Andrew Rowdon, owner of Andrew Rowdon Travel, said he first launched The Wedding Gift List three years ago for his own use and has been perfecting it ever since.
The system enables couples that are getting married and have booked their honeymoon to replace the traditional wedding list with their own Weddings & Honeymoon Escapes list.
While the list contains options such as helping to pay for the couple’s flights, Rowdon said it was far more focused on the experiences they can enjoy once in resort, which couples then choose and add to the list.
Wellwishers can book and pay for the experiences, which range from diving or waterskiing lessons to tours and bottles of champagne.
The couple are then presented with the final list of who has paid for what as well as the money, which is financially protected, allowing them to enjoy personalised experiences once on their honeymoon.
Rowdon said: “More people live together these days before getting married so what do they want?
They want money for a honeymoon and this is the perfect solution to allow them to ask for money without asking for money.
“We find that guests like it because it’s tangible and they can pay for something they like to do or because they know the couple like it.”
He added that the system, which is free for his customers, proved even more successful after Rowdon introduced it to wedding fairs, from which he secured 30 bookings.
Rowdon is also working on the next stage of development of the platform, which will allow the honeymoon couple to send “thank you” notes with pictures attached while overseas. Following its success, Rowdon will now present the system to fellow Travel Network Group members at its conference next May, when it will be rolled out to across the consortium.
Gary Lewis, group managing director, The Travel Network Group, said: “It’s great to see Andrew innovating his business with this idea. Our members inspire us all time with the creative way they develop their businesses. Andrew will be presenting his ideas at our conference next May as part of the members’ marketplace.”
