What Is a Universal Wedding Registry?

What Is a Universal Wedding Registry?, a couple holding a wedding bouquet.

One hundred years old and still going strong.

Wedding registries have been around for a century, since upscale department stores first created them to accommodate their customers.

Initially targeted to brides furnishing a first home with all the necessary kitchenware, bedding, and bath linens, along with traditional gifts of china, crystal, and silver, a wedding registry became an integral part of wedding planning and an accepted way for couples to let family and friends know what they most want and need to start their lives together.

Approximately two million couples each year use wedding registries, and while the purpose behind a registry hasn’t changed over the years, the kind of gifts couples ask for has. With people getting married later and many couples living together before marriage, there’s less need for the basics and more desire for the extras.

Today, couples are registering for all sorts of things. Here at MyRegistry, we see gift lists that include less traditional items—from outdoor gear, sports equipment, and barbecues to the latest technology and cash for a honeymoon—alongside kitchen mixers and coffee mugs.

What Makes a Wedding Registry Universal?

A Universal Wedding Registry means couples truly can ask for just what they want, because with universal, you can add any item from any store in the world—both online and brick-and-mortar.

What’s more, multiple registries from favorites like Target, Amazon, Bloomingdale’s, and Bed Bath & Beyond can also be synced onto the universal registry. Plus, it’s easy to add gifts from specialty sites like Williams-Sonoma and REI, beautiful gifts from Anthropologie or Sur la Table, and handmade items from Etsy. Or shop local and add edible gifts from farm-fresh markets. There really are no limits!

Gifts can even be experiences like a wine tasting tour or skydiving adventure, or a Cash Gift Fund to receive donations toward larger purchases, like a honeymoon or house down payment.

That’s a world of choice! And that’s “universal”: everything aggregated in one place—easy for you to manage, easy for your friends and family to shop for you. Wedding guests are assured of giving a gift that will be appreciated rather than a second (or third) toaster that will be returned.

Add Gifts with Ease

Want the freedom to choose any item, from anywhere? You have it with MyRegistry. We’ve designed a user-friendly platform that makes it possible to add gifts to a wedding registry via:

  • Add to MyRegistry.com Button: Our browser extension button allows users to browse online, and when they find something they want, they click. Just like that, the gift has been added to the registry.
  • MyRegistry.com App: Barcode-scanning technology lets users shopping in a physical store add any item to a registry via their smartphone.
  • Simple Syncing: Existing gift lists with every major gift retailer can be synced to display on your MyRegistry wedding registry. When you aggregate store registries, you receive the benefits of a universal registry while retaining the perks of a registry with stores like Target, Amazon, Macy’s, and Crate & Barrel, including completion discounts, free shipping on registry purchases, and rewards back on gifts received. 

Making it easy for people to get the gifts they want is behind everything we do at MyRegistry.

Sharing Is Caring

With a Universal Wedding Registry, everyone benefits. Couples share exactly what they want, and gift givers have the convenience of a single, shoppable destination. Once a universal registry has been created, it can easily be shared with friends and family via eCard, customized URL, or social media.

At MyRegistry, we believe gifting should be unlimited. Give and get the perfect gift with a Universal Wedding Registry at MyRegistry.com.

Planning Your Wedding?

It’s easy to create a wedding registry on MyRegistry.com and add gifts from any store in the world, from large online retailers to your favorite local shops.

Looking for Wedding Registry Gift Ideas?

Find wedding gifts and wedding registry essentials on our Wedding Registry Inspiration Boards.