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Online wedding registries a growing trend

It wasn't that long ago that if a couple wanted to register for their wedding, they'd have to go into a big box store, price gun in hand, to select the items they wanted.

But now, like shopping, travel and other industries before it, wedding registries today are going high tech.

Sites like OurWishingWell.com, ZankYou.com and WeddingRepublic.com are giving couples the opportunity to not only ask for the toaster, but to tactfully request cash contributions to life goals such as a home down payment, honeymoon or home renovations.

"It's perfect because every couple is at a different stage in their life," says Hana Abaza, co-founder of WeddingRepublic.com. "Being confined to what's traditionally available at big box retailers doesn't seem to mesh with where people are headed."

She says that the shift to online wedding registries started taking off in 2009. Before that, she says, couples were coming up with makeshift ways of asking for cash or making it easy for their guests to give cash. They'd create a hacked-together website and use Paypal to solicit funds, or say something along the lines of 'no boxed gifts' on their wedding invitation.

"The problem with that is not everybody always respects it from the guest perspective," says Abaza, "And there's still a little bit of a taboo in North America when it comes to asking for cash."

As times change and more couples live together before marriage, the need for traditional registry items is falling by the wayside, making room for online cash and gift giving.

[See also: Should you wait to get engaged?]

"For the couple, the ultimate benefit is they can get exactly what they want and need in order to grow their future together. Being able to put things that really matter on your registry is a huge departure from traditional wedding registries," says Azba.

In general, the same principles apply to creating an online registry that go along with creating one in-store.

Azba says that with any wedding registry you want to make sure that you have a variety of gift options at different price points so everyone on your guest list can feel included.

The next important thing to keep in mind is to make sure your registry is up to date. Getting two of something or having nothing on the list for last-minute gifters can be a frustrating experience.

When it comes to an online registry specifically, Azba says you want to make sure that you're telling your story as a couple through your registry as opposed to just throwing up a bunch of random items.

"You really want to make sure that 'Hey we'd like to register for our house down payment. We can't wait to buy our home together, this is what we're planning on doing,' and really showing your guests that their contribution matters, because they want to celebrate with you and really it's about making sure that both the couple and the guests come together on the wedding registry," she says.

Online registries can even give couples the opportunity to ask for big ticket items at smaller, group-friendly price points. Requesting $200 towards a $3000 honeymoon is a lot more manageable for guests than footing the whole bill on something so pricey.

"Another really cool one which I saw was a couple was starting a business together and they actually registered for seed financing to start their new business," she says. "Talk about registering for your future."

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