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Geek Weddings and Gift Registries?
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?"
What are you looking to get? Unless your friends/family are all geeks, they will probably wnat to get you something practical, so the trick is to get cool practical stuff. I recommend either Crate & Barrel or Williams and Sonoma. Both has tons of good stuff, and you'll need a lot of kitchen stuff after the marriage. (Actually, I confess, W&S is on the list because I'm a cooking geek, if there is such a thing).
For those that want to get you something different, register at Home Depot for power tools (MORE POWER! I need MORE POWER!) and other hardware. Finally, although they don't have a registry, Firebox is a great site for geek stuff.
Congratulations on getting married!
--
He had come like a thief in the night,
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
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.)
Check out www.weddingchannel.com.
:-)
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!
Yes, there are such people as cooking geeks. W&S is absolutely the best for quality small items (and some larger things - but much of that can be gotten elsewhere for less) for the kitchen. I particularly like the W&S kitchen towels - quite possibly the best kitchen towels I have ever used.
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 - Generation Duh!
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
For china and silver: Michael Round (www.mround.com)
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."
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
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.
I can spell. I just can't type.
You might not want people to give you geek toys for your wedding. Most geek toys have a short lifespan (a few years) and I would hope your will still be married in 15 or 30 years. You would probably be better off asking for things that you will someday need (like say nice china) but will probably not buy for yourself than something like a bigger hard drive. I would think (ok I'm not married I don't know) that your wedding presents would be things that you would want to use for years and to remeber the people who gave them to you.
Erlang Developer and podcaster
..which in the long run will make both of you happy.
:) Power tools and yard tools are cool and acceptable wedding gifts too. Consumer electronics are also in the realm of possible gifts, but more along the lines of a traditional TV, home stereo, speakers.. you might could sneak a Tivo in there.
:)
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.
I've been pondering this very question since I'm getting married & both my fiance and I are mostly geek... and the guests will be too. My current plan is to register at Amazon for toys & electronics, and put up a personal web site for the wedding, showing pointers to other stuff we want. Actually, I'm tempted by a site I came across that allows people to give stock (given how the market is, this may be a cheap gift!) but I decided that was a bit too mercenary. So we're going to go with the MP3 player, the new computer screen (I've been wanting a nice 21" screen since my bf now hogs the machine that has it), probably a docking station for my favorite laptop, and some random kitchen stuff. Given that I'm a grownup (and own a house and all that) I don't need china or silverware, or any of that stuff. I have it already. My nightmare is that every one of my guest will give me a toaster... and I don't even eat toast.
Anyway, best of luck and if you come up with something brilliant, post it, because the rest of us are looking too.
Thalia