During the past couple years social commerce has become mainstream.  New companies have emerged like Pinterest, TheFancy and FAB who have made application that are social by design and changed the way we shop.

What is so special about these services is they allow us to discover new products/things efficiently and give the average user a voice.  Instead of simply consuming content we can now create it and easily share it.

One place in e-commerce where we haven’t seen this shift of power to the consumer happen is wedding registries.  With wedding registries brides are encouraged to register at a store like Bed Bath & Beyond, Macys, Williams-sonomas or Target where they are limited to what is in stock at national retailers.  Our goal at Knack from the start was to make the registry process more fun, and we believed the key was building technology that allowed people to add gifts from anywhere. 

Today we are happy to announce a partnership with Anthropologie.  The Anthropologie team partnered with Knack because they wanted to help build a better registry experience for engaged couples.  Joanna from Anthropologie said “We saw a unique opportunity to help give couples a louder voice related to what they wanted. Our taste maker’s selections will give these couples a jumping off point, but the couple ultimately get to decide what products they want.” 

Anthropologie and Knack are teaming up to create a more personal and rewarding registry experience. Couples using Knack can choose gifts from the Knack catalog, which includes products from boutiques, artisans and artists; add gifts from their favorite retailers like Anthropologie, and even create cash listings for experiences like honeymoon activities. With all of these options couples can be sure they get the gifts they want and gift givers can be sure that every gift will become a cherished part of the couple’s new life together. 

Check out the Anthro Page on Knack

It can be overwhelming to create a unique wedding registry.  Our focus at Knackregistry.com is to make what has traditionally been a cumbersome process into a fun and rewarding one that reflects the values of modern couples.

Today you can register at Macys, Williams Sonoma, Target, Etsy, Pottery Barn, or countless other small stores who carry more unique items not available at national retailers.   In addition many modern couples don’t want traditional gifts, and are opting to create a honeymoon registry to help them fund the trip of a lifetime.  Knackregistry.com gives brides access to all the existing options, while enabling them to manage it with all within one place.

Instead of browsing through various retailers websites knackregistry.com has set up a What’s Hot product feed so brides can easily see what friends and other brides are adding to their Knack registries.  Brides can now search by people and by store to easily find the best gifts across all sites on the web.  When a bride finds something she wants she just clicks the add to my registry button and the item will be added from the feed to her registry.  Whether she wants tangible gifts, contributions towards experiences, or both, with Knack she has the ability to manage everything with one registry. 

To help brides build a better registry we put them at the center of the experience.   Instead of being marketed to by brands we enable brides to collaborate with each other with a shared goal of identifying the best gifts. In a more open and connected world modern brides are looking for a better and less restrictive registry experience.  That is what we are working on, and we are excited to give our customers access to a better discovery process with the new what is hot product feed.

Lots of brides this summer are turning to inspiration from the prairie for their upcoming nuptials.  To pull off a Wild West-style wedding, brides are choosing locales such as farms or ranches to set the mood, and substituting roses and hydrangeas for native wildflowers for a simplistic but still elegant feel.  Gone are also the stuffy suits and floor length gowns- check out these adorable bridesmaid’s dresses from anthropologie that one couple used to add a little country chic to their big day.  After the ceremony, couples are choosing signature drinks like sweet tea vodka-lemonade or a whiskey cocktail served in mason jars. Once guests get hungry after dancing the night away to the local bluegrass band, some down-home barbecue is a delicious and less expensive food choice.

If you’re a wedding guest currently shopping for a couple that’s a little more country and a little less rock n roll, check out this horse shoe wall-hanging  or this TV stand made from reclaimed barn wood on knackregistry.com, sure to brighten up any home. 

Lots of people have fallen in love with One Kings Lane , and wedding guests are starting to ask themselves what if I see something on sales that my friends registered for somewhere else.  Can I buy off registry?

The Kitchen & More and Table & More sale is on tomorrow at One Kings Lane, and we think it is worth taking a peak to see if you can get your loved ones a gift they will love and save some cash.  The registry is meant to give you guidance, but you ultimately decide what you’d like to give them.

Wedding season is here and we don’t think the timing of this sale is a coincidence.   Ultimately you get to decide whether it is appropriate.  Tell us what you think!

This is why registering at Macy’s does not make sense, and buying off a registry can be frustrating.  The couple doesn’t want to be doing price comparison shopping, and the guests feel like they are getting a raw deal when they pay $229.99 for a Cuisinart they know they could get for less elsewhere. 

Macys $229.99

Knack $189.99

Williams-Sonoma $159.95

Amazon $159.00

Wayfair $159

Ebay $105.69

Interesting to watch couples use Knack and add gifts from different sites, and seeing friends work together to identify the best place to get gifts.   When given convenient alternatives the couple and the guests are both happy to not get fleeced by using Macys.

Follow these 3 steps to add gifts from a sample registry to your own.

