Modern Wedding Registries

July 28 -- Amalie Gosime and Cameron Howard are getting married next week. They’re hoping for wedding gifts that include a financial portfolio — not plates and pillows.

“Sure, we want to get a house some day and a whole bunch of china and linens to put in it, but we don’t have that right now,” says Gosime.

So the couple is encouraging their friends and family to buy shares of one of two investment funds they’ve chosen using Stockgift.com.

“Some of them sort of questioned it,” says Gosime. “I mean they were like, ‘Stuff on the Internet, where are you registered, aren’t you registered at Macys anywhere?’ ”

Gifts for the Future

“But in our opinion, it was better as an investment in our future, and we will appreciate more our friends and family making an investment in our future than we will them giving us china and linen,” says Howard.

Many of today’s couples are chucking the traditional registry route and asking for everything from scuba gear to BMWs to payments on a mortgage.

According to Susan Lee Smith, editor-in-chief of Wedding Channel.com, changing registry tastes reflect the changing face of newlyweds.

“One third of all couples who get married today have actually already set up a household together,” says Smith. “So they probably already have a toaster. They may not be looking for dishes or glasses or wine glasses. They’re looking for some more unique items to help really fill out their household and their life together. And that’s why they’re picking those untraditional items.”

Unusual Options

New services allow couples to use any retail store as their registry.At Your Wedding Registry.com, one couple lists motorcycle radios, while another asks for boating equipment. There’s even one that desires a squirrel feeder.

John and Rebecca Bagley decided they didn’t need any more stuff. What they did need was cash. So when they wed last month, they registered for the honeymoon.