Forget coasters, toasters and oven roasters. These days, more brides and grooms are registering for cold hard cash.

In a recent poll of 6,000 to-be-weds, roughly 50% rated money as their most desired gift, a notch up from 45% in 2000, according to theknot.com, a wedding Web site. Since its launch in April 2002, nearly 3,000 couples have signed up with TheBigDay.com, which lets couples register for cash for their honeymoon instead of presents.

"Cash speaks louder in a down economy," says Alan Fields, a wedding-guide publisher and industry watchdog, "In tougher economic times couples don't need that new Cuisinart kitchen gadget."

Eric Ly of Mountain View, Calif., and his wife, Zhiyi, agree. The couple was married in October and registered for cash instead of traditional gifts to defray some of the expenses of the wedding. Says Mr. Ly, "We already had a lot of the stuff. We didn't need the nice china."

The registries allow friends and family members to help pay for everything from a down payment on a new home to the honeymoon. In order to make guests feel like they're buying something instead of sending them a check, couples can list choices for how the cash will be spent.

But be warned: Unlike traditional department-store registries, which are typically free, online cash registries often charge service fees. The BigDay.com takes 9% off the total amount contributed by guests. Giftpile.com, which lets couples create a honeymoon wish list, charges a flat fee of $125 per couple.

Others let the gift givers pick up the tab. At theknot.com, which allows brides and grooms to register for American Express Gift Cheques, guests are charged a $5 per-check fee. That means your guest will pay $55 for each $50 check they give. Another site, Felicite.com, which lets couples register for both gifts and cash, takes 4.9% of each gift.

Because of the fee, Rachel Goddard says one guest refused to use her registry. Instead, "he wrote me a check and gave me an extra $5 cash as a joke," says the 29-year-old raft guide from Durango, Colo.

Another issue with cash: Givers "get attached to their gifts," says Michele Alston, who registered for a $4,200 honeymoon. The project manager from Sterling, Va., and her husband planned to go horseback riding on their trip and registered for $250 lessons. But they were rained out. When they returned the person who paid for it wanted to see pictures of the newlyweds riding off into the sunset. Says Ms. Alston: "We had to think up excuses."