New Partnership Provides “Recessionista” Brides Ultimate Value and Convenience

PLANO, Texas (March 26, 2009) – J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), which offers one of the nation’s leading wedding registries, and OurWeddingDay.com, providing the nation’s most comprehensive and exclusive online wedding planning tools and service, today announced their partnership, providing “recessionista” brides the ultimate value and convenience for nearly all their wedding needs.

“Given the current economic environment, couples are watching their wedding budgets more than ever,” said Mike Boylson, chief marketing officer for jcpenney. “By partnering with OurWeddingDay.com we are able to offer our customers even more value when registering with jcpenney. Along with our outstanding selection of affordable registry products, our registry experience now provides helpful tools and services to support the wedding planning process, creating a true one-stop shopping experience that saves our customers both time and money.”

The partnership between jcpenney and OurWeddingDay.com comes on the heels of recent forecasts and statistics on the wedding industry which found that:
• The average estimated spending per wedding fell 24 percent in 2008, from an average cost of $28,704 in 2007 to $21,814 in 2008. 2009 is forecast to be down an additional 6.5 percent to $20,398 . As couples spend less on their wedding, they also reconsider their honeymoon spending and registry behavior, looking at more affordable options.
• Professional planners play a big role in weddings, with nearly 15 percent of couples hiring an outside expert to handle details . However, many couples opting to save money by doing all the planning themselves and/or just hire a “day-of” coordinator.
• More couples are deciding to save money (and their guests money) with a wedding closer to home .

“With more than 1,100 locations across the country as well as jcp.com the largest general merchandise site on the Internet jcpenney provides an exciting partnership that allows us to serve brides with a fully integrated experience as we assist them in planning the wedding of their dreams,” said Henry Chamberlain, chief executive officer of OurWeddingDay.com. “When they register at jcpenney, brides will now be treated to our extensive wedding planning services along with an array of affordable and convenient merchandise and services that can be found only at jcpenney.”

Your Virtual Wedding Planner: As part of the partnership, when a bride registers at jcpenney, she will receive a complimentary membership to OurWeddingDay.com, providing her with helpful tools that act as a “virtual wedding planner”:

• BrideLine – Brides can receive real time expert advice by simply typing in a question into the BrideLine box. A live OurWeddingDay.com wedding expert will immediately and personally answer any and all brides’ questions and concerns. Brides also have access to headshots and full profiles of OurWeddingDay.com’s wedding experts, further personalizing the experience.

• Task List – This online task list helps to keep wedding planning as simple as possible by prioritizing the bride’s tasks in the months and weeks leading up to her wedding date, all while offering helpful hints and tips as well as links to great resources. Each time the bride logs onto her account she will be notified of current tasks she needs to complete, along with overdue tasks that have yet to be completed.

• Event Manager – Using the event manager tool, brides can set up events (engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, reception, etc.), manage the guest list, RSVPs, table seating and more.

• Free Wedding Website – Brides can also use OurWeddingDay.com to create their own personalized wedding website, allowing them to celebrate their engagement while providing friends and family all the information they’ll need to participate in their wedding.

OurWeddingDay.com also helps brides to keep guest addresses organized, track their gifts, plan their budgets (displayed in an easy to view pie chart) and even send out free, customized save-the-date e-cards to their guests. Additionally, the site provides a daily blog, polls and an extensive list of local resources throughout the nation. Furthermore, all brides who register with jcpenney also receive a complimentary wedding planner and organizer that becomes a treasured keepsake. Brides can print out their planning pages (budget, task list, table seating, etc.) from their OurWeddingDay.com account and add them to their binder to use for wedding planning meetings with family, vendors and more.

