Alternative Registries

Recently, one of the Google ads that popped up above my email was for a registry service that didn’t necessitate using actual products in actual stores to register. Writing that, I realize it sounds like I’m about to get into some sort of money laundering scheme. Which I’m not. I don’t think.

My fiancé and I have wanted to include things for the honeymoon in a registry but haven’t been able to find a site that will do it. Until now – this site is actually pretty practical. To create a registry, you just make a list then put an approximate price in for the item. Your guests can login to the registry and make contributions towards different items – which is good because the guests don’t have to contribute the entire amount.

My problem with the site is – you’re basically asking your guests for cash. That’s what they give the company, and the company cuts the couple a check. The kicker is that this company adds a percentage onto the guests’ gifts to cover their costs (the site claims the take is as low as 1%). Really, you’re just asking your guests to pay a premium for the guise of etiquette. Wouldn’t something like a tasteful statement on our webpage such as, “We are planning on going to Greece for our honeymoon. Yada yada. We plan on allocating any monetary gifts towards our honeymoon, with extras such as a really special dinner or a sailing trip.” I’m still undecided as to what we can do. Goodness knows I don’t want to offend any of my guests, and they will be checking everything we do against Emily Post.

Betting on Losing Weight

My fiancé found another interesting article in the New York Sun while he was toiling away at the salt mines. Apparently two Yale professors decided that a great incentive to lose weight would be commit themselves financially to the task. One of the professors tested the method on himself. He made a bet with a friend of his that if he didn’t lose 1 pound per week, he would pay his friend $1000. The two professors have founded a website based on the plan (www.stikk.com – based on the “carrot and the stick”). They hope to eventually roll out the plan to help companies incentivize their workforces to lose weight, be healthier, or be on time for work. The payments for failing to meet goals will be paid out to charities, though not of the participants choosing.

Maybe it’s because I’m marrying a lawyer, but, ladies, I smell a class-action lawsuit on the horizon. Women have been doing this for decades! Think of all the brides you know who purchased their rather expensive wedding dresses just a size (or more) too small to motivate themselves to lose weight before the big day. Think about how much more effective the wedding dress was than buying a pair of jeans a size too small. I think these professors need to stop patting themselves on the back, and realize that they’ve only taken an existing weight-loss strategy and modified to the point that men and corporate America can understand it. Ladies, we should all be disappointed in ourselves for not exploiting this opportunity sooner.

Find the article at: http://www.nysun.com/article/66874?page_no=1&access=250268

Worst Promotional DVD Ever

The last time we were at my parent’s house, I decided to bring up the subject of a DJ. To which my mom says, “Oh, I already found one.” Exclamation points go off in my head.

Me: Is it the one I emailed to you, the one that was listed on the other reception site’s (the one we didn’t pick) recommended vendor list.
MOB: No, this one is one I found on the internet, the cheapest one I could find. It’s $100 cheaper than the one you sent me.
Me (internally): Oh my gosh, it’s some random idiot who has a website.
(externally): Who are they, do they look like they’re good?
MOB: Well, they sent me a DVD when I registered on their website. They might not be that good, because they kept calling me to try to pressure me into sending in a deposit. Do you want to see the DVD?

I decided to watch the DVD, even though all sign pointed to this operation being extremely shady. I really think it may have been the cheesiest DVD ever. Not only did it have “really cool” PowerPoint-style transitions between each of the scenes, the weddings featured looked like they were the tackiest things ever. Most of the guests were under dressed (and dressed sloppily) and looked really uncomfortable in front of the camera (even thought the DJ company was also billing their “really cheap but just as good” videography services).

I looked up the company online. It’s a national chain, and it looks like they book dates and then just hire any random DJ they can find. One of the “benefits” of using this company is “you don’t have to meet with the DJ before the reception,” he’ll just show up an hour before he’s supposed to be there. I don’t really feel the need to have a heart-to-heart or connect on a “personal level” with our DJ, but I think it would be good to sit down with him before the reception to go over everything.