Oscar Wilde once said, “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” As you and your spouse create a life and family together, you will want to capture your memories. Your wedding registry is the perfect place to add items that assist in keeping memories fresh.
A wedding registry is traditionally just a way for newlyweds to receive the household items they need to start a life together, like cookware and linens. However, your registry can serve a bigger purpose beyond “the stuff”. A registry is a place where your friends and family can rally around your new life based on the values and interests that you share with your spouse. Including items that reflect who you are and what is important to you ensures that your registry is more just a checked box on a wedding to-do list. This may mean tossing tradition aside at times.
Which makes us ask - should registries include items that fall outside tradition? We believe that the best registries include items that are meant for a lifetime of enjoyment. MyRegistry curates dozens of lists about household oriented items and you can check them out here. This article focuses on gift ideas that are all about saving the memories you want to savor and enjoy throughout your life together.
Digital video is the new 8MM
Home movies are a staple of family lore. In the 1960’s and 70’s 8MM film ruled. In the 1980’s and 90’s the VHS and BETAmax tape recorder came to the fore. Today the digital revolution has provided for an amazing array of tools to film all your family events from holidays to birthday parties to vacations. One can always use your phone to make videos – but the quality isn’t always up to snuff, so why not put digital video camera on your registry. From an inexpensive handheld 4K camera from Vivitar to a waterproof action camera from GoPro to a professional grade camera by Canon there are video recorders to meet every skill level and budget. You’ll want to store your videos as well so don’t forget a cloud-based solution or a home network attached storage – the modern equivalent of the movie tin.
Encapsulate a point in time
The idea of putting memories on ice for 25 years sounds like science fiction, but time capsules are a way to preserve memories and retrieve them 10, 20, or even 50 years later. There are vendors offering customizable time capsules that you can fill with all kinds of memorabilia from photos to letters to memory sticks with video messages. Then find a place where you can bury the capsule and then wait out the decades. When you dig it up, you’ll be amazed by what you thought then and how life has turned out.
A modern take on the classic family portrait
The great thing about a universal wedding registry is that it can include any item from any store as well as gift cards, cash, and even services like a painted family portrait. There are online portrait services like Paint Your Life that create beautiful portraits from photos or videos you send them. Artisanal sites like Etsy include dozens of other vendors who can create custom products with personalized drawings or paintings of your family. You don’t need to head to a studio for a sitting – but if you find an artist in your area you want to use – you can add that to your registry.
Put a pin in it
Methods of saving memories don’t have to be expensive or kept in a closet to be brought out on special occasions. A memory board is a great way to collect all kinds of memories from photos and concert tickets to thank you cards and love notes. Pottery Barn makes a beautiful pin board that doesn’t just provide a place for your memories, it looks great on the wall of your home!
From digital to reality
There was a time when you had to take your photographic film to a shop to be developed. You’d drop off the film canister and get back prints and strips of negatives. With the ubiquity of digital photography getting prints of your pictures is a lot simpler. Uploading your image files to a website like Shutterfly or Snapfish is as easy as a click and they’ll send the finished prints right to you home. However, why wait for the mail? Having a high resolution, photo quality printer at home makes for instant gratification and a way to enshrine those digital images in a place where your whole family can see them.
There will be many memories that come after the wedding. You’ll want to be ready to capture every one. Define your own tradition for your registry and add gifts designed to keep your memories fresh.
Find Something You Like?
You can add any of these items to your MyRegistry.com Wedding Registry. Don’t have one yet? It’s easy! Create a Universal Wedding Registry today, then add wedding gifts from all your favorite stores.
Looking for More Wedding Registry Ideas?
See more on our Wedding Registry Inspiration Boards.
We are a Universal Gift Registry website where people can create a registry and add gifts from any store in the world. If you buy any of the products listed here, we may be compensated. Thanks for reading—we love you!