So I run this tiny boutique in Portland mostly focusing on local ceramics and kitchen stuff and lately ive been getting tons of couples coming in asking if they can do a wedding registry with us. Right now im literally just using a clipboard and a pen which is a total nightmare because then people call the shop and I have to manually check off what was bought and half the time my staff forgets to update the paper list so we end up with double purchases. Its just not working anymore and I need to get this online by June before the summer wedding rush hits.

I did some digging and I keep seeing MyRegistry pop up as a suggestion but it feels kinda weird to send my customers to a third party site that has ads for other big box stores and I really want to keep the focus on our local makers. Then I looked into some Shopify apps because that is what we use for our POS but honestly they are charging like 30 or 40 bucks a month just for the registry feature which feels insane for a shop my size where I might only have two or three registries active at a time. My logic was that there has to be a simpler way to just link a customer list to my inventory without paying a massive monthly sub.

I was thinking maybe I could just use a shared Google Sheet or something but that looks so unprofessional and I dont want customers accidentally deleting each others items. Or maybe there is a way to use hidden product pages? But then how do I track quantities? I am stuck between wanting something that looks sleek and professional for the couples and not wanting to blow my whole tech budget on one single feature. Is there a middle ground for a small brick and mortar that doesnt need all the bells and whistles of a giant department store? I just need a simple way for people to see what is still available and buy it online or in person and have it sync up somehow...