Unique Wedding Registries

Registering for wedding gifts can be one of the most fun aspects of the pre-wedding festivities, but if you already own a great deal of housewares or simply loathe the idea of picking out a China pattern, perhaps you should consider a different type of wedding registry. Here are a few fun and different ideas for prospective wedding gifts…

Honeymoon Fund: Opt out of knife sets and gravy boats and get a killer vacation instead! Online registries like HoneyFund  and Honeymoon Wishes allow wedding guests to go online and make a contribution to your honeymoon. The trip package is broken down into several parts—airfare, hotel, dining, activities, etc—so guests can choose exactly what they want to chip in towards and can help ensure that you enjoy a wonderful and worry-free vacation as husband and wife.

Lifestyle Experiences: Start your marriage off with fun and excitement by registering for unique activities through a lifestyle registry. Companies like Cloud9 allow couples to register for over 1,700 experiential gifts, including cooking classes, guitar lessons, whitewater rafting excursions, skydiving, and spa packages. Instead of packing your house full of more stuff, why not treat yourself to an adventurous outing that you’ll remember for a lifetime?

The Gift of Time: Alternative gift registries, like New American Dream, allow couples to register for gifts that emphasize service, quality time, thoughtfulness, creativity, and environmental consciousness. Instead of asking for generic material possessions, brides and grooms create a list of items or opportunities that they’d enjoy. For example, couples can express their desire for everything from a cookbook full of family recipes to volunteer hours to help paint their new home to homemade baked goods from friends. Any and everything can be added to the registry, giving guests clever ideas to bless the happy couple in thoughtful and practical ways.

Charitable Donations: Use your wedding to raise awareness for an important cause or charity. In lieu of gifts, ask your guests to make a donation to a non-profit organization of your choosing. Online charity registries, such as the I Do Foundation, allow wedding guests to make a secure donation to the charity/charities of your choice. Choose from over 60 organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, Habitat for Humanity, National Wildlife Federation, Doctors Without Borders, Planned Parenthood, and the National Center for Family Literacy.

Food & Drink: Now you can have your gifts and eat them too! Sign up for edible goods with registries dedicated to food and beverages. Bottlenotes, an online wine community, allows happy couples to stock their cellars with registries dedicated to boutique wines and stemware. Brides and grooms that love to eat out will enjoy stocking up on gift cards to local restaurants though sites like Foodie Registry.

This & That: If you’re in need of items for your new home but can’t settle on one store, consider creating a general registry that pulls items from a variety of retailers. A personalized wish list at Amazon or Wishpot  is a great way to keep track of all the things you need and desire in one central location.