Out of the ordinary bridal registry
BY RONDA ADDY
When it comes to planning your wedding, you're no different. From your bridal registry to your wedding favors, you want to buck tradition. All you need are a few suggestions to point you in the right direction.

It used to be that women lived at home before getting married, so when they got married, they needed everything to "set up house," thus the bridal gift registry was born. Now more and more women and men have been out on their own or have been living together before they get married, so chances are they have all the household wares they need. In terms of what to ask for as wedding gifts, what is a couple to do? How about having guests buy a non-traditional gift? At theknot.com, a wedding planning site, couples can register for anything from a croquet set to a BMW. At HoneyLuna.com, a Web site run by travel agents, a couple's honeymoon expenses are divided into what a guest might possibly spend on a gift. Airfare is divided into 12 units of $115 and lodging into 15 units of $115. Other options included in the package are spa treatments, scuba trips and champagne. At RegisterStock.com and GreenWish.com, couples can register for stocks and bonds, and at the Home Depot, couples can register for a home security system or power tools. Some nurseries also allow couples to register for trees and shrubs for their new backyard. Here are some other gift ideas:

• A pure-bred puppy

• A new computer or software

• Gourmet cooking classes

• Membership to a museum

• Dance lessons • Art classes

• Maid service

• Art either in the form of a painting or sculpture

• Antiques

• Home repairs (painting, landscaping)

• An air conditioner

• Home entertainment system/plasma TV

• Mortgage payment donations

Registering for non-traditional gifts such as these will allow your guests a little more flexibility in their gift giving. Now that you've gotten a major wedding planning hurdle out of the way by getting your gift registery done, you'd like to concentrate on something smaller, and with any luck, easier. How about the wedding favors?

Wedding favors add to the theme and decor of a wedding and are keepsake reminders of the happy day. Wedding favors can range from chocolates to mini silver salt and pepper shakers. And the really great thing is you can make wedding favors without spending a fortune. Here are some great ideas for wedding favors:

• Gourmet coffees or teas

• Heart-shaped cookie cutters with a recipe attached

• Personalized candy bar wrappers

• Small picture frames that double as place card holders

• Wedding music CDs

• Chocolate-covered coffee spoons

• Fortune cookie favor kits

• Lottery tickets

• Telephone calling cards

• Personalized playing cards

• Bamboo plants • Personalized pens • Personalized post-itnotes

• P ersonalized sunglasses

• Bath beads

• Personalized mini notebooks

• Mini fold-up cardboard binoculars

• Wedding bubbles

• Caricatures. Hire a caricature artist to do caricatures of each guest with their name and wedding date on the bottom.

For those craftsy people out there, how about trying these:

• Personalized wedding magnets. Take your engagement picture and turn it into a magnet.

• Bookmarks. Grab some paper and string, find a poem or saying that has special meaning to you and turn it into a bookmark with your name and your groom's, and the date of your wedding underneath. Laminating is optional.

• Magnets. Buy plain wooden shapes, decorate them however you want and attach a magnetic strip to the back.

Your wedding should reflect your personality. If you want to register for a plasma TV and give caricature favors, do it . Personalizing your wedding will make it more important to you and your guests...isn't making it your day special what it's all about?