Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Wedding Registry: The Newest Trend in Creating Your Wish List


By Stacy Shiffner

Are you still searching for the perfect registry? For newly engaged couples looking for a unique and innovative approach to creating your bridal wish-list consider Blueprint Registry, an exciting new site that allows you to choose items for your home based on the rooms in your house and your personal style (traditional, modern, eclectic, etc.). We recently sat down with Lizzy Ellingson, Co-Founder/Chief Creative Officer of Blueprint Registry to get the scoop on the newest site for brides-to-be.

For The Bride: How did the concept of Blueprint Registry come to be?
Lizzy Ellingson: I got married last summer and did not find the wedding registry process fun or easy. My then future husband and I had to register at three different places to have 95% of what we wanted or needed for our registry. Even though we dumped everything into myregistry.com, we still had to adhere to three different return policies. Crate and Barrel only has a 30 days return time frame, which makes it hard when you factor in 14 days of honeymooning and trying to get settled into married life, it just doesn't leave a lot of time to return wedding gifts.

FTB: How long did it take from concept to implementation?
LE: I had the idea last spring and we launched in February 2014, so about 9-10 months.

FTB: Please walk us through how Blueprint works!
LE: A couple would go to www.blueprintregistry.com and register for free! After providing some simple vital information, they can start clicking away at the items they want for their renewed "space" together. I say renewed because some couples live together before getting married so it's really not a new home, but a renewed home. And they do this by clicking on each room at a time. For example, most engaged couples start with the living room and then move onto the master bedroom.



image via blueprintregistry.com


FTB: How is this website different than say than other online registries?
LE: To start, Blueprint has ONE return policy for ALL of our vendors. Our products have been hand picked by myself and my merchandising team. They are products that have been tested and proven to be the best out there. And once you've registered for a few items, curated pieces that match your aesthetics will start popping up as suggestions for you. For example, we have William Sonoma, they carry numerous wine openers but we will only feature the best one, the one that has been tested and received a 4 or 5 star rating. This way, as a user you can rest assured that you are registering for the best products out there!

FTB: Is Blueprint registry user-friendly for the bride’s guests too?
LE: Blueprint doesn't just help the registered couple, but the gifters as well. Sometimes it's very difficult to shop for a friend, you don't know what they REALLY want. Blueprint allows the registered party to tag their favorites. And registered parties can let multiple guests contribute to a big ticket item, for example, four gifters can "pitch in" and purchase a couch for a couple. And since the amount is set by the engaged couple, the gifter doesn't have to do too much thinking. Through market research, we found that users really liked the set amount idea, it takes a lot of guessing out of the equation. Lastly, because gifters have full visibility to completed gifts by room, they can easily complete a living room or bathroom for you by purchasing the last item on that room's list.

FTB: What kind of vision do you have for Blueprint in 2019?
LE: I see us being the #1 online registry company!

To get started on your Blueprint Registry visit their site at www.blueprintregistry.com.



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