Continental’s on the gift registry wagon

While I’ve previously expressed that I’m not so in love with the idea of having people pay for your honeymoon as a wedding gift - it’s just not for me, really - that doesn’t mean that it’s not a popular option. I’ve heard a lot of discussion where people say that they’re not against it, especially when it’s a second marriage, marriage of people who are maybe a little more successful, salary-wise and don’t “need” a lot of things for their home(s), and so on.

The latest thing I’ve caught is Continental Airlines’ gift registry, which allows gifts starting at $25 towards a travel registry for Continental.com members. Saw it advertised in my regular update as a Continental OnePass member, and figured it was worth posting about. Perhaps I need to rethink my concept of what this all means, huh?

Honeymoon registries — the guy’s POV

We’ve already had a couple of discussions about registries here at Groomify, but something that I recently had a (brief) conversation about was the idea that having a registry where wedding invitees could “purchase” a part of your honeymoon. First off, I’ll say that I’m not really a fan. While the Wall Street Journal’s Jane Hodges reports that even the Emily Post Institute says that honeymoon registries see “no objection to [them] from an etiquette point of view,” it’s so easy to agree or dismiss the perception of having others finance a vacation.

Upon reading that entire WSJ article, I “get” the statement made in the sidebar / photo caption, discussing how a middle-aged couple might “have” everything they need in life or to have a home together, leaving this as an acceptable option, but isn’t it still asking for people to pay for a vacation? I guess if I kept following this train of thought, I could argue that asking people to finance your china cabinet or glassware or utensil drawer could be viewed the same way, but it feels different to me. There’s certainly a difference between building a life together and building a sandcastle in Tahiti, but is this a case-sensitive thing that should be considered as such?

On top of this whole thing, I think we start getting into the whole “how much of a gift should people be buying us?” situation when talking about registries in general. To that extent, I think gifts that are further along on the “we’ll always think of you when we use your fine china” tend to tug more on the motional heartstrings - even for a guy - than the “oh yeah, and these eighteen people were kind enough to pay for our flight to Bali” sentiment.

Enough from me, though - what do YOU think?

The Man Registry kicks it into high gear

For an area that I most certainly found underserved when coming up with the concept for Groomify, guys and weddings is certainly a hot topic area for the world of the Web these days, huh? Earlier today I read up on The Man Registry, a relatively new site that promises to “provide couples with the ability to register for gifts that appeal to grooms and help engage them in the wedding process.”

Mashable’s Paul Glazowski says “…it’s an interesting idea, for sure, and one that, if pursued with especial attention on products and on details, could turn into a much cooler alternative to food processors, pillows, and toasters.” I can’t help but agree.

As I see more and more of these type of things crop up in various ways, I can’t help but a) be happy that there’s some great content for us to link to from Groomify, b) be surprised that some of the “heavy hitters” in the wedding business haven’t taken a truly good crack at this space and c) think that this is truly a great spot to be in. With the successes of things like Thrillist which keeps its ever-expanding service going by being smart, simple, and slick, it’s no wonder that this is an area of interest for a lot of people. Marketers have always obviously had an interest in reaching guys, but the scalability (or lack of it) probably stopped many from doing so in the way they’d like, beyond some block and tackle PR and advertising, and based on some of the quick responses I’ve seen marketing folk have to guy-focused sites and services, it’s pretty clear that this is a good way to go, if I don’t toot our own horn a little more.

That said, let’s step back to the stuff at hand, The Man Registry. If you’re looking for a “different” way of doing things, or maybe “another option” for your wedding registry notifications, or even if you’re a bride who’s sick of hearing that her groom doesn’t give a damn about the registry that you’re interested in building for your future’s sake, then this might be a great solution to look into. If anything, it might [alert: guy-trashing statement ahead] keep him out of your hair for awhile.

Gift registries and what to do with them

Just read this post at Get Rich Slowly, one of my favorite personal finance blogs, where Betsy Teutsch shares her $.02 (or maybe $5.00, in this case - and that’s a good thing) on the pros and (lots of) cons involved with wedding registries. On top of that, the post has landed, as of the publishing of this item, 104 comments from readers of the blog, so it’s pretty clear that this is a great topic for all.

I won’t stand here and rehash this as it’s a pretty good post and set of comments to read, but definitely wanted to chime in. When it comes to the registry sitch, I hear two distinct pieces of feedback from guys I know who’ve done them: One group talks about how their main input into the whole process was that they got to use “the gun” at the store in order to scan all the bar codes on items the couple picked out. The other group complains about the process because it didn’t involve anything “they wanted.” Rarely, if ever, have I heard a peep from guys who “enjoyed” the process of registering for anything. Now, I don’t know a lot of people who’ve done really creative registries, or even that have done a primary registry at someplace like Home Depot, but even so.

Is the registry process a good one to continue as-is, and do people do it the same way they’ve experienced their friends and family having done it? Is the registry a good idea because it helps guests pick something out when they wouldn’t know how to find otherwise? Is the registry something you, as a groom, plan to be a part of truly putting input and energy into, or just something you’ll be participating in passively?