Registering for wedding gifts is pretty overwhelming, so I thought it might be kinda cool to post here with some of the insight we’ve gathered from doing our own. We really enjoyed ourselves… but it was definitely a great lesson in sharing, compromising and letting Mr. Man win every so often (as in, he registered for one of those soda makers and about a gazillion soda flavor things).
Here are a few tips we picked up along the way:
- Register for 2-3 times as many items as you have guests.
- Sounds excessive, but think about it: you’ll have a shower, maybe two or three… those people will likely buy off your registry for the shower and the wedding.
- Guests like to bundle. Registering for a bunch of kitchen utensils? Someone is going to buy all 10 of those (at $5 or $10 a piece) and put them in a pretty basket or container of some sort.
- Whatever you don’t receive as gifts (in most places, at least), you’ll get a discount on after the wedding.
- Prioritize.
- Mr. Man wanted to go hog wild. We all know I’m Type A and couldn’t have that. $40 bathroom trash can? No sir, not when there are other $40 items that we actually need.
- Even though it’s tempting to just scan EVERYTHING, think about it… you don’t want to cannibalize the stuff you really need/want with things that are extras.
- Save those extras for the end… if you’re done scanning what you truly need, then go back through and add some fun stuff.
- Watch out for sale items.
- Sale and seasonal items may not last… so if you register for them today, they might not be available 2 months from now. Just keep this in mind!
- Register at more than one place.
- This will get you a variety of gifts, and give your guests a bigger selection of stuff.
- Share the URLs to your registries.
- Almost everyone likes to order presents online, so make sure you check the box that says “display our registry online” or something to that effect.
- Think about your “Ship To” address.
- Most places will give you an option of pre and post-wedding addresses. Are you honeymooning? You probably don’t want tons of gifts sent to your house when you’re going to be out of town… think about asking your in-laws or parents, or MOH if you can have stuff sent to their places. You can pick it up when you get back!
We’ve gotten down the point in our planning where we need to solidify certain choices, like where we’re going to register and how/what is going on the invitation/announcements.
One of our big “discussions” involved trying to figure out where and what to register for (which we haven’t yet done). I guess one of my questions would be should we A) figure out where to register and then add stuff, or B) figure out what we want, in general, then figure out where to register?
Right now, all I know that we’ve really got our eyes on is: Towels, NICE towels; the “chaise” to go with our sofa-from Ikea, Nice knifes, and new Scuba Suits… maybe we need another set of sheets.
#1: We’re pretty well stocked on your average “household” goods, superficially in the kitchen. So much so that we sent my brother off to college with a few extra things between the two of us.
#2: the stuff we do need is random, all from different places, and a bit unconventional: LIKE, new Scuba Suits.
#3: We’d like cash, but aren’t a big fan of any of the “cash deposit websites”. Mr Daisy is scheptical of most of the websites and I think that just using PayPal looks tack, and is vauge…
- One thing I’ve learned from fund raising a few big things the past few years is that people are more willing to donate/give if they know EXACTLY what and why they’re giving, and what the goal is… so for fund raising, if you announce we’re raising 10,000 dollars for, whatever, rather than just saying “we’ve got a long way to go” people are willing to give you more money; 100 bucks, rather than 20 or 50. So, for a wedding, if you can specifically say we need 200 to go to a Scuba suit, rather than just saying we want money, inevitably, you’ll probably end up with more in the end (Rather greedy, I know).
- Mr. Daisy also thinks that people like to hand you something, I don’t disagree… maybe we shouldn’t register for these OR promote PayPal… but just put down our “honeymoon dreams” on our own website.
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I would have to say wedding registry shopping with the fiance was one of the top 3 favorite activities for wedding planning. =) We ended up going to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for our first stop since they offered a no hassle cash back return policy.
 Dilemma: While we were deciding on what to get, we ended up getting a hefty amount that were $70 or more. One item was $600! There were some items that I ended up deleting like the fancy chinaware or silverware. It is nice and we’re not paying for it…but do I…I mean we really need it? Plus, most of the guests that will be giving us items are our friends (which comprise of college students, just started working, and young adults). Our family will most likely be giving us hard cash or a check. I really don’t want to add in cheap stuff like towels, bedding, etc. but everything else that we want/need is pricey($100-$300 range).
Question: Is there a maximum price that I shouldn’t go above when doing my registry at Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Or should I use an online registry like www.simpleregistry or www.honeyfund.com for the big items?
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Let’s face it, times have changed. A lot of couples live with each other now and already have collected much of their home furnishings or more. More recently, I’ve seen couples do honeymoon registries in lue of a regular one. On the other hand, some couples would rather just get a nice hefty check to help pay off the wedding bills! So…how do you ask your guests for a “cash” gift instead of a regular gift? Well guess what? You can avoid that ackward situation!
