Fine china. Fine thread count. Fine…blenders. It’s all part and parcel of the wedding registry. As a groom, you’re likely to be dragged kicking and screaming by your fiancée to stock up on all of these items on a sunny Saturday afternoon when you’d rather be doing something else. There is an alternative that’ll do the world some good, and it’s only a click away. Create a charitable wedding registry at Changing the Present. GroomGroove.com checked it out.

Another wedding registry?

ChangingthePresent.org is a New York-based nonprofit seeking to redefine gift giving (and wedding registries). The organization provides the groom and bride an option to create a wedding registry comprised not of gifts, per se, but of nonprofit organizations that the groom and bride would like to support. For example, for $15, your wedding guests can offset the C02 emissions of a car for a year (some 6,000 pounds of CO2 emissions). For $60, your wedding guests can purchase 20 brand new books to line the bookshelf of a child who’s never had that opportunity before. There's a nonprofit to pique everyone's interest. Jill Golden, communications director at ChangingthePresent explains that “a charitable wedding registry need not replace the more traditional wedding registry, but can complement it, particularly for couples that already have all the things they’ll need to set themselves up for married life.”

How to Create a Charitable Wedding Registry

Creating a charitable wedding registry with ChangingthePresent is much easier than creating the “traditional” wedding gift registry at a department store. First, visit ChangingthePresent.org, then create an account at the site, find charitable causes that resonate with you and your fiancée, and let your wedding guests know about the option to donate. It'll put more meaning into wedding gift giving for your guests - and they can still splurge on a dish set if they want to!

Makes for a great date night

The guys at GroomGroove.com suggest setting up a wedding registry on an otherwise uneventful weeknight. Turn off the TV, and make creating a charitable wedding registry a cool date. Says Golden: “It’s an opportunity to learn about the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. One recent groom chose Teach for America as his charitable organization, whereas his bride chose a charity that benefits artists.” You may be surprised to find out what charitable causes interest your fiancée.

So what's this going to cost you?

The beauty of a charitable wedding registry with ChangingthePresent is that it only costs a groom and bride time - a couple of minutes in fact, and not a single penny. The site charges a standard 3% credit card processing fee to your wedding guests as they donate. Accordingly, it’s just too easy for a groom and bride to pass up.

Building great marital karma

Weddings and the wedding industry can be monstrous, with some 44,000 grooms and brides getting married every single weekend in the United States alone. The guys at GroomGroove.com recognize that you and the Missus are going to want to outfit your matrimonial kitchen with new Henckels knives and the like. Go for it. That said, we also firmly believe that you can build some serious matrimonial karma by expanding the gift giving options of your wedding guests. GroomGroove.com votes for Changing the Present. Go there now, and impress your bride-to-be with your creativity. [Page 1 of 1]