Wedding Registry Poll #2

One of the challenges with writing a book about weddings is that trends in the wedding industry are constantly changing. It's difficult to strike that balance between respect for certain time-honored traditions while also recognizing that some changes are really good things and should be embraced. For me one of those changes that I've had to choose to embrace is the online RSVP. At first I was hesitant because it just didn't seem formal enough. But now I think it's great. The ease of going online and letting the bride and groom know you will or will not be attending the wedding saves me (a somewhat disorganized person) the trouble of remembering to save the RSVP card and send it back on time. As an added benefit, you can automatically import results into a spreadsheet, and you save on postage! Win win.

There are other things I struggle to accept, such as camouflage wedding gowns. I don't even know what to say about that.

Many of these preferences are just that--matters of personal taste. But some I think are indicative of a change in mindset regarding the purpose of a wedding. For instance, what is the purpose of a wedding shower? What is the purpose of inviting guests to your wedding? We can easily slip into the mindset of seeing people as commodities--the more people, the more presents. It's like a small child at Christmas--the more grandparents he visits, the more gifts he'll get. This mindset creeps in without us even noticing it.

So that brings me to my poll for today. I'm trying to determine if this particular trend is one that should be embraced or not, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In recent years it seems to have become more common for couples to include a list of places they're registered with the wedding invitation. Note, this is not a survey about shower invitations, but specifically the wedding invite. What are your thoughts? If you have more to say on the subject, leave a comment! I'd love to hear more thoughts on this.

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Thanks so much!