This Couple Dedicated Their Wedding Registry to IVF Treatments

The beautiful thing about creating a wedding registry is it allows a couple to begin envisioning and building their lives together as newlyweds in a real, palpable way. It's a foundation for planning the future and curating forever keepsakes—while knowing their loved ones are supporting them through it all (both literally and figuratively).

And for one couple, this "foundation" wasn't about shopping for pots and pans or putting a down payment on a new home. The one thing they wanted more than anything was a baby—so they asked their guests, as a wedding gift, to help fund one.

"We Just Knew"

Colorado-based couple Katie and Chris—who met on Match.com—knew right away they were meant to be. In fact, they had their first date in February 2016 (which ended at a Taco Bell after their fancy dinner failed to fill them up) and were married in a courthouse only eight months later in October of that year. After saving up enough money for a "real wedding," they had an intimate ceremony on their official one year anniversary—October 7, 2017.

The couple went full speed ahead perhaps, in part, because of Chris's condition. The groom was born with cystic fibrosis—a progressive, genetic disease that not only affects your lungs and digestive system, but your life expectancy as well. (The median predicted survival age for someone living with CF is close to 40, according to CFF.org.) Additionally, around 98 percent of men with CF are infertile.

Thus, the couple came to the conclusion that IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) was their most viable solution to have a child.

"We agreed adoption will be an option if IVF doesn't work for us," Chris says. "But we know in our hearts we'd like to have biological children together if that can be achieved."

A Heartfelt Registry

The couple was hesitant at first to ask for money for their registry via The Knot Newlywed Fund—instead of tangible objects like sheets—but what they wanted more than anything else was to be parents. Their family and friends already knew the couple was planning on going through the process of IVF, so opening up about it on their registry was an easy decision for them.

"Our family and friends are so supportive, and most of them wish they could help even more than they already have," Chris says.

The couple's real wedding date came and went, for which they were gifted countless, gracious contributions from their loved ones. And even though it'll still take a few more years for the couple to save up enough money to start the process (which starts, on average, at around $12,000), they're forever grateful for the generosity of their closest family and friends. "As many people know, IVF is not a cheap undertaking," Chris explains. "We'll go through IVF full speed ahead as soon as we can."

Either way, they're one step closer to having their biggest dream come true (and they've come a long way since dating websites and Taco Bell) and a wonderful life together.