Wedding Photography 'Registry'

<p>I was asked by a bride if she could 'register' with me for her photography fees. She will be paying a normal deposit/retainer, but was hoping to have further costs off-set by her guests in lieu of a normal gift registry. (It has been established that if no one contributed, she would be responsible for all costs, and she doesn't have a problem with that.)<br>

She's already established in a home, and doesn't need more homegoods, but photography is very important to her. Apparently, honeymoon registries are becoming more common, although I'd never heard of them.<br>

I searched the forum and found a reference to this, but was hoping to get more input from photographers actually offering this service. Her wedding isn't for almost a year, so we have time to figure out the best way to go about this. We could go high tech with some sort of online payment option, or with info cards included in the shower invitations.<br>

I was hoping to get input from those who currently offer this service, not opinions on whether or not this is a good idea. If you do offer this, how do you implement it? Do you deduct fees from credit card payments? Do you send acknowledgment cards? What has 'worked' for you? What hasn't?</p>

<p>I offer a gift registry through my online store using RedCart. Once the client selects the amount and pays with Visa, Mastercard or PayPal the system will look after the balance and the client receives a certificate/card to give to the bride and groom. Although the program does cost... I have more then made up for it in total sales.</p>

<p>Here is a link to the product. If you feel like trying it out go ahead and use Visa or Mastercard :)<br>

http://markridoutphotography.com/RedCart/index.php?sid=39</p>

<p>I offer my clients a photography registry, but it is all manually made through HTML and my credit card processing company Authorize.Net</p>

<p>It is very labor intensive, and when time allows I will be looking into other solutions. I'll be checking in to see if anyone else responds. So far I haven't had many clients interested in this, though, which is why it's sort of on the back burner.</p>