(Wedding) How to ask for cash instead of presents?

[Bookaholic73]

We are getting married next year. We live together and don’t need anything for the house etc.
I don’t drink, so alcohol is no good.

What we would really like is money towards a honeymoon which we won’t be able to afford else.

How can I word it nicely?

What one friend did was a wedding list of things needed for the honeymoon
I.e one person brought flights
5x lunches
3x excursions
1 x person for romantic meal
1 person brought the hotel room

The vast majority of weddings I’ve been to (including mine!) have said something along the lines of: We have everything we need so we don’t have a gift list. We would rather have your company than presents. However, if you would like to give a gift, contributions towards our honeymoon would be gratefully received.
I’m not sure if it’s a generational thing, but it’s never crossed my mind for this to be an issue. A honeymoon is an amazing experience and an incredible gift to be able to give to a couple.
A few people did give us vouchers for department stores, and obviously we were very grateful to receive these, but as there was nothing we really needed, it felt a bit odd trying to find something that we could say “thank you for the vouchers, we bought X with them.”
Personally I would love to know I’ve helped a couple have an amazing break rather than fill their home with unwanted stuff!

I think vouchers are crap.

Money is money.

But don't send this (I'm going from memory but it's close to the original):

"Please don't think we're being funny
But we have lots of forks and spoons
So we'd love for you to give us money
Towards a lovely honeymoon"

It's all kinds of shit.

At least go for a parody of a famous poem or rock lyric. Own it.

Asking for money is rude .
So just don’t ask unless they are very close family and close friends.
I always give money as a present as I understand that people would prefer the money rather than a gift that they do not like or want.

@TheRLodger- The honeymoon gift list is a good idea.

You say nothing.

People nowadays will give you money anyway.

And don't say no gifts, it could be taken literally as in no money gifts.

Just keep schtum.

Cash is fairly standard nowadays.

Don't. Please don't. Just don't mention gifts. Most people will give money anyway.

DH and I used Prezola. We actually broke down our honeymoon into items/experiences and listed them on the site.

People seemed to really like this as it gave them the experience of shopping for a actual gift whilst we got the cash at the end!

We said that gifts were not needed but that if they were determined then either a charitable contribution, or an item from our list would be lovely.

We made it very clear that we simply didn’t have room for items in our house and are already on the brink of needing to move 😂

People aren't stupid, it's obvious that if a couple live together they will have the household items that were traditionally given as wedding gifts.

We didn't say anything on our invites, everyone who wanted to give a gift gave cash, cheques or gift vouchers, with the exception of a couple of family members who gave us lovely gifts.

I recieved one of those poems in an invite earlier this year, they recieved less money from me then I would normally give as a gift.

We didn't ask but spread by word of mouth by our parents...Thomas cook vouchers towards a honeymoon! Was fab! We got 1300 pound worth and went all inclusive 5* resort in Crete!

We got a few thoughtful gifts too! And cash, champagne, next vouchers etc!

I hate the poems!

OP don't do the honeymoon fund, nor god forbid any sort of cutesy poem. They're both crass and unnecessary.

Folks will give money anyway.

Stay classy and say nothing.

Poems are gross, and any way you to try and word it, it will come across as grabby.

DH and I had a very small ceremony, and mentioned nothing of gifts or money on the invitations. It literally had date, time, venue. A little slip of paper with local hotels etc. That was it. No mention of money at all.
People still put money or cheques in our cards, because most people don't like turning up empty handed. One person bought us a beautiful olive tree, which seemed totally random at the time, but years later it still stands on my front porch and makes me smile every time I see it.

People are so weird about this, it's perfectly normal over here. It's not grabby, it's not rude. I rather liked this wording from a PP "no presents please, but if you would like to contribute to the honeymoon fund we’d be grateful."

Oh! The box for envelopes is a good idea, but make sure you assign someone to subtly watch it for you. I know a couple whose box got 'appropriated'. It was horrendous.