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USA Weekend, Where on the Web, July 6, 2003

Oscar Wilde once said, "Who, being loved, is poor?" Indeed, how can anyone getting married be poor, considering the number of wedding registries online? There's a range of sites from which brides and grooms can choose to let friends and family know exactly how to fill their future love nest.

Felicite.com is a free site for those who might not be thrilled by a box of 10-ounce juice glasses. Its registries can include any item from just about any store. For instance, friends of mine have asked for a subscription to "National Geographic Adventure", REI trekking poles and an annual pass to the national parks. (They also have, in jest, requested cash donations for their unconceived twins' college fund.)

For couples with a well-stocked silverware drawer, TheBigDay.com allows you to register parts of your honeymoon, no matter where you go or what you plan to do. Portions of airfare, accommodations or dining can be registered, as well as activities such as massages, parasailing and snorkeling. The site is free, except for cash donations, of which the site deducts a 9% service charge.

The place for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and gay-friendly couples who want to support gay-friendly businesses is www.rainbowweddingnetwork.com, another free site. Stores listed under "Service Providers" and "Links" include the mainstream (Amazon.com) and the obscure (Tennessee Pewter).

Of course, juice glasses, non-stick pans and spatulas are essentials any couple can appreciate, as WeddingChannel.com recognizes. The free site allows couples to register at Macy's, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and more than a dozen other stores. Plus, they can create their own wedding Web site.

Picking one of these sites inevitably elicits a variation on Oscar Wilde's question: Who among your friends is rich?

-- Laura Shin

View the article on the USA Weekend Web site.

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