A bridal registry is a service provided by retail stores to assist engaged couples in the communication of gift preferences to wedding guests. Selecting items from store stock, the couple lists desired items and files this list with the chosen merchant. The list is then made available to wedding guests, either by the couple's family or the merchant. Upon the purchase of a listed item, this gift registry is updated accordingly. In addition to providing valuable information for the buyer, the system helps prevent the receipt of duplicate or unwanted gifts, potentially saving time for both giver and recipient.
The practice of a bridal registry was first instituted by Chicago-founded department store Marshall Field's in 1924 at its Marshall Field and Company Building as a means for the engaged couple to indicate chosen china, silver and crystal patterns to family and friends. US-based Target stores were the first to introduce an electronic self-service gift registry in 1993, using a service provided by The Gift Certificate Center, Minneapolis, MN.1 The technology was invented and subsequently patented by William J. Veeneman et al, the founder and CEO of The Gift Certificate Center.2
In the past few years the traditional concept of the bridal registry has evolved. On one side we now have more specialized versions such as honeymoon registry or charity registry. On the other side we also have more general registries that allow consumer to have items from many stores in one single registry (commonly referred as Universal Registries). There are now online services that do allow users to signup for any of such lists. For example Wishpot or MyRegistry and Free Gift Registry are example of common services currently available in the marketplace.
In the UK Bridal Registries are more commonly known as 'Wedding Lists', it is customary for couples to send out a copy of their Wedding List with their wedding invitations. 3 Wedding Pressies is a popular UK based Wedding List Service, where users can choose a product from all major retailers from a list of over 500,000 different items.
References
- ^ Star Tribune (Minneapolis - St. Paul) Technology, bridal registry are joined together at Target 1993-06-11
- ^ United States Patent and Trademark office Patent No. 5,754,981. (Enter patent number at: http:patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PT01&Sect2=HITO)
- ^ Mint Weddings - http://www.mintweddings.co.uk/invitations/etiquette.htm
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- This page was last modified on 9 January 2009, at 04:28.
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