This afternoon I have the utter pleasure of sharing a unique and rather wonderful alternative wedding list service with you; Patchwork Present.

Flexibility is key, the possibilities are endless as the service allows you to ask for money from your guests towards the one thing you really want. Whether you would like a dream honeymoon, to create your perfect abode or would like some pretty new items for your home. This is the wedding list for you...

My name's Olivia Knight and I'm Founder of Patchwork Present. Our site is an alternative wedding list for couples who want to collect cash towards one big gift. Whether it's a piece of art, a honeymoon or something special for the home, Patchwork Present lets friends and family get together to fund one much-wanted gift, piece by piece.

I came up with the idea for Patchwork Present when I was getting married a couple of years ago. Me and my partner had been living together with our two kids for ten years so we weren't exactly nest building and didn't need a department store list. So I built a very simple site that let us show our friends and family our dream honeymoon and then allowed them to choose which part of the trip they'd like to treat us to. And that's where it all started.

You can use the site to fund any gift for any occasion. But let's stick with weddings. Perhaps your one wish is to fund your honeymoon. You simply customise one of our many travel patchworks or create your own from scratch. Then show your guests your ideal adventure broken down into a 'patchwork' of pieces so they can choose to buy you whatever piece they want e.g. £200 for a night in a hotel, £50 for a fishing trip or £10 for a couple of cocktails on the beach.

As our site is independent of any retailers, gift money given by friends and family goes directly to your via PayPal account (minus our 3% commission) for you to spend when and where you like.

And when you've collected all your funds and are on your honeymoon, you can upload photos to your account to then email thank you notes, along with a picture of you enjoying your experience, to the specific friends who funded each piece.

It seems that most couples getting married these days are already living together. When it comes to gifts, most people don't want spoons and napkins!

Most couples use our site to fund their honeymoon. But we also have a lot of people using it to fund a deposit for their own home, to do up the kitchen or buy a new car.

I think so many couples are using our site because you can use it to fund anything. You can collect cash from friends all over the world to spend on what you want. It removes the embarrassment of asking for cash, makes giving money meaningful and is a fun, personal, creative experience for both those giving and receiving.

Oh there are so many! We have a lot of really creative couples using the site. But I guess my personal favourites are; a gay couple who funded a joint tattoo, a retired couple who were funding a honeymoon and leaving the country for the first time in 30 years and a couple collecting funds for a deposit on a flat whose kids helped them make the patchwork by drawing their dream home.

It's free to create a Patchwork Present, share it with friends and send photo thanks via email. We make our money when you start to collect yours - a 3% commission on each contribution given. So if a friend gives you £10 for beers in a bar, we take 30p as the money hits your PayPal account.

To start making a patchwork just sign up at www.patchworkpresent.com. It's easy to create a patchwork but if you need any help or have any questions you can email [email protected] or call us between 9-5pm Monday to Friday in our London studio on +44 (0)20 8617 8487.

Such a great innovative service.

Thanks so much to Olivia for sharing all about Patchwork Present with us today XOXO Lou

*This is a sponsored post.