Recently, I’ve been doing some research on where to do my wedding registry at. I’ve been looking for places where they can give you cash back when you return something (in case you change your mind) and websites where there are no fees. I’ve gotten a lot of information from newlyweds and reviews on different places to register for your wedding.
Here’s what I found…
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It took a couple months, but I finally managed to drag Apple Sauce into a Crate & Barrel and Macy’s to complete our wedding registries. With the engagement party (!!!) looming next month, we really couldn’t put it off any longer.
Part of the reason we were so hesitant is because, well, we already have everything we need. We’re young, but we’re not a young couple just starting out. We’ve lived together for more than five years, and actually just switched apartments last March.
 Our cats love moving, because it means lots of fun boxes. Even though we just moved a few miles down the road — literally, we live on the same avenue as our last place — the process was difficult. We just had so much stuff! Heavy, heavy stuff. And that realization resulted in a sort of frantic purge of stuff, and us to embrace a “less is more” mantra.
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Registering is really fun. I’m sure there are brides out there who don’t like to register but, man, I just don’t understand that. I like to shop at pretty much any time but registering is essentially shopping without spending money! Can we say best of both worlds?
Lovebug and I have been registered at Macys for a few months now but not with many things. With such a long engagement we were doing things in spurts when we felt like it. Well my wedding checklist recently told me that it was getting down to the wire to finish up our registries! So we went out this weekend and registered at our second location: Pottery Barn.
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A scan gun that is!
Lilac Dude and I have been slowly crafting our gift registries. I thought this process would be a lot of fun, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as I had thought. There. is. so. much. pressure!
 Photo from luciaevents.blogspot.com As some of you know, Lilac Dude and I inherited a bunch of things for our home together, including china and silverware. We both have apartments with sufficient cooking supplies, so we only need a few things. But as selfish as this sounds, we’d really like some cash. We’re moving and he is starting law school, so money is going to be tight.
We’ve so far made registries at Macy’s and Bed Bath and Beyond. (Fun fact: the top 3 wedding registry locations are Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Macy’s).
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I read that you’re not suppose to make your registry too soon after you get engaged. It makes people think that you’re fishing for presents.
Since we’re not having an engagement party, we don’t expect to get any of these registry gifts until my bridal shower sometime in the spring. Truth be told we have a lot of the stuff we already need (that’s what happens when you live together before marriage) so our registry is filled mostly with stuff we want, but don’t really need. We’ve also included upgraded stuff that is getting to the end of its lifespan (ie sheets so worn they have holes). I guess that’s the point of the wish list.
We are currently registered at Bed Bath & Beyond and The Pampered Chef. We’ve been putting it off, but we also plan on adding Sears to the list. Sure, sheets and towels are nice, but a new set of screw drivers or a collapsible work bench will come in handy once we buy a house.
I had registered at The Pampered Chef almost immediately after getting engaged, but Orchid Boy and I waited until after we moved to check out Bed Bath and Beyond.
It went well while we were in the kitchen section, but by the time we rounded the store to the bath department, I was pretty tired and bored. I’m not much for shopping so walking around with a price gun lost its allure fairly quickly.
I heard plenty of stories of brides going gun happy and scanning expensive china, vacuum cleaners and over-priced measuring spoons. In my case, it was Orchid Boy who began scanning things that we clearly didn’t need. I made the mistake of leaving him alone for five minutes as I wandered into another department. The stupid grin on his face when he caught up with me gave away his guilty conscience and he admitted to me he just scanned a snow cone maker.
 Orchid Boy registered for this snow cone maker without my knowledge. I've since taken it off our list because, clearly, we will never use it. Continue Reading
In November, only two months after our engagement, Lilac Dude’s grandmother sadly passed away. When it came time to start cleaning out her house all of the family decided that they would rather give Lilac Dude and I everything we needed to start a home than sell it to strangers.
Hand-me-down furniture is great. We’ll start off with a couch, chairs, a kitchen table, a counter top convection oven and pretty much all of the “big things” for a new home together. Even though these items are used, they’re a huge blessing to have because they are all pretty expensive to purchase just after getting married. When we were going through things I realized that some of things you just need to get new, which alleviated my registry worries a little because I had been watching the list of things we need shrink, which isn’t bad but I did want our guests to have a selection of different things on the registry.
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About thirty minutes after arriving home from work yesterday… the doorbell rang. When I got to the door there was a large box from Crate and Barrel on our doorstop.
 When I opened the larger Crate & Barrel box...inside was this beautiful wrapped box. I was delighted to bring it in and open it. My bridal shower is scheduled for April 10th, 2010 and this was the very first gift to arrive. I began opening it…
Inside was…
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