AIBU to ignore the "honeymoon registry"

[NotAHappyBunnyHugger]

School friend is getting married this autumn. We are now in our mid-20s.
My partner and I are invited to the evening do, which starts at half 5. On the invitation and wedding website, there is no mention of an evening meal, just cake and welcome drinks, then a cash bar.

In the envelope with the invitation, they have included a card asking people to contribute money towards their honeymoon rather than giving physical gifts. I resent this a bit, when I'm paying for transport, accommodation, and a new outfit to fit the wedding's "theme", and not even getting an evening meal when I'm there. It feels a bit cheap.

I had already bought the couple a gift (a household item, but a really nice version that's handmade in the city I live in), but now I don't even want to give them that! The whole thing reminds me of kids at school who'd invite the whole class to their birthday party to get more presents.

I haven't been to any weddings before. Is this just normal? My partner and I are getting married in a couple of months and we've been careful to only invite the number of people we can afford to host properly (i.e. with plenty of food and booze). We wouldn't dream of asking our friends to pay for our holiday!

YABU - honeymoon registries are normal and acceptable. Get with it

YANBU - asking for gifts is tacky. People should pay for their own holidays

We considered asking a local farmer if we could use his barn for a wedding. The cost of hiring chairs , tables, plates , cutlery etc was huge , let alone food,drink, portaloos etc. And somebody, probably us, to set it all up and clear away afterwards.

If you want a farm wedding the best thing to do is get an Indian wedding planner involved. I planned my cousin’s wedding earlier this year in a barn in Essex and paid £10k for chair / table / stage / decorations / flooring / outdoor gazebos / heating / dj / portaloo hire for 400 people. A buffet 7 course thali meal was £2k - that would have been 50% cheaper had we used the local Indian caterer but instead we ferried one in from where I live & so had to pay for outdoor food heating facilities.