| Back in 1924, in Chicago, Illinois, Marshall Field's | | | | slim wedding applications in web 2.0, also called |
| department store introduced a concept that | | | | wedding 2.0, there are online gift registries that all |
| would stick for over 85 years, and it was called a | | | | the guests can check on periodically. Whenever |
| bridal registry. Retail stores subsequently mimicked | | | | someone purchases a gift, they simply log in and |
| and adopted the bridal registry as a means for | | | | put a checkbox by the item they purchased. It's |
| engaged couples to note their preferences of | | | | not necessary for them to make their names |
| wedding gifts to their prospective wedding guests. | | | | publicly available to all the other guests - for |
| Basically, the couple has a run of the store, or the | | | | privacy reasons, but the name should be available |
| catalog for ease, and either writes down or circles | | | | upon a user request from the couple's family - |
| gifts that they would like to receive. The | | | | within the application. It makes so much more |
| merchant then compiles the list, and it's given to | | | | sense to have a single gift registry in one place |
| the wedding guests by the couple's family or the | | | | online that can be updated for all to see. The gift |
| merchant. Nowadays, with so many department | | | | registry is simply a list of gifts with an empty |
| stores, the bridal registry is usually dispensed by | | | | checkbox to the left of each gift title and a place |
| the couple's family. Sending out a gift registry is | | | | to input the giver's first and last name. All the |
| not in poor taste whatsoever because it's an | | | | guests will get a copy of the link to the gift |
| essential staple endemic to almost every modern | | | | registry with the wedding invitations. An optional |
| American wedding. The United States annual | | | | additional little card that sets the link apart from |
| wedding industry makes over $125,000,000,000 | | | | the invitation can also be included inside the |
| per year, and people are just plain comfortable | | | | invitation's envelope. |
| spending money on weddings - whether it be the | | | | Target came up with the idea of a self-serving |
| couple, the hosts of the wedding, or, in this case, | | | | online gift registry as far back as 1993, but slim |
| the guests. There are over 2.3 million weddings | | | | Internet applications in web 2.0 are really making |
| each year in America, and the majority use bridal | | | | the process snappy. One can see a whole suite of |
| registries. It's almost a filter to the bad gifts that | | | | wedding applications emerging in the near future |
| the couple wouldn't want - so the guests can be | | | | to take a cut of the $125 billion in annual sales for |
| sure their gifts are appreciated. You're actually | | | | wedding-related purchases. There's just no better |
| doing the guests a favor. | | | | way to get the best gifts than to get a good look |
| Upon purchase of any gift, the gift registry is | | | | at what the couple actually wants. Take out the |
| updated accordingly. Thanks to the Internet and | | | | guesswork with a bridal registry. |