How to Set Up an Anniversary Fund (and Ask for Gifts Gracefully)

Quick Takeaways

An anniversary fund is a modern way for couples to celebrate milestones with experiences instead of traditional gifts. With Honeyfund, it takes just minutes to set up and lets friends and family contribute to trips, vow renewals, or unforgettable adventures.
More than 1.5M couples have already used Honeyfund to fund honeymoons—and now anniversaries.
Modern etiquette experts agree: asking for money is acceptable when tied to a clear purpose.
Guests prefer giving meaningful experiences over “stuff” (think spa days, dinners, trips).
Your Anniversary Fund takes minutes to set up and helps keep the honeymoon feeling alive.

Why Anniversary Funds Make Sense

At Honeyfund, we’ve already helped more than 1.5 million couples take their dream honeymoons—and now, with the Anniversary Fund, couples can celebrate milestones with trips, vow renewals, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Every chapter of marriage deserves to be celebrated—whether it’s your 1st, 10th, 25th, or 50th anniversary.

That’s why we launched the Honeyfund Anniversary Fund. With one easy-to-share link, couples can invite friends and family to contribute to anniversary trips, vow renewals, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Think of it as a way to keep the honeymoon going.

Honeymoon Funds Used to Be Taboo—Now They’re Mainstream

For years, asking for money instead of physical gifts was seen as poor etiquette—honeymoon funds “used to be ‘taboo’ or bad etiquette,” as Honeyfund CEO Sara Margulis has explained. But attitudes have shifted. Today, more than 40% of couples include a honeymoon fund in their registry, and those couples receive 32% more on average than those who set up other types of funds (Fortune).

Etiquette experts back this up. Elaine Swann told TODAY.com that asking for money is fine, “as long as the collection of money for the anniversary is tied to something that the guest feels as though they are contributing to.”

The bottom line? Guests are comfortable contributing—so long as they understand the purpose, like an anniversary trip, vow renewal, or second honeymoon.

How to Share Your Anniversary Fund (Without Feeling Awkward)

Many couples worry that an anniversary registry feels like a “money grab.” But done thoughtfully, it can feel natural and celebratory. Here’s how:

Tie it to a purpose. Swann emphasizes: money requests are fine if tied to a meaningful milestone, like “Help us celebrate our 10th anniversary with a trip to Italy.”
Leverage other occasions. Hosting a birthday, holiday, or anniversary party? Instead of presents, include your Anniversary Fund link.
Provide context. Share your story—“We never had a honeymoon, so for our 5th anniversary, we’re planning a second-chance trip.”
Keep it tangible. Break contributions into giftable chunks: $25 for a sunset cocktail, $50 for our vineyard tour, $100 for a spa day. Guests love choosing something they can picture.
Respond gracefully. When someone asks, “What can we bring?” ahead of your celebration, your Anniversary Fund is the perfect answer.

Anniversary Gift Ideas That Work Well With Honeyfund

When you set up your anniversary trip registry for couples, you can align your gifts with traditions, experiences, or milestones:

Experience gifts for couples: wine tasting, spa treatments, concert tickets.
Travel anniversary gifts: flights, hotel nights, excursions, romantic dinners.
Anniversary gifts by year:
- Paper (1st): travel guidebooks, museum passes.
- Wood (5th): cabin getaway in the mountains.
- Tin/Aluminum (10th): a coastal road trip with camping.
Romantic anniversary gifts: sunset cruises, couples’ massages, candlelit dinners.

How to Plan a Vow Renewal With an Anniversary Fund

Many couples use their fund to plan vow renewals:

Vow renewal ideas: a beachfront ceremony, a mountain lodge, or your own backyard.
10-year vow renewal: one of the most popular milestones.
Planning tips: decide on the setting, guest list, and celebration style—then let friends and family contribute to the experience.

Your Anniversary Fund lets loved ones participate in the joy of the milestone without stressing over finding the “perfect” physical gift.

Why Friends and Family Love Giving This Way

The truth is, guests want their gifts to feel meaningful. As Swann explains, gifting money toward travel is symbolic—it’s an investment in your marriage.

Instead of another toaster, they’re helping create memories you’ll talk about for years. And as one Honeyfund couple, Dana Hahn and Jesse Samson, told TODAY.com: “Most of the times that you see people asking for donations to things, it’s when people are going through a really tragic time. I think our friends and family were excited to help us celebrate.”

That’s the spirit behind an Anniversary Fund—it’s about celebrating love, not accumulating stuff.