Would you register for your honeymoon?

A trend I've heard about on and off for a while now is registering for your honeymoon. That's right - in lieu of or in addition to a traditional gift registry, couples are listing their honeymoon as an item guests can donate money towards.



Would you do it? Or do you think it's tacky? Here are a few websites that offer this service:

- honeyfund.com: "A honeymoon gift registry with no set up fees, no transaction fees, and no travel purchase required."

- buy-our-honeymoon.com: You set up your honeymoon and the activities you want to experience while traveling, and assign a gift price to each activity. Guests can then pick what they want to purchase for you.

- sendusoff.com: Works similarly to the buy-our-honeymoon site. They also provide email notifications to your wedding guests, and travel suggestions for you and your spouse.

So what do you think? Is a honeymoon registry a must-have for the modern couple, or a major faux pas? Sound off in the comments!

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Make Green a Part of Your Wedding

We're not talking about the color green - although I once attended a green & white wedding that just looked so fresh - we're talking about having a Green mindset! A hot topic for today's bride is how to have an eco-friendly wedding without busting your budget. With that in mind, here are a few easy ways for you to save two kinds of Green!

-Use postcards as RSVP reply cards in your invitations, instead of a card that goes into an envelope. Less paper used and less money spent! And be sure to check out our past blog post on wedding invitations made from recycled materials.

-At your rehearsal dinner and wedding reception, make sure guests can put empty bottles in recyclable containers instead of in the trash.

-Make a statement by honeymooning at a solar powered resort.

-Consider having your wedding and reception at one venue. You won't have to worry about (or pay for) transportation for your wedding party, and think of the carbon emissions saved if your guests aren't driving their cars from one place to another.

Case in point: Last summer I attended the wedding of two college friends at the Metropolis Ballroom in Arlington Heights, IL. It was a gorgeous-beyond-belief wedding, and the transformation of the event space from ceremony to reception was incredible.


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-Flowers are pretty much a given in any wedding, but consider flower-free centerpieces for your reception. We did a blog post on centerpieces a while back that might help you brainstorm. I also love the idea of filling apothecary vases with colorful stones, mirror balls, or even tissue paper (which you can recycle later). And if you have to purchase centerpieces, you can sell them on e-bay or craigslist.

Do you have any other Green wedding ideas we haven't mentioned? Tell us below in the comments!

Honeymoon Research

Planning a honeymoon can seem stressful and daunting, especially since there is a LOT of pressure for your honeymoon to be the "best vacation of your life". Not to mention the thousands of places you could choose to go! Should you stay in the United States or go international? Would you like a hot, sandy beach or a cultural hotspot?


I'm here to help. The best advice I can give you is: Do your research!


The most robust of all vacation research websites I've ever used is TripAdvisor.com (if you know of other great vacation sites, please leave me a comment!).

I used this site extensively and pretty much exclusively when planning my honeymoon to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Even if you're starting from square one - figuring out where to go - Trip Advisor can help. Just check out their Travel Inspiration tool:

Just choose the type of trip you'd like to take (and talk this over with your fiance so you're both in agreement!), the region you'd like to visit (or just select "Anywhere" if you want the widest array of options) and click "Inspire Me!". You'll be given a list of potential honeymoon desitinations from which to start your research.

For each destination you look into on Trip Advisor, you'll be able to read about the following information:

• Before You Go - learn about the airports, public transportation, weather & when to travel
• Things to Do - read about local nightlife, tours & excursions and hidden gems
• Restaurants - search local eateries by cuisine, cost and rating by other travelers
• Map - view a map of all hotels in the region
• Traveler Photos & Videos - browse through travelers' pictures of the destination
• Forum - review what travelers are saying about the destination

Once you decide on a location, you can research flight fares & hotel reservations directly on the site. It is truly a one-stop-shop for planning your honeymoon!!

Also, Trip Advisor has written over 9,000 free Travel Guides, which are available for free download if you are a Trip Advisor member (free). The travel guides help you choose a place to stay, list restaurants to try & provides lots of tips for making the most of your honeymoon.

If you still find the task of honeymoon planning to be too daunting, there's no shame in working with a travel agent!

Another bit of wisdom: Your honeymoon might not end up being the best vacation of your life (mine definitely wasn't). No matter how much research you do, there can still be things that go wrong or don't live up to your expectations. The more pressure you put on your honeymoon to be blissfully amazing, the higher your odds of ending up disappointed. So after you've done your due diligence and picked a location, sit back, relax and hope for the best! The most important thing is to be with your new spouse and enjoy your time together.

{All pictures from TripAdvisor.com}

Honeymoons: HomeAway.com

Honeymoon.

Doesn't the word just make you relaxed?!

If you & your fiance are researching honeymoon destinations, you should definitely check out HomeAway.com.

Home Away is a website that caters to people looking for vacation rentals (condos, apartments, villas, castles). There are rental properties in nearly every country in the world, and many properties have traveler reviews. The website has a great search function where you can narrow down your results based on:

• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms
• Non-smoking only
• Pet friendly
• Beach-/water-front
• Budget/luxury rentals

Take it from me: You can most-definitely find prices better than at resorts & hotels on HomeAway.com. The only difference is that these properties won't likely have room service, on-site restaurants (unless you rent a condo inside of a resort; in that case, you might have all the amenities of the resort included in your rental price!), or other concierge-like options (i.e. if you're looking for an all-inclusive honeymoon, Home Away is probably not the best site for you).

Here's the easy booking process:

1. Search rentals & contact owner (via HomeAway.com)
2. Secure reservation with a deposit
3. Sign a rental agreement
4. Send final payment
5. Receive pre-arrival packet
6. Check into rental property
7. Have an excellent honeymoon!

I found this cute 1 bedroom condo in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, for just $1,113 per WEEK ($159/weeknight; $318/weekend)!

{Property # 157195}

And this GORGEOUS 1-bedroom open-air villa with jacuzzi in St. Bart's is just $1,550/WEEK when you travel between April & December.

{Property #84304h}

And finally, just look at this breathtaking 2 bedroom villa on the island of Crete... All for about $780/WEEK between April & June. Unbelievable!

{Property #83935}