If you’re looking for unique registry ideas, here’s why experience-based gifts tick all the boxes. At the time my husband and I got married, we lived in a 36-foot RV. We also chose to have a destination wedding: a beachside ceremony in Belize. The last thing we needed was more “stuff” to pack in our suitcases or clutter up the limited storage space at home. With that in mind, we focused our registry on experience-based gifts. I am so glad we did. We set up a Zola honeymoon registry (*affiliate link*) to make the process easy for both ourselves + our guests.
Watch this video about experience-based gifts + subscribe to my YouTube Channel
Experience-based gifts strengthen your relationship
My husband’s love language is quality time. This means getting out of the house + doing new things together is a powerful way for the two of us to bond. Spending time together keeps us connected. When we received experience-based gifts from our registry, it allowed us to invest in our relationship. A meal kit service or local graffiti tour was a much more valuable gift to us than a Kitchen-Aid mixer (no shade to my baking friends). We loved being able to cook new recipes together, check out new museums, or attend baseball games thanks to our wedding registry. Check out this article I wrote for Bridechilla if you’re looking for even more ideas.
Experience-based gifts take up no space
My husband + I live in a small space + spent a significant amount of time + energy decluttering our possessions. On top of that, both of us were in our thirties on our wedding day. We already had set up households, so moving in together meant we had more than enough to fill our needs. When we were putting together our wedding registry, there were no must-haves. I realize we were privileged in that respect, but it meant that we could prioritize “date night” activities that wouldn’t clutter up our limited closet space.
Experience-based gifts create new memories
According to the Gottman Institute, one of the best ways to ensure the success of your relationship is to create shared meaning. You do this through rituals from the extravagant to the mundane: your wedding vows to your date nights to your bedtime routine. These shared memories + experiences weave your lives together in a special way. I love that the experience-based gifts we received for our wedding created opportunities for us to build shared meaning. We created memories together that we continue to relive years later. They give us something to look back on.
Experienced-based gifts from Evergreen Lane Productions
If you’re looking for alternative wedding gift registry ideas, consider adding a film by Evergreen Lane Productions. I offer wedding edits, video guestbooks, honeymoon films + I’ve even done videos for bachelorette parties like the one above (instead of exchanging gifts at the event, consider pitching in as a bridal party to get a video edited of your weekend together). It’s as simple as taking video and photos on your smartphone + sending them my way!
Contact me today to get those memories off your phone + into your life!
