The Oblivious Bride – The Registry Experience

Comment Written by jenny on August 30, 2010 – 5:00 am

While wedding planning can be a little stressful, one part that my fiance has been looking forward to is starting the wedding registry.  Now, readers may be aware that we’ve decided to do both a traditional registry as well as a honeymoon registry, but we still had to figure out what exactly we needed to do for a traditional registry.  Now that we’ve conquered it, here’s a list of ideas and tips to help you!

Photo by jarrodlombardo

1. Select the stores

There are several retail stores that support registries including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Target, etc.  But don’t forget some more uncommon stores like REI, Amazon.com, and Home Depot – you’ll want to think about the types of items both you and your fiance will need as you start your life together.  If you’re more into camping than cooking, REI might be a better idea for you!

2. Consider your guests

Whether you’re having a small or large wedding, you’ll want to make sure that your wedding registry is accessible to your guests.  That means geographically and economically.  If you are having a medium to large wedding, having at least 2 different registries will allow your guests to select the one that is most reachable.  That also means that when you register for items, you might want to select items in a variety of price ranges to give your guests the most flexibility.

3. Estimate your needs

We’ve heard from multiple couples that you should register for more than you think you need.  We’ve heard of several couples whose registries were cleared weeks before the wedding and they had to go back and add items to the registry.  This is the best way to avoid getting random items you will never want or use.  Also, if you are having a shower or multiple showers, people will often look at your registry for those gifts as well.  So basically – overestimate your needs.

4. For sets, register for each individual item and for the set

While attending a registry event at a local retailer, we learned this very handy trick.  If you’re interested in a set of some kind – a cutlery set, cookware sets, linens – you can actually register for both the set as well as the individual items that make up the set.  That is because some sets are over people’s budgets, but one or two items within a set are reasonable.  Then, after the wedding you can trade in the individual items for the entire set or buy up the missing items.  For example, if you’re interested in a Henckels knife set, you can register for each individual knife within the set separately.  So rather than registering for a $1000 set, you can register for a $75 chef knife.  After the wedding, if you’ve received most of the set but are missing items, you can most likely trade in the knives you’ve received for the complete set (as the set prices tend to be less than the combined values of each individual knife).

5. Look for rebates and giveaways

Many popular household brands offer rebates and giveaways simply for registering for items.  Make sure to keep your eyes out on these specials as it really is something for nothing!

6. Set aside some time

One of the things that surprised us the most was the amount of time it takes to create and manage your registry!  We thought we could easily complete it in one afternoon, but we were badly mistaken!  We barely made it through our silverware selection when we had to go.  Who knew shopping would be so difficult? 

Good luck!

-Jenny