Geek Weddings and Gift Registries? 38
mrbill writes "Getting married in a week, and the majority of our close
friends will ask where we've registered for gifts. Any
suggestions on places that allow online registration
for geeks, other than doing something like an Amazon wish list?"
Gift registries (Score:1)
By the way...congratulations!
Welll that depends... (Score:3)
For those that want to get you something different, register at Home Depot [homedepot.com] for power tools (MORE POWER! I need MORE POWER!) and other hardware. Finally, although they don't have a registry, Firebox [firebox.com] is a great site for geek stuff.
Congratulations on getting married!
--
He had come like a thief in the night,
i thought you said "greek weddings" at first... (Score:1)
Re:i thought you said "greek weddings" at first... (Score:1)
Gift registry... (Score:1)
Wishlist (Score:1)
Make your own! (Score:2)
You're probably not going to find one online retailer that sells everything you want (although Amazon's trying very hard to do that!), so if you have webspace that you can actually program in, it might not be a bad idea to whip up a little wishlist site of your own. Search the Net for stuff that you like or just use a general description. Let visitors create accounts and check off items on your wishlist. =)
Might be nice if you can hook into the retailers' sites so that the items are automatically ordered and delivered to your address, but that might be pushing it. Anyway, have fun!
(Although you probably won't have time to make this - hmm. Convince some of your geek friends to do it for you in lieu of giving you a gift, maybe.)
one word (Score:1)
Re:Make your own! (Score:1)
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
This sounds like it has all the makings of an open-source project! (Sorry, I have no idea if this particular application exists.) BUT, it struck me it might be interesting to see if SLASH: The Slashdot Code [slashdot.org] could be modified for this kind of an application? You time horizon is terribly short so this might not work for you, but let's take a flight of fancy here and play with the idea for a bit.
I'm thinking you could have different categories and each "article" in the category would identify an item on your list. Imbed links to whatever vendors / sites carried the item. (This lets the linked-to sites host the images and product details, so do you don't have to.)
Discussions could facilitate pairing up between people so they could purchase an item that was too expensive for one person to afford.
One issue I forsee is the need to be able to flag an article in some way to indicate its been purchased, so that "Aunt Sue" can just scan down the articles and see what is still available. Maybe mod the post down to a zero and view at a +2 level? (Watch out for this case, though: person A pulls down an "Article" for a, say, CD burner. person B pulls down the SAME article. Person A flags s/he will get it. But, person B cannot see that in their copy, so they could conceivably also flag that they will get one, too. Then again, that may not be an issue if the item was "cash" <grin>)
As a special bonus, it would make it a heck of a lot easier to identify items and purchasers for sending out thank-you notes!
Overkill? Sure! But once you worked out the kinks in it, it could also make for an interesting business opportunity in setting up a company to web host this for other couples!
Once again, best wishes to you and your soon-to-be mate -- gives hope to this geek that I might also find that special someone!
Wowzers! (Score:1)
You're getting married in ONE WEEK and have yet to register!? I think my wife and I were registered for gifts about SIX MONTHS before the wedding. But then again, perhaps my wedding was a little bit more traditional that a geek-wedding. After all, my wife is an English major -- but that helps keep me from reading nothing but O'Reilly "In a Nutshell" books.
Target Has a Gift Registry Online at ... (Score:1)
Re:Wowzers! (Score:1)
we've been concerned with other things and never
really thought about registering anywhere.
Geek Weddings (Score:1)
Many of the department stores have registries which are web enabled via weddingchannel.com. The department store site that seemed to work the best (and what we chose) was Bloomingdales.com. Created a registry online and then was able to add to it online as well as with the barcode scanner at the actual store.
Another good one that lets you create a registry online and then add/maintain items, both online and at the store, is Bed Bath and Beyond. www.bedbathandbeyond.com.
Be aware that the websites do not have the whole store's inventory fully searchable online so if you really want the ability to have a full variety of stuff you'll still have to go to the store, get the barcode scanner and walk around. The clerk will also help you list anything you weren't able to find, because their back office system lets them find items by pattern etc., even if they aren't on the shelves.
Also both bloomingdales.com and bedbathandbeyond.com offer the ability for people to buy and have items shipped online, without going to the actual store. Good for lazy gift-givers.
hope this helps-
/pbz
Try the wedding channel (Score:2)
I think they do a great wedding website. They let you combine your registries from many different companies (including all of the ones mentioned so far)
They also let you set up a wedding website to give people info on all the what/when/where stuff.
They also have a number of useful features such as an app to track wedding guests, an app to generate text for invites, etc. My fiancee has been spending a lot of time at this site!
Re:Target Has a Gift Registry Online at ... (Score:1)
Geek Gifts (Score:1)
Yes... (OT) (Score:2)
To be honest, I am not the cooking geek in my family, my GF is. But I can recognize good stuff when I see it, and generally try to get her the best that we can afford so she can make us nice meals...