Step 1: Sign into your Knack Registry

Step 2 : Click on a sample registry

Dining and Entertaining

Kitchen Essentials

Brooke and Townsend’s Registry

Step 3 : Click the add to my registry button and add an item from the sample registry to your own.

My fiance Averell was nice enough to share her experience with Knack below.   She is kind of a hard ass with high standards so feels good to get some praise from her.

Enjoy Fred

Here is a pic of Averell after she finished the Escape triathlon in San Francisco this weekend. I was impressed!

“I like to make lists and work in spreadsheets.  Knack has made my life so much easier, particularly now as we are in full on wedding mode.  Instead of coming home to boxes of gifts (which after my bridal shower was very overwhelming), I simply get an email indicating when a guest has purchased a gift for us.  I then immediately transfer the information to my gift spreadsheet (and categorize it under wedding gifts in my gmail in case I ever lose my spreadsheet).  We then prioritize which gifts we order based on sales and free shipping deals for our non-knack catalog items.  Similarly, with the items we’ve selected from the Knack catalog, we decide when we want the items shipped so our tiny apartment isn’t overtaken by boxes! 

The other thing I love about Knack is when I had my shower on the east coast, a lot of the guests actually purchased gifts on Knack because they knew whatever we received we’d be transporting back to California, but brought a smaller, complementary item to the shower so I would at least have something to open.  I truly appreciated that especially with how expensive checking baggage is these days!  After the shower, I remember feeling overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and by all of the gifts that I had to somehow bring home with me.  The whole party was a blur, and I was thankful my sister had been recording the gifts but I still worry that I haven’t properly thanked someone because there gift got lost in the shuffle of the day.  With Knack, I have a permanent record, so I never have to worry about missing a thank you note!

Seriously, I love Knack and couldn’t imagine registering with anyone else!  My friends love that my fiancee has his own section of items he particularly likes, and they love that they don’t have to switch between multiple registries to find the perfect gift.  I just love that it’s convenient for my guests as much as it’s convenient for me!”

You and your fiancé have had the joy of setting up your registry and are anxiously anticipating some exciting gifts from your guests for your upcoming wedding. What is the best way to spread the word about how to access your registry? Here are your best bets:

A personal wedding website
It’s a great idea to set up a wedding website soon after your engagement. Your loved ones will be excited to start showering you with engagement gifts and this is a great place to leave a link to your gift registries. If you are sending save-the-dates, make sure to include the link to your site!

Word of mouth
The easiest way to learn how to access your registry is for your guests to ask you directly. If they feel funny about it, or would like to surprise you, they will probably ask your closest family and friends. Once your registry is created, make sure to let your parents and bridal party know so that they will be able to share it with your guests, if they are asked.

Bridal shower invitations
Bridal shower invitations are the one acceptable outlet to mention gift registries, as it is in poor taste to include them on engagement party invitations, save the dates and wedding invitations. As showers are traditionally hosted by either the family of the bride or bridesmaids, you can depend on them to have your registry link printed on your invitations.

Share on social media sites
With everybody connected online through sites like Facebook and Twitter, an easy way to keep your guests in the loop could be with a simple status update such as “We had a great afternoon setting up our gift registry! Check out what we picked out:  https://knackregistry.com/sample_registry “

It’s very important to be mindful of the generosity of your guests. Be sure to send thank you cards for any gift and from all celebrations in a timely manner, noting the item or experience and how excited you are to use it!

If you are looking for a place to order some one-of-a-kind save the dates, engagement party invitations, bridal shower invitations, wedding invitations and more, check out www.michellehickeydesign.com.

Today’s typical couple is older and more established financially then they were even a few years ago. The result is many couples have already outfitted their home with common registry essentials. This trend has led to the growth of cash registries that allow couples to register for experiences like their honeymoon or a date night.

Some Popular Choices are:

• Knack
  
• Deposit a Gift
• Honeyfund
• Myregistry
• Travelersjoy’s Joy
  

These offerings are increasingly popular, but it can be confusing to find the best one for you because the fees are often hidden. To help you find the service that is right for you we have prepared a simple chart and will walk through fees associated with a $125 gift given online by a guest who pays via credit card.   The reason for the fees is these companies need to cover their credit card processing fees or couples are required to have paypal account where they will incur fees.  

So Honeyfund is the cheapest because the user is only paying paypal related fees. It is important to note that to accept credit cards on honeyfund you will need a premier or business type paypal account.   In addition it you want to personalize your registry, and not have ads on your registry page they charge $39.  Knack comes in 2nd and has a 5% fee for cash items, but we do not run ads, you do not need a paypal premium account and we do not charge for premium services. In addition if you book your honeymoon through Willingfoot or any of our other travel partners there is no fee. 

There are some great services to choose from out there, and hopefully these services help you make your perfect getaway a reality.  Good luck with the planning and have fun with it!