Target registry has options for every type of couple. What’s so exciting about the retailer’s new wedding registry campaign is that it encourages you to not only choose traditional ‘we’ items for your guests to choose from, but treasures for just ‘you’ as well.
Why? Because married or not, you are still an individual, and there are not enough gifts in the world that you BOTH will use for your ever after. Target recognizes the washed-out-ways of registry toaster ovens, blenders, and his & hers mugs – and decided to push soon-to-be-newlyweds to choose some actual His and Hers items. This way, you’re not only giving your guests some unconventional gifts to choose from, but you’re giving them some insight into the household they’re buying for, or even a sneak peek into the people you have become.
Just this past Thursday, MunaLuchi was invited to step into the doors of a Target-inspired home in New York City. The house was an overall loft design with beautiful high ceilings, and modernized wooden floors that stretched throughout the seven-story building. The event took place on four of the seven floors, and each one was laced with tagged product not at all positioned like the stock seen in most retailers, but strategically placed to appear like the items you have in your own home.
We, along with some engaged couples and other guests were invited to experience the new registry experience by either uploading the Target Registry App (found in the App store), or grabbing a Target scanner whilst perusing throughout the house. Needless to say, we went scanner-happy – and not because we needed everything, but because the experience was meant to show us what we wanted in a space where it can actually be used. When you see a wall or aisle of kitchen utensils, you tend to double-dip and scan more that you actually need. However, when you step into an actual kitchen, and see where everything is stored and placed amongst the counter tops, you can envision what you want to see in your own kitchen – and focus your attention on what you’ll actually use.
This is how the event was presented to us. Like the house next door, minus the coat-check, bar service, and salivating hors d’ouvres that were passed around all evening.
So let me take you through the house. When you first walk in, the foyer is designed with art work, media consoles, love seats, a couch, an area rug and decorative pillows that you can scan to your hearts desire. Here is where Target’s electronics take center stage. Aligning the wall were Bose speakers, Sony headphones, Canon cameras, and portable Crosley Turntables built-in to cute, colorful suitcases. Target added to the experience a professional photographer, Melissa Dilger, to take couples’ portraits as keepsakes for their visit (yeah, we took one too).
Stepping onto the second floor was an area meant to entertain. To the left you had an entertainment center adorned with game systems from PlayStation to Xbox, Beats by Dre. headsets, Google Chrome USB’s, canvases, picture frames, and of course, a 50″ flat-screen TV. There was also an all-white piano and bench set, lamps to fit any taste, and a bar cart positioned next to established Mixologist Kevon Denton. Published in both the NY Times and the Cooking Channel, Denton demonstrated how to make a spiked espresso using a Keurig, cocktail shaker, an ounce of bourbon, an ounce of Vermouth, and some ice in less than 5 mins.
On the same floor, yet to the right of the staircase was the kitchen. Alongside the Kitchen-aid mixers, Calphalon cookware sets and Pyrex storage sets was TV Personality and Chef Ana Quincoces with nothing more than a panini maker and a cutting board. She created two simple but satisfying dishes for us in less than 10 minutes. The first was a Cuban sandwich with mayo, mustard, Swiss cheese, and sliced ham on a hoagie bun slathered with butter. The second was a sandwich made with sliced turkey, cream cheese and strawberry jam. She put them both on the panini grill, and we were all thankful.
Plus, you know when you see a demonstration, but if you aren’t in the front row you lose out on the finished product? Well Target was a step ahead of us on that note, having waiters ready to pass out samples of the mixed drinks and sandwiches once the experts had finished their demos – and they were delicious! What’s ingenious is that these recipes are all simple and doable in your own home using products you already have or that you can register for.
Lastly, we climbed up to the third level where Target and HGTV stylist, Emily Henderson hosted us through the ‘masters’ of all homes, the bed and bath. The room had large windows peering out to the city’s skyline, and a vintage-style dresser with different knobs attached to each drawer. There were varying blankets, sheets and quilts cascading the walls of one end of the room, and a simply dressed Queen bed centered on the opposite side. The room was dimly lit, to highlight key pieces like the Threshold Fillable Ambient lamps placed on each of the nightstands. The top of the lamp was a simple shade, however the bottom half was an empty vase where you can screw off the shade portion to fill it with anything you want from photos, to pieces of yarn, to trinkets that you may want to see before you go to bed every night. And then there was the bathroom, where an assortment of towels hung on the walls, and a sea of fresh flowers filled the faux sink and tub to simulate the flow of water.
All in all, the event was inspiring and made you think of what you may actually want rather than what you may feel is expected. Why not ask for a camera, some headphones, a dresser or a couch? If you like hot sandwiches, ditch the toaster oven, and go for a panini maker. The options are endless, and they are for YOU. So stop thinking of what everyone else is expecting you to register for, and go for what you both may want for yourselves and for your home, collectively.
I dare you to go a step further, and let Target be your one-stop-shop to do something different. After all, they inspired us to do just that.
photos by Gustavo Campos
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