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Interesting concepts: (Score:1)
----
eBay: Reverse Gift Register (Score:1)
Target.com has an online registry (Score:1)
Being married recently (1999) myself... (Score:2)
For the normal stuff, EVERYONE has a web site. Target, Wal-Mart, etc. (Ditto for baby registry).
If you are getting china or silver, go to the store. It will cost a little bit more for your guests, but if you care about this stuff (and don't register for it if you don't) there IS a difference between various plates and knives and forks. (I wasn't as worried about look as I was feel. If I'm digging into a nice 18 oz. steak, I don't want the fork to bend. Requires a nice bit of counterbalance.)
And don't underestimate one thing:
First, you might grow up, sell out, and decide you need this crap. So you may as well start now with the 'traditional' registry.
Oh, and don't go cheap on the registry thinking that it will help your friends. Put everything on it. They can decide for themselves how much they will spend. Or, they may get creative (like my coworkers did and some of my wife's friends did) and chip in together.
Go nuts. You've got an excuse: you're getting married. Oh, and manners suggest that people have up to six months to get you a wedding gift (although they are NOT obligated to do so) and you have up to 12 months after the ceremony to send thank you cards.
"Ettiquette and protocol? Why, it's my primary function sir."
Re:Being married recently (1999) myself... (Score:1)
WRONG! You have two weeks to send thank yous for all the items you received. The only exception is you get the two weeks from when the item arrives.
The thank yous are to confirm arrival of mailed items as well as your obligation to show your appreciation.
That means if you're going on a two-week honeymoon you should do most of them beforehand.
Re:eBay: Reverse Gift Register (Score:1)
We're having a small family-only ceremony,
then after the honeymoon, we're sending
announcements (not invitations) to family/
friends.
Re:Interesting concepts: (Score:1)
Try theknot.com (Score:2)
Also getting married (though not quite so soon!) In anticipation of ensuing planning nightmare (mixing two cultures -- and learning lots about the art of negotiation and bargaining) I've been checking out wedding websites for 8 months.
I've found that theknot.com has the most complete information and advice, as well as the most online tools -- including an online gift registry.
Not many geek toys on the registry (though they have a "high-tech" section) but they have sections to cover all you non-geek needs -- china, flatware, furniture, linens, kitchen goods, small appliances, decorative items, etc. You have to sign up, but if you specify no spam, they send you no spam.
Your guests wanting a more brick-and-mortar approach can get all the brand names and model numbers from the registry, and work with that. They simply need to go to the knot, and search for your registry by your name. You can than pass the word around that you're registered on theknot.com without having to send everyone the exact URL -- slightly more tactful.
Other people on here recommend weddingchannel.com. I've explored there, and it's pretty good, but I find the knot has a lot more information.
Re:Being married recently (1999) myself... (Score:2)
you have up to 12 months after the ceremony to send thank you cards.
WRONG! You have two weeks to send thank yous for all the items you received. The only exception is you get the two weeks from when the item arrives.
I've heard the 12-month rule myself (from sources such as Ann Landers and Miss Manners) but according to The Knot's complete guide to Thank You notes, [theknot.com] you have up to 2 weeks after the gift arrives for gift sent BEFORE the wedding, and 1 month after you come back from your honeymoon (assuming you go on one right away) for gifts sent on or before your wedding day.
Either way, thanking your friends and family as soon as possible, and getting notes written beforehand is a really, really good idea.
Wedding presents (Score:3)
Wedding Registries (Score:1)
Re:Make your own! (Score:1)
I don't think it's overkill. It would be useful for every family to have its own little wishlist management facility.
Make her happy.. (Score:3)
My Finace' is a cool chick, but very non-geek. She tolerates toys, and appreciates having a nice home network, but I don't know how she's feel about us getting a lot of geek toys for wedding gifts. As others have pointed out, geek items are usually pretty cutting edge and otherwise have short lifespans. Go with the crystal and the china, but get some other pratical stuff too that you'll both use and enjoy, like matching every day dishes (not the random plates your relatives were throwing away that they gave you in college), matching drinking glasses (those Taco Bell souvenir cups won't cut it), and some good cookware. Register for a good bar set and bar tools.
Now, down the line when the two of you are buying/building a house and you want to run fiber to every room and an air conditioned server closet, and she wants a gazeebo and a sitting room, remind her of the china and silver that you use twice a decade.
Re:Target Has a Gift Registry Online at ... (Score:1)
And, of course, Congratulations!
Re:Welll that depends... (Score:1)
Re:Welll that depends... (Score:1)
An idea for online registries (Score:1)
Prior art... you heard it hear first...
Hmm... (Score:2)
Anyway, best of luck and if you come up with something brilliant, post it, because the rest of us are looking too.
Thalia
Don't use Wedding Channel! (Score:1)
Re:Make your own! (Score:1)
Project title? GNUly-Wed
Thanks. (Score:1)
suggestions. We ended up using Amazon's
Wish List feature for our geek friends, and
are going to register @ Target for all of my
family/friends back home who dont have Internet
access.