Wedding questions about registering

[glaucomflecken]

hey girls!

how soon should you start registering? my wedding is 5 months from today (YIKES) and my bridal showers will be in September.

How did you pick which places to register at? I have people coming from all over, from small towns to big cities. Some of the places I like, like Crate and Barrell, dont have local stores here where I live but they do where my family is, yet some of the places that are local, I really dont like! I dont want to be rude and only pick places that are brick and mortar back home and make my local friends feel they have to go online to get things. (my mom also thinks it would be rude because not everyone is comfortable shopping on the internet).

And most of all, where do you even begin? it seems so overwhelming. Did you survey your house and see what you need, then go on the web or to the stores and check things out?

How many items did you regsiter for at each place? I assume too that you want to have items of all price ranges.

sorry so many questions, thanks for reading!

Sarah

 

[treysar]

Hi Punch!

My wedding is n 3 months, and I was so excited about registering that I did it a YEAR AGO! Not recommended - I have since changed my registries over 20 times1 I''m a bit obsessed!

I chose to register at 3 places, a lower price store, target, mid price, linens and things, and higher prices, fortunoffs. When I looked closely, they were all pretty close to each other anyway! But I did like target for the "non weddingy" things, like a digital camera, snorkeling gear for our honeymoon, etc.

It''s totally okay to have 1 store that''s internet based - just make sure to have your Mom spread the word, so the last minute people aren''t stuck without a gift!

Also, what local stores do you NOT like? I would FOR SURE go in person to some of your local stores - the internet is GREAT but you really need to see the important stuff in person.

I only registered for a few items at fortunoffs - my towels and bedroom set, comforter, etc. Linens and things and target are the bulk of my registry- it was there that I got all of my kitchen items etc.

I hope this helped - it is SO EXCITING to register - it''s like a shopping spree! At first I felt greedy, but friends and family said that it''s okay to request large price items because people like to chip in for them.

Good luck!

 

[ame]

Mine is July 2nd and from all the advice I got from already married friends and young relatives, they told me to register around Christmas in case folks want to buy from the registry for your gifts, so I guess about 6 to 7 months out we did our first one, Bed Bath and Beyond. During February, Crate and Barrel has a registry event, which was our second registry. After witnessing the major hell my friends had with Target''s incredibly sucky return policy for gifts and registries, I refused to do that to myself (example: if you get towels you don''t want you can only get towels when you return, NOTHING else, not even store credit. How ridiculous is that!)

 

[glaucomflecken]

wow I have heard horror stories about Target in the past, I think I will avoid them

thanks girls for the advice, I will start looking soon!!!!

 

[MelissaSue]

I dont think that is true about the target return policy. I was just with my friend and she returned a trash can off her registry.. one that she just didn''t end up liking.. and they gave her store credit.. no questions asked.. I thought they would give her a lot of problems.. but they didn''t..She ended up buying a phone instead..

 

[teebee]

I''ve had lots of trouble with Target returns... and for that reason there is no way I''m registering w/ them, even though I like their merchandise... They can be a nightmare to deal with w/out a receipt.

Last year during the holidays I was in the middle of remodeling my bathroom and found some fixtures there that I liked. So, for Christmas & birthday my mom bought me just about everything they had ~ towel racks, tp holder, hanging shelf fixtures, etc. When I got around to installing everything, the only thing I didn''t end up using was a towel rack ($19.99) that was about 6 inches too long for any wall or door that I had. In the meantime, my mom had misplaced her reciepts (ya know, it''s Christmastime, millions of things to do, plus she was in the middle of building a new house ~ chaos). So I figure, no problem, I''ll just get a store credit or exchange it against a humidifier, which I really needed and cost $50... Anyhow, to wrap it up, they gave me hell over returning a stupid $20 towel rack. I explained everything, even the fact that I was going to spend more than the original $20 in exchange for a different item ~ they wouldn''t budge and said I had to exchange it for something else in the same department... I explained again that since my mom had purchased EVERYTHING I needed from that department, there was nothing else I could possibly need... I spoke to a manager... got nowhere & was treated like a criminal because I didn''t have a receipt... Like I''m going to steal a 30" towel rack???? And they still wouldn''t even give me a store credit... EXCHANGE ONLY FROM THE SAME DEPARTMENT... Oh... I just can''t tell you how pissed I was.

It''s funny, anyone who has worked retail will agree that at least 90% of the time, people who are using merchandise credit, gift card, or exchanging merchandise will end up spending more than the original value of the credit so I think they are actually shooting themselves in the foot with this policy...

I don''t mean to hijack, but I can just see the nightmare of having to deal with Target registry returns without a receipt and having received too many of something and trying to return it for something else in another department, etc. I''m sure most people will be diligent enough to include a gift receipt but surely not everyone will ~ because seriously, who would have thought that Target would be that difficult??? Especially considering WalMart, their biggest competitor, has such a lenient return policy... And that is where I went right after leaving Target, and bought a humidifier from them!!!

Anyhow, back to the subject at hand... Do you have any decent department stores in your area? I am planning on registering at Williams Sonoma, Dillards, and probably Linens N Things. All of which have internet ordering, but are also B&M stores located close to most of my guests.

 

[elepri]

We registered right after we got engaged because we had an engagement party and everyone kept asking where we were registered. But after that we only started getting presentes when our invitations went out (not having a shower. So I''d say make sure you''re registered by the time your wedding/shower invitations are out. As for where, I wouldn''t register for stuff you don''t like just because it''s easier to shop for. People who don''t know how to shop on line can always shop by phone and I think either way is a lot more convenient than going to the store even for the locals. I''ve never shopped for registry gift in person, didn''t really occur to me that someone might prefer it.

 

[elephant]

PnP -- The Knot has a great registry guide to follow. It basically has an outline for what you could (would?) need to set up a household. I am not engaged (yet? ), but I saw that and it looked incredibly helpful. I *think* they also have a section on "how to decide on the stores" type thing. Good luck and have fun!! Yay new stuff!!

 

[JessesGrl]

target''s return policy is horrible!!!!! I tried to return something once with a reciept...I had bought it like 3 DAYS earlier and they would not give me my money back!!!! I have never heard of such a thing!!!!

 

[MelissaSue]

Target doesn''t do returns without receipts, except it you put it on a credit card they can look it up for you. Or unless the merchandise is defective.. which happened to me once.. they just let me get the same thing..

However, they DO do registry returns without reciepts. You just have to print your registry. Like I said, my friend just did it. I told her they weren''t gonna let her. And they did. No problem. just gave her store credit. Maybe they have eased up their registry return policy. However I did have HORRIBLE problems buying her stuff from off her registry from Target. I had to go back THREE TIMES to get them to take the stuff that I had purchased off her list. They gave me some line saying their guns weren''t working properly.. but I''m sure that in actuality the people didn''t know how to work them properly. because I watched a manager explain to a new employee how to do it the second time I went in. and the way she was telling her to do it seemed COMPLETELY wrong. And since it didn''t work.. I''m guessing it was. They finally had to call into some headqwuarters to get my items taken off.