Your Registry Choice: jcpenney is a convenient and affordable registry choice for couples and their guests:

• Must-have, affordable gifts jcpenney offers one of the nation’s largest wedding registries, boasting an expansive collection of proprietary (cooks, Linden Street, Studio brand are top jcpenney registry items etc.) and national brands (Kitchenaid, Cuisinart, etc.) with timeless style, exceptional quality and contemporary appeal. Registrants can make gift list selections from top brands in china, flatware, crystal, small electronics, cookware, linen and furniture, providing their guests a wide array of gift options with style, quality and affordable pricing.

• Ultimate Convenience Guests can enjoy free shipping and gift wrapping on registry purchases of $49 or more. Furthermore, guests can select a jcpenney gift card or e-gift card, which never expire and are redeemable for any jcpenney purchase.

• After the Wedding – Along with jcpenney’s hassle-free return policy – which allows couples to return jcp.com purchases to any local jcpenney store – couples can enjoy 10 percent off most of the items remaining on their registries for an entire year after their wedding date.

Your Local Wedding Resource: With more than a 1,100 jcpenney department stores across the nation – as well as www.jcp.com – jcpenney is the local wedding resource for nearly all couples’ wedding needs:

• The Jewelry Store Inside jcpenney – From engagement rings and wedding bands to special gifts for their wedding party, couples can find a selection of stylish, high-quality fine jewelry items at an affordable price.

• Portrait Studio – Couples that register with jcpenney receive a free engagement portrait. Portraits can also be printed into save-the-date greeting cards and sent out to wedding guests.

• Salon and Sephora – jcpenney’s in-store salons offer hair, make-up and nail services, assisting brides in creating a beautiful – and affordable look for their wedding day. Brides can also choose from a vast selection of beauty products from Sephora shops located in jcpenney as well as online through www.jcp.com/sephora.

• David’s Bridal – jcpenney’s partnership with the nation’s most trusted bridal retailer – nearly one in three brides in the U.S. walk down the aisle wearing a David’s Bridal wedding gown – provides David’s Bridal customers special offers and discounts when they register with jcpenney.

• And More… Along with a compelling and affordable selection of items for the registry, jcpenney is a destination for a variety of merchandise for wedding needs such as luggage and apparel for the honeymoon, lingerie, gifts, party favors and more.

For further information contact:

jcpenney Corporate Communications (business and trade inquiries)
Kate Parkhouse; 972-431-3400; jcpcorpcomm@jcpenney.com

jcpenney Brand Publicity (fashion and lifestyle inquiries)
Merianne Roth; 972-431-2317; mroth4@jcpenney.com
Stephanie Brown; 972-431-3268; smbrown@jcpenney.com

About jcpenney
jcpenney is one of America’s leading retailers, operating 1,101 department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as one of the largest apparel and home furnishing sites on the Internet, www.jcp.com, and the nation’s largest general merchandise catalog business. Through these integrated channels, jcpenney offers a wide array of national, private and exclusive brands which reflect the Company’s commitment to providing customers with style and quality at a smart price. Traded as “JCP” on the New York Stock Exchange, the Company posted revenue of $18.5 billion in 2008 and is executing its strategic plan to be the growth leader in the retail industry. Key to this strategy is jcpenney’s “Every Day Matters” brand positioning, intended to generate deeper, more emotionally driven relationships with customers by fully engaging the Company’s 150,000 associates to offer encouragement, provide ideas and inspire customers every time they shop with jcpenney.

About OurWeddingDay.com
OurWeddingDay.com is the ultimate online wedding planning resource, where brides across the country turn to save time and money at every step of their wedding planning. OurWeddingDay.com offers brides the most advanced wedding planning tools, personalized wedding websites and constantly-updated hints, tips and articles, along with inspiration via the extensive galleries of dresses, flowers, cakes and invitations and access to more than 27,000 vendors nationwide. The OurWeddingDay.com experience is supported by BrideLine, an exclusive live-chat feature that connects brides with experts to answer their questions immediately,

Founded in 2006, OurWeddingDay.com approaches wedding planning differently from its competitors by focusing on the support of in-house wedding planning consultants who know that every wedding is unique, and every bride deserves personal attention.

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