We Were Getting Married
My partner and I were getting married. We'd been living together for years — we had plates, we had a toaster, we had more towels than any two people reasonably need. What we didn't have was a good way to tell our guests: “honestly, we'd love cash towards the honeymoon, or maybe that one specific espresso machine we've been eyeing up.”
So we started looking at wedding registries. And that's when the frustration began.
The Problems We Found
Every option we tried had the same set of problems. Some were obvious, others we only discovered after spending time setting things up.
Exorbitant Fees on Cash Contributions
The first thing we noticed was the fees. Some platforms charge up to 30% on cash contributions. Thirty percent. If a guest generously gives £100 towards your honeymoon fund, you receive £70. The registry keeps the rest. That felt wrong to us. The guest thinks they're giving you £100, and you're getting far less.
Store Lock-In
Traditional registries tie you to one retailer. Want a KitchenAid from John Lewis and a coffee machine from Sage? That's two separate registries. Want to add a vintage rug from an independent shop on Etsy? Good luck. The whole point of a registry is convenience, but managing multiple lists across multiple sites is the opposite of that.
Inflexible Contributions
Amazon's registry doesn't let guests contribute partial amounts towards an item. It's all or nothing. If you add a £500 espresso machine, a guest either buys the whole thing or they pick something else. There's no way for five people to chip in £100 each. That rules out a whole category of gifts that couples actually want.
Fragmented Information
After the wedding, we'd need to write thank-you notes. But with gifts scattered across Amazon, two department stores, and an envelope of cash from Uncle Dave, how do you keep track of who gave what? Spreadsheets. That's how. And nobody wants to manage spreadsheets after their wedding.
Building the Solution
I'm a software engineer. I've been building things for over a decade. And when I couldn't find a registry that solved these problems, I did what any developer would do — I started building one myself.
The brief was simple:
- Any store. Import gifts from any retailer — paste a URL and the product details get pulled in automatically.
- Cash funds. Let guests contribute any amount towards experiences, honeymoon items, or a general fund.
- Group gifting. Multiple guests can chip in for expensive items without anyone feeling pressured.
- One page. Everything on a single, beautiful registry page — no juggling multiple sites.
- Fair fees. A transparent 2% platform fee, not the 30% markup other platforms charge on cash.
- Track everything. Know exactly who gave what, so every guest gets a proper thank-you.
I founded ZNZ Systems Ltd in 2023 and started building. Payments go through Stripe — the same infrastructure used by Amazon, Google, and thousands of businesses worldwide — with contributions paid directly to the couple's bank account. No middleman holding your money.
What GiftPlan.io Does Differently
GiftPlan.io gives couples one beautiful page where everything lives together:
- Physical gifts from any store, imported by URL
- Cash funds for honeymoons, house deposits, or anything else
- Group gifting so guests can contribute any amount towards bigger items
- Direct Stripe payouts to your bank account
- A 2% platform fee — not a 30% markup
- A clear record of every contribution for thank-you notes
It's the registry I wished existed when we were planning our wedding. And now it does.
What's Next
GiftPlan.io is live and growing. I'm still the one writing every line of code, fixing every bug, and reading every piece of feedback. If you're planning a wedding and frustrated by the same problems I was, I built this for you.
Try it out. Create a registry. And if something doesn't work the way you'd expect, tell me — I'm at hi@giftplan.io.
