Here’s a weird idea – how about crowdfund your wedding or honeymoon?

Yep, we can already sense some of you raising your eyebrows. A-a-and here come the “lolwut”-s.

Hear us out however – we agree that those are two of the a bit more bizarre things someone can make a crowdfunding campaign for. Many people voice their opinion that crowdfunding for a wedding or a honeymoon is even a bit immoral.

“Crowdfunding is for helping those in need!” they say, completely disregarding the millions of crowdfunding campaigns created just to help start businesses or for investments.

“Yes, but a wedding or a honeymoon is something personal that’s also not an emergency!” the relentless opposition keeps at it.

And look, we’ll agree – in fact, we already did – crowdfunding a wedding or a honeymoon is a bit… tricky. There are several things that you need to ask yourself first and that you want to do in your campaign if you want people to like and approve it (and therefore – to support it).

Who do you expect to support your campaign?

There are basically two options here – you either expect this campaign to be (a) fully supported by your friends and relatives only or (b) to reach a certain amount of strangers. If you’re going with option (a) then that’s a bit simpler, because your supporters will all (mostly all) be people who love you and care for you. You still have to be a bit careful as to not insult anyone – going to a wedding is often expensive for the guests – travelling expenses, sometimes staying at a hotel, bringing gifts, using their work leave, etc. It’s recommended to ask for support in your campaign in lieu for gifts.

If you hope to reach some strangers with your campaign (option (b))… well, then it gets a bit more complicated. We’d advise you to do this only if there’s a real compelling reason for strangers to actually support your campaign – there’s been some events prior to the wedding that put it at risk/make it an emergency/cost you your funds, etc. Or if you have some interesting and innovative ideas for perks and rewards for supporters. Because there are indeed lots of crowdfunding campaigns for personal emergencies and tragedies out there and the average supporter can only do so much.

Think carefully about the money.

Most crowdfunding campaigns for weddings and honeymoons do indeed go for option (a) from the previous point. And that’s great! There’s nothing wrong with using a crowdfunding platform to just ease your friends & family in giving you their (financial) gifts. Plus, often relatives and friends can’t come to your wedding but want to help out nonetheless.

However you have to keep in mind that the vast majority of crowdfunding platforms out there have fees. Rather sizable fees, often. The average crowdfunding platform takes ~5-6% of your money in fees. And additional 2-3% goes to credit card companies. That’s 7-9% of your friends’ and family’s money gone down the drain. So if you’re going to try and crowdfund your wedding or honeymoon we strongly advise you to use a crowdfunding platform that’s free of fees like CoverrMe.com and make sure that the money of your closest people are not going in someone else’s pocket. Here’s also a list of other free crowdfunding platforms.

Don’t go overboard with your budget.

That one actually applies to all types of crowdfunding campaigns, not just weddings and honeymoons. Whenever you make a crowdfunding campaign, be as conservative with your budget as possible – only ask for money for the things that are absolutely necessary. We know you want the “dream wedding” – we all do – however crowdfunding is not a magical button that will turn you into princes and princesses. It is, after all, indeed for emergencies. People may be willing to help you out when you’re in need, but not when you just want a more fancy dress.

Don’t forget you’ll still need to plan ahead.

Crowdfunding the expenses for your wedding or honeymoon sounds cool and all, but you don’t pay for a wedding or a honeymoon the way you pay for a dinner in a restaurant – after the meal is over and the glasses have been emptied. No, you pay for your wedding and honeymoon in advance. Months in advance. That means you either have to make the crowdfunding campaign months and months before the actual wedding/honeymoon (which might make some friends and relatives reluctant to support it) or you need to have the money in advance and then just use the campaign to restore your funds.

CoverrMe.com is quite suitable for these types of campaigns not only because it’s free of fees, but also because it allows you to make a crowdfunding campaign with no time limit – you can make your campaign ~6 months before the wedding/honeymoon and have it still be active by the time The Big Event comes.

Try to still think of some kind of a twist.

Even if you’re going with option (a) and only want to gather the support of your friends and relatives, try to still think of an additional way to thank them. Even if it’s not going to be the traditional giving of perks and rewards for contributors – think of something small and cool that will attract their attention and make them smile. CoverrMe.com’s “visual footprint” feature is quite awesome in that regard as it makes your crowdfunding campaign multiple times more interesting and engaging, but if you manage to think about something cool for after the campaign as well – that’d help you a lot!

And that’s pretty much it! As you can see a crowdfunding campaign for a wedding or a honeymoon is very much doable and a-OK, however – as with all other types of crowdfunding – it needs to be done carefully and correctly. So put on the think-caps and start planning well in advance! Here’s a quick general guide on crowdfunding as well. And of you need more help, we’ll also be offering personal email guidance here on CoverrMe.com so don’t hesitate to drop us a message!