of the local people; prevent what might be offensive behavior.

Cultivate the habit of listening and observing rather than merely hearing and seeing or knowing all answers.

Realize that other people may have concepts of time and have thought patterns which are different than yours.

Instead of seeing the exotic, discover the richness of another culture and way of life.

Get acquainted with local customs; respect them.

Remember that you are only one among many visitors; do not expect special privileges.

When shopping through bargaining, remember that the poorest merchant will give up profit rather than give up his/her personal dignity.

Make no promise to local people or new friends that you cannot implement.

Spend time each day reflecting on your experiences in order to deepen your understanding. What enriches you may be robbing others.

When traveling on your honeymoon (and for your lifetime), do research the customs for the country you will be visiting.  You will find that there may be many fun and fascinating things for you to do and enjoy in other countries!  Ask your travel agent for tips on both cultures and recommended activities.

We also recommend you load your Honeymoon Wishes honeymoon registry with fun and exciting adventures for your honeymoon destination.  While you will want some down time to relax and enjoy each other, you'll also want to experience as much as possible!

When planning your honeymoon and creating your Honeymoon Wishes honeymoon registry, it is VERY important to discuss expectations and assumptions with your fiancée and your travel agent to avoid disappointment.

Although honeymoons are probably the biggest and at this point in their new lives together, most important, trip a couple has planned together, it is very surprising how little they have talked about their desires, assumptions and expectations for their honeymoon. This is probably the most critical piece in honeymoon planning! Communicate about what you hope and desire for your honeymoon. Do not assume that he will want to see all the museums on your list. Do not assume that she will be ok spending hours along while you are out scuba diving (she can’t swim and is afraid of sharks…)  And of course, when creating your Honeymoon Wishes honeymoon registry (www.honeymoonwishes.com)  talk about what items and activities are of interest to both of you before you put it on your registry.

A travel agent friend told me a couple of great stories about some of her honeymoon clients that she met with that obviously had not discussed their expectations before meeting wtih her.  One couple had told her they wanted to honeymoon in French Polynesia (Bora Bora). So she filled the conference room with Tahiti brochures and sample itineraries. Their eyes were as big as saucers and they held hands as they looked at the beautiful pictures of this romantic paradise. They then began getting down to the details of planning the trip: specific dates of travel, islands to visit, hotels, etc..

Suddenly the groom says “Now there is golf in Tahiti, right?” I explained that there was a golf course on the island of Tahiti, but not on any of the outer islands . “So there is no golf on Bora Bora? No golf on Moorea?” No and No. He became a little unglued so I suggested planning their last few nights on the island of Tahiti so that he could golf there before flying home. This did nothing to appease him and he kept asking “What about Rangiroa? Huahine? Is there golf there?” No. Finally his previously beaming bride turns to him with a very red face and demands “Well just how much golf were you planning on playing on our honeymoon anyway? Aren’t you going to spend any time with me?”  (FYI – Moorea now has a golf course as well but did not at this time)

My friend stepped out of the conference room to give them some privacy while they talked about this very obvious difference in their “ideals” and after a few minutes they come storming out, pausing only long enough to say… “We’ll get back to you”. Needless to say, they did not end up on a honeymoon in Tahiti.

Fortunately for this couple, they were able to discuss, in advance (but obviously after their meeting with my travel agent friend), their honeymoon desires and expectations. Ultimately they did plan and have the honeymoon of their dreams. But the argument was an eye opener – they had different ideals of their honeymoon. After they left my friend emailed them a questionnaire and instructed them to fill it out together. This questionnaire asks questions of both the bride and groom about their expectations ranging from budget, activity level, romance, etc.. and should be completed individually and then discussed together. Most couples find that at first glance, there are seemingly major differences in assumptions and expectations, but after discussing each item on the questionnaire, most couples come to a very important understanding of each other and are able to design a honeymoon based on compromise and mutual respect – rather than forging ahead in blissful ignorance.

The Tahiti/golf couple ended up honeymoon on Maui. Initially it seemed as if the bride had “given” in to his demand to go where there was golf. However, after talking with both of them extensively in the ensuing planning process, she shared that she learned that he had always dreamed of golfing on some of the luxurious and tropical high end golf courses in the South Pacific. He did not intend to golf their entire honeymoon – but since they were planning on immediately starting a family (and then severely restricting future golf vacations) he wanted to make sure he could fulfill his golfing dreams while they were in the South Pacific. After learning that she envisioned a “much together” honeymoon with lots of down time on the beach and romantic hikes to waterfalls, he understood why she was so upset at the thought of “all that golf”. Ultimately they both got what they wanted – she had massages and spa treatments while he golfed and they had plenty of time together for the beach and waterfalls. They are still happily married with three children. He still plays golf. She still has massages.

