Registry - how early?

[Independent Gal]

So, we''ve got a little less than 7 months before the whole marriage thing (WP1 now scheduled for March 29...WP2 is April 13). Is it time to register yet? We''re not having any showers or anything.

Or do you wait until juuuust before you send out the invitations?

We did start a BB&B registry just to see how it works, which now has about 6 totally random things on it (inspired by my sudden clothes-steamer fetish!). I think it''s: shoe rack, sillicone bakeware, clothes steamer. Haha. What a shopping list.

Anyway, when when when, ladies?

 

[sera]

I have no idea what is recommended, though I would think closer to when you send out the invitations because maybe stuff you had in the registry early might be out of stock and other things you like better might have come in (though I imagine standard china and flatware patterns, etc you wouldn''t have to worry about).

 

[sumbride]

I think 6 months or so is reasonable. We did ours really early because people asked us to, and we did get some Christmas gifts from it, but I also had to do a LOT of tweaking for seasonal stuff and things that just went out of stock. I don''t think you''d have that much of an issue, but you can also just play with it before you mention it to anybody... people will find it when they''re ready to shop. We''re 5 weeks out, have had 2 showers, and still haven''t had a lot purchased off the registries. People used them sparingly for the showers.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I don''t see any harm in starting it early--besides, having an existing registry is easier than keeping lists of things you want to put on the registry. You can always add to it or remove things if you change your mind. I''m online now trying to find things to add to my registry (My registry has about 5 actual things on it and 10 things my fiance and I found to be hilarious, so we''re not taking the registry very seriously).

That being said, I didn''t register until a couple of weeks ago and my wedding is at the end of this month. I didn''t have a shower, either, and actually didn''t plan on registering at all. Not because we want checks (I was afraid our guests would assume that), we just don''t NEED anything. In fact, I think we have too much crap as it is! But I started getting asked about it after we sent out the invites.

If you do wait, I think doing it before you send out the invites is a good idea. I don''t think people will be buying you anything until you send out the invites, but having a registry might be easier on you so you don''t have to think about doing it later.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think now is fine. Just know some things are seasonal and they will stop carrying them. That being said just update it a few times a month (delete and add) and you will be fine. BB&B is so awesome about returns anyways. I ended up changing my mind on SO many things and returned them for store credit (without any problems). I also did mine online. SOOOOO much easier than going to the store which can be so overwhelming (and I LIKE to shop).

 

[Haven]

People may begin to send you wedding gifts as soon as they hear of your engagement, so you can register as soon as you are engaged.

 

[Mara]

we registered about 10 months ahead of the wedding on the advice of a friend who had recently gotten married, she said that people will want to use your registry to get gifts for things like birthdays, christmas etc and she was right...we got gifts off our registry long before the wedding stuff really started happening. i would do it ASAP. also we had an engagement party about 9 months before and people did use our registry for gifts.

the one thing i would say to echo a few others is be sure what you get is not going to be a real seasonal item and if you don't get everything that is super important to you after the wedding, buy it within a month or two. we waited too long to try to finish up our china set (only needed 2 more settings to make 12) and CB discontinued it and now i can't find it anywhere at all, even with their manuf...booooo!!! so i have no idea what i am going to do with our sets...but am considering selling them on ebay then buying 12 sets flat out somewhere else. ugh. haven't needed to do anything about it yet but def buy what you do want for sure if you don't get it.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

The registry is my specialty. I have been a bridal consultant at Macy''s for well over a year now. I personally got engaged FOREVER ago and a registered almost a year and a half ago even though my wedding is in June. Now believe me, this is early. Most people register from a year before up to a month before their weddings. The reason I registered so early is because Macy''s has a rewards program when you are registered and shop at Macy''s. Even without having much on our actual registry, I was earning rewards money left and right from my regular shopping in the store.

As far as merchandise being discontinued goes, it happens a lot. Certain items like china, crystal, and flatware do not change to often because the companies put a lot of money into creating them so they tend to have them around for awhile. Also, for the most part, they only discontinue china patters and the like after Christmas and in January. Anything else though, electrics, cookware, kitchen gadgets, everyday dinnerware, can be discontinued at any time. Departments like bedding and bath can change as frequently as every three months since they follow the changing seasons with colors and patterns.

What we generally recommend is checking your registry about two weeks before any major party. Check it both online and in-store for discontinued merchandise. If anyone has registry questions, particularly Macy''s ones, feel free to ask!

 

[dtnyc]

I read an article that said you should start your registry pretty soon after you get engaged and put some gift items (like bowls, vases, picture frames, stuff that doesn''t have a "pattern" on your registry immediately, because some ppl might turn to it for engagement gifts.

Then you can choose your china, dishes, flatware, silver, etc., which as the pp said most likely will not be discontinued.

The last thing you should add to your registry, preferably the same season as your wedding is your bedding, linens, etc. because that''s the stuff that is seasonal and is most likely to get discontinued.

 

[Independent Gal]

Thanks for the input! I think we''ll head over to Bloomingdale''s or something this weekend. We really, really, really don''t want much stuff. (800 sq ft! one closet!) But we do need matching towels and some funky silverware, e.g.

Or maybe we should call Alessi! We both looooove Alessi. And when I was in the Soho shop in NYC recently they told me one can do a registry there. Anyone ever done that with them?

 

[Class n Sass]

I''m getting married in May and I created 3 registries 2 weeks ago

 

[wolftress]

We only did our registy 3 months before the wedding, when we were starting to print and mail invites. Most people didn''t use it until the weekend before the wedding, so I think the timeframe we picked suited us fine. But I don''t think there''s any harm in starting early... especially if there are people who need more time to make up their minds on what to get you