The Etsy Wedding Registry

This is Jenn and Evan. They “embrace[d] all things macabre in their Day of the Dead-themed nupitals in a refurbished dairy barn."

Every wedding movie has a scene in which the bride and groom wander around a department store, zapping crystal and towels with a handheld device that lets them “register” these gifts for their wedding.

The husband usually ducks out early to meet his buddies for a beer and the bride, overwhelmed, and dazed from zapping, finally hands over the taser to a sales clerk. Could there be a better way?

The wedding registry is meant to help a bride set up her first home, but it's also a paean to American consumerism. Etsy's handmade and vintage suggestions for weddings can make the celebration seem a little less materialistic.

“Register with Etsy” is a program that encourages brides and grooms to create a list of handmade and vintage gifts from which their guests can choose. And they can do it all from the comfort of their laptop. No pushy sales people, no spending hours on your feet wondering inane things like "should our new life start with an electronic scale and a digital read out, or the old fashioned kind of scale with the bouncing red needle?"

“Unique gifts for the next chapter of your life,” reads the Etsy tag line. It certainly beats travelling around to antique shops and flea markets looking for those unique touches that can make a celebration all one's own. The stories -- there are lots of stories -- and features seem to focus on non-traditional wedding options. 

For instance, this is Matt and Asia. They incorporated their love of video games into their special day. 

Brides-to-be first click on a blue box that says Create Wedding Registry. Up pops a calendar asking, “When is your wedding date?” I chose June 16, 2013 for my fantasy wedding. Better get browsing, I only have 10 months to pull it all together. 

Your automatically-created Wedding Registry is divided into Dining & Entertainment, Kitchen, Housewares & Décor, Furniture, Electronics and Lifestyle. The focus is on the out-of-the-ordinary. 

Suitably formal as a member of my imaginary wedding party in his collar accessory necktie for $10, here is my cat. (No, not really my cat)... this is my real cat and he would never don formal wear.

I will be honeymooning by bike along the Appalachian Trail and all the luggage I'll need will be this Swiss Army munitions bag (that's the real fantasy!), which will set back one of my guests $72.

Imagine how amused everyone will be when they are asked to whack this handmade wedding pinata.

This seems to kill two birds with one stone, and these pinatas are very popular. There are no less than 12 handmade wedding cake pinatas on Etsy, priced from $28 to $172. Will a family member who gets my sense of humor treat the happy couple to such a novel party accessory?  

The registry offers a box to click that suggests inspiring ideas for my imaginary wedding. This covers dresses, décor and paper goods, rings, bridal accessories, and the needs of the actual wedding party (the maids and men of honor.) These days Mad Men-style weddings seem to be very in vogue and there is an entire article on this style, a throwback to be sure. 

Wouldn't I look stunning in this dress? Ugh, the link says it's sold.

Here's another. Articles put the bride directly in touch with featured products, and that's the beauty of the thing. Emma Lester of northwest England, links her article on 50's style weddings to this $800 Audrey Hepburn-style dress. 

This item seems to combine the guest book and a puzzle. You can figure it out here.

The section that is part telenovela, part New York Times article, documents real wedding stories. There are all kinds of narratives, including many such as the au courant union of Liz and Christina. Some are sweet, and country-themed. Then there was this super-hero style celebration.
(Please don't over look the fact that the bride is wearing red patent leather boots, but the bridesmaids are all wearing red house slippers! This would be easy to do as the eye masks seem to pull all the attention.)

Creating a wedding registry, or just browsing through the Etsy wedding products and stories, is dreamy. That, and a Pinterest board, could make planning -- or just fantasizing -- hours of fun.

Wink and Flip 

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