Over the weekend, we made some pretty big progress in the wedding planning department. I’m quite pumped about it.
First of all, I’ve finally collected almost all of the addresses I need to send our save the dates. Second, we started our wedding registry! To be honest, I wasn’t too excited about starting a registry because I knew it would be overwhelming and more time-consuming than expected (I’m the most positive bride ever). However, it wasn’t all too bad. (I can say that now because we’re almost done.) I’ll admit, though, there were several moments when I was standing in the store completely lost as to which types of pans, towels, dishes, etc. to choose. Why are there so many options!?
I’m still working on deleting some items and adding several new ones onto our registry online (which is the best thing ever), but we made some good progress in the store. Plus, some items you just really need to see in person. If you’re curious, we decided to go with Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Amazon.com for our registries. Both have been pretty awesome so far. BB&B has almost all of the kitchen things I want/need (a donut baking pan is necessary, right? because I totally scanned that thing). And Amazon.com is like my new Pinterest. It’s addicting to just browse through all the things and create a wish list.
Before starting either of our registries, I got some good advice on how to pick items. I thought I’d share some I’ve heard from others (shout out to my sister and Matt’s mother), read online, and figured out myself in case anyone else is searching for some tips before registering for their wedding gifts. If you follow these, the process can be much smoother for everyone involved.
Talk about color schemes beforehand.
Even if your fiancé doesn’t care about this one (cough.Matt.cough), it’s good to be on the same page of what you’re looking for.
Take inventory of what you already have.
Since we live together already, we have all the basics we need. However, most of it is crappy stuff leftover from college, and we could really use an upgrade. Taking a quick look through our cabinets helped me figure out what we really needed to look for.
Research bigger items.
Others might not find this as necessary as me, but I wished I would have had a better idea of what to get. It took us forever to get out of the pots and pans section, especially, because I love to cook and wanted things that would hold up to a lot of wear and tear. Teflon…ceramic…stainless steel…whyyyyyy.
Register for items in all price ranges.
I heard this tip from several people, so I had to include it. There’s no harm in registering for some more expensive things, but make sure there are cheaper items also on the list so people aren’t stuck with a very limited list or items that aren’t within their budget.
Don’t be afraid to pick high quality items you wouldn’t buy yourself.
This one was harder for me because I tend to not go towards the higher-end brands just because they can be so expensive. However, you often get what you pay for in quality, so you don’t want to register for super cheap items that won’t last more than a couple years. So don’t get ridiculous with only super high-end items, but don’t be afraid to splurge here or there.
Pick items you’ll actually use.
Yes, that chocolate fountain seems like a great idea, but are you going to use it that often? Okay, maybe you are. I’m not here to judge. But what I’m trying to say is don’t add things just because they seem cool for 5 minutes. Also, our parents and grandparents registered for things we may not care about, so even though certain items may seem like the norm to some people (e.g. china, crystal, etc.), if you’re never going to use them, then why bother? Just my thoughts.
Register together, even if one of you doesn’t care at all.
I warned Matt like 10 times that he would get bored because I care so much more than he does about random house things. There were things he definitely did care about (grill stuff, for the win), but even when he didn’t have a preference about things, it was nice to think out loud to him and get a second opinion. You’re both going to use the items, so it might help if you both like them.
Don’t stress; you can edit it later.
For most stores, you should be able to edit your list online or at least go back to the store to change things if you want. I’ve been in love with how simple it is to edit our list on the BB&B website, as well as how straight-forward it is to register on Amazon.com. So if you’re stuck on which comforter design you want to look at for years to come, just come back to it later. There might be more options online anyways.
Celebrate with margaritas.
This is obviously necessary—errr…I mean unnecessary. Spontaneously stopping at a Mexican restaurant for lunch and margaritas was a nice way to conclude our morning of tested patience (3 broken scanner guns was not ideal). Cheers to surviving a long morning of creating a gift wish list (#firstworldproblems)!
Would you add any tips to this list?
