Wedding registry

A bridal registry is a system designed by department stores for the purpose of allowing a newlywed couple to control what gifts they receive at their wedding. The couple creates a list of items for sale at the store that they would like to receive, then the list is sent to all of their wedding guests. As a gift is purchased by a guest, it is scanned into the department store's record and electronically crossed off of the list, preventing a single gift from accidentally bought redundantly by multiple people. This can be greatly efficient both for the couple to be married as well as convenient for guests who don't have to make decisions over what to buy.

The concept of a bridal registry was first instituted by Marshall Fields, and has since been turned into a well-known experience of the department chain's bridal salon. However, the company's registry is known (Perhaps much more prominently among employees than among consumer patrons of the system) to be rife with technical problems; for example, the registry's information on particular items is often not complete, leaving out things such as the item's exact name, color, or more importantly, Marshall Field's inernal identification numbers of the item. When a customer presents the registry to an employee for help in locating an item, inconsistencies like these can render doing so next to impossible.