The New Wedding Registry: A First Home Fund

Turns out the days of registering for fine China and overpriced silverware are fading fast. According to Realtor.com, more couples are ditching traditional wedding registries and asking guests to contribute to something they actually need: a down payment on their first home. After all, you can’t live in a gravy boat.

Even in high-cost markets like New York, these cash gifts are making a meaningful difference. Realtor.com highlighted one New York couple who raised nearly $30,000 through a house fund link on their wedding registry. That’s enough to make a real dent in a down payment or at least cover closing costs. It turns out it literally pays to have rich friends.

Through websites like Honeyfund and Zola, as well as payment apps like Venmo and PayPal, the “first home fund” is quickly gaining popularity. Some couples are even skipping the lavish wedding altogether in favor of putting those funds toward a future home. Instead of asking parents to pay for a one-night celebration, they’re asking them to invest in a place where they can argue about paint colors for years to come.

I attended a wedding in Maine this past weekend where the entire registry page consisted of only banking information for American and Australian guests to contribute directly to the newlyweds’ house fund. Wedding gifts used to help furnish the house, now they help buy the house.