ABSTRACT
The consumer research literature recognizes three kinds of giving, broadly construed: monadic, dyadic, and systemic. A monadic gift, also called a self-gift, is a gift given to oneself. Dyadic giving occurs when a gift is given from one social unit to another; a reciprocal gift may or may not be given in return within the context of this transaction. Systemic giving occurs when individuals give to and receive from members of a community whose ethos demands and persistence requires the circulation of gifts in a generalized reciprocal fashion. This chapter presents ethnographic and netnographic work with stakeholders in the wedding registry and focuses most specifically on interviews with registrants, those individuals engaged to be married or who recently married. They hail from heterosexual, first-time marriages, primarily Christian denominations, and represent a variety of occupations and socioeconomic backgrounds.