This is a great article on the Knot.com on budget saving tips for your honeymoon.   We thought we’d share a few of them with you here (We especially like #3)!

15 simple ways to save money on your honeymoon

No one wants to skimp on their honeymoon. Posh accommodations, intimate meals, and soothing massages rank high on the wish list of virtually every newlywed, but most people don’t have an unlimited expense account. No need to take the backpack-and-hostel route - just focus on these five areas to cut down your honeymoon costs.

The Planning

A little legwork early in your engagement goes a long way toward balancing your honeymoon budget.

1. Consider a travel agent

It’s easy to find a flight and book a hotel over the Internet, so the idea of working with a travel agent might seem antiquated. While it’s not for everyone, Tim Leffel, author of Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune, observes that a travel agent can save money for those who don’t have a specific destination in mind. “If you just want to go to a nice Caribbean island and stay in a hotel on the beach, agents can often find deals that you might not run across yourself.” So if your heart’s set on the Four Seasons in Nevis, use the Web. If you’re open to any number of islands and resorts, see what a travel agent has to offer.

 2. Use frequent flier miles

If you’ve charged wedding expenses, your honeymoon is the perfect time to cash in all the bonus points you racked up on your credit card. Free airfare is great, of course, and even if you don’t have enough miles for that, you can still go for an upgrade from coach to first class, allowing you to begin and end your honeymoon in style.

3. Start a honeymoon registry

As a traditional part of attending your wedding, guests will give you gifts, and the majority of them will shop straight from your wedding registry. If you have ample linens and china’s just not your style, set up a honeymoon registry and have guests pay for part (or even all) of your trip in lieu of traditional gifts. Sites like thebigday.com or honeymoonwishes.com offer registries for a small percentage of the total gift. You can also register at resorts like Disney.

For the rest of the list, please visit http://wedding.theknot.com/honeymoons/honeymoon-planning/articles/15-honeymoon-budget-tips.aspx

Hello brides and grooms! I wanted to take a few moments to express my thoughts about Honeymoon Wishes and other honeymoon registry companies that provide a “complete” honeymoon registry experience for brides and grooms — as well as for their wedding guests. When I say complete, I mean a honeymoon registry that provides a shopping experience just like a guest would receive in a department store. They offer customer service, they accept credit cards, and they don’t tell you to just go give cash to the couple.

I founded HoneyLuna in 1995 and was the first honeymoon registry online in 1996. HoneyLuna.com is now operated by Honeymoon Wishes. When I launched HoneyLuna in 1995 honeymoon registries were virtually non-existent. I spent years creating this market and creating it in such a way that the honeymoon registry was as “traditional” as possible to other bridal registries offered. It was – and still is – very important to me that honeymoon registries are respectful, well regarded and not considered “tacky”.

Both Honeymoon Wishes and HoneyLuna have strived over the years to offer the best customer service possible – to both the bride and groom as well as their guests – to insure that everyone has a VERY positive experience with the honeymoon registry. There are very specific things that I feel set companies like HoneymoonWishes.com and HoneyLuna apart – and make them true honeymoon registries.

•  The guest never gives cash or a check to the couple. If they wanted to do that, why would they even need a honeymoon registry? Would a couple register at Target but then say “oh just give me cash”?
• We make it as seamless as possible for the wedding guests by accepting credit cards – and yes, that does create a fee that we have to cover. But many many guests do not have paypal accounts that other companies suggest guests use — and this is a true hassle for them.
• We have toll free #s for both the bridal couples as well as guests to call because we offer a service. We have trained employees that answer the phone to answer your questions and those of your family and friends.  And because we offer this level of service we do have expenses to cover.
• We do not cover our expenses with unwanted ads.
• In addition, Honeymoon Wishes is the ONLY honeymoon registry company that allows you to CHOOSE to have your gift monies sent directly to our participating partner resorts and cruise lines.  This adds even more credibility from your guests’ perspectives as they know you will really use these gifts on your honeymoon!

As a result of the hard work of HoneyLuna and Honeymoon Wishes, honeymoon registries are now an acceptable bridal registry option according to the Emily Post Institute of Etiquette and honeymoon registries are now 12% of the bridal registry market and growing.

Thus, it is very important to us that the integrity of the honeymoon registry concept is preserved – and not tainted, by companies that do not adhere to the same standards and level of service as the rest of us and tell your friends and family to “just write you a check”.

Thank you for choosing Honeymoon Wishes for your honeymoon registry….

Nancy Williams