After spending loads of money on the same old wedding gifts from big box stores, Kaitlin Beyers and Tallis Strub had grown frustrated with the scarce amount of unique gifting options available to wedding guests and decided to do something about it.
In 2016, they started MarryMyCity, a unique wedding gift registry that provides couples with curated items and experiences. Based in Cedar Rapids, MarryMyCity allows couples to register with local businesses in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
“We were both attending a lot of weddings and buying a lot of wedding gifts from major big box stores,” Beyers said. “And the buying experience felt pretty meaningless and mundane. That’s where the idea for MarryMyCity came from. We wanted to shift to a buying experience that is a little bit more personalized.”
In addition to providing unique wedding experiences for couples, Beyers and Strub say that MarryMyCity serves as a great marketing strategy for local, small businesses as well.
“Partnering with small businesses gives them the opportunity, not only to connect with local customers but to customers that are coming in from out of state,” Strub said.
“A lot of couples are discovering these local businesses through the registry. So for the businesses, it’s just a really great model for them to brand, share their products and tell their story,” added Beyers.
Future plans?
Beyers and Strub plan to expand outside of their current market and begin to work in cities outside of Iowa.
“We’re looking into some adjacent cities that are still in the Midwest but are a little bit larger than the Des Moines area so we can test market outside of Iowa,” Strub said. “A couple years out from now we would like to have established the Iowa market completely and be working on a national level.”