Wedding Registries: Post your experiences here

[surfgirl]

I thought it might be useful to have one thread dedicated to wedding registries since the topic comes up often. Rather than debate all the details of ongoing experiences, I thought this thread could be used only for brides who have finished dealing with their registries, say one year out from their weddings or whenever their registries expired. This way, newly engaged brides can read what our experiences were throughout the engagement and post-wedding so they can make better informed decisions on where they want to register. Please include each store you registered at, why you chose that store, what their return policy was, and how the entire experience played out for you. Were you satisfied overall or now, and why.

I''ll go first...I registered at two places:

1. Williams-Sonoma

I registered here because I love to cook and because there is such a huge selection of cooking supplies, including fine porcelain dish ware and nice cutlery options. The return policy on gifts is exchange/credit only, however, one very nice perk of registering with WS is that you can use your credit at W-S, W-S Home Store (which has lovely furniture and home decor items like lamps, carpets, etc.), and Pottery Barn. I have found they are very generous with their return/credit policy...you can use things for quite a while and decide you dont love them and they will still take them back for credit (or a refund if you paid for it and have the reciept). Right now I''m sitting on several hundred dollars worth of credit at W-S, but I''m not concerned because I have three stores in which to use it so I have a lot of options. I would highly recommend W-S if you love cooking, or if you want many options for your registry returns. Oh, and while I set up my registry online, it''s worth going into WS and asking for one of their registry kits because it gives you a very thorough and detailed list of everything you could want for your home, how many of each you should have, etc.

2. Bloomingdales

I chose Bloomingdales because I knew my family and friends back East would have easy access to Bloomies and that most people I know shop there. I chose them to register for my crystal items because they have a wonderful selection, and they carry William Yeoward and I adore his crystal. I was able to return several items to them and use the credit to fill out my Yeoward crystal goblets so I was quite happy with that. I also found that when I went in to exchange a few items, they were having a huge sale coming up, and my sales associate told me that if I signed up for a Bloomie''s charge card that day (and cancel it when I was done using it, which I did), I''d get an additional 15% off the upcoming sale price of anything I purchased, including exchanges/credits. That allowed me to get some wonderful luxury items that I wouldn''t have been able to afford. For example, a Yeoward crystal vase I received was chipped and with the sale/additional % off I was able to replace that vase with an even more fabulous one that was quite a bit more, costwise. I found the SAs at Bloomies to be very knowledgeable (they know how to work the system in favor of the customer!) and helpful and it''s an easy store to deal with. And they make bridal registrants feel very "special" as well in terms of how they treat you. They also have some in store special events for bridal registrants, as well as a welcome packet which I got late because I set up my registry online to begin with. So I''d recommend going in to a store in person to get set up, so you can get the starter package, which had coupons for discounts on lingerie, BMs dresses, general gifty things (like for your bridal party), etc. Overall I was very happy with my Bloomingdales registry experience.

 

[anchor31]

My experience with The Bay was less than stellar. You have to go in-store every time you want to add something to it and it''s pretty annoying. The online catalog is incomplete. People who want to make their purchase have no access to direct links, promotional prices, etc. on the list itself; they have to call or go to a store in person. Items have been discontinued more frequently than I would have liked. Customer service was meh.

 

[oobiecoo]

We registered at Pottery Barn, Target, and Macys.

Pottery Barn: We only recieved a couple of gifts from there and didnt have to return anything, so we didn''t have any problems with them but also nothing spectacular to point out.

Target: Well, we all know about Target. Luckily we only returned a couple of items and they all included a gift receipt, but it could have gotten really ugly if we didnt have them. I''d recommend only registering for items you''re 99.9% sure you wont need to exchange or return.

Macys: They were fantastic! If you have a Macys credit card then they can link your registry to your card and you get points for each registry purchase made. I think we got like 5% of the purchases back in the form of a store credit, so we were able to purchase a sonic toothbrush which wasn''t even on our registry. We only returned one item and they were so nice and friendly. They also have a program where you get free gifts just for REGISTERING for certain items and even nicer free gifts if your guests complete certain purchases. We didn''t have any problems at all with Macys and highly recommend them!

 

[Cleopatra]

I''m getting married this Saturday (wooo hooo Anchor!!)

I registered at two places:

Bed Bath and Beyond:
I didn''t have any problems with BB&B - I loved the fact that I could update online and it''s pretty much instant updates - I also loved their return policy - I haven''t had any problems returning or exchanging any items...I would recommend them 100%

Dillards:
I haven''t been to fond of Dillard''s lately. When a guest buys a "place setting" of china, it comes to you as "open stock" - and poorly packaged - I''ve had 3 sets of china damaged in shipping so far. I also am aggravated with their exchanges for china. When a dinner plate was broken, they wanted me to bring in the entire place setting to send back, despite the place setting being "open stock" - I thought that was what made Dillard''s appealing for china - the open stock factor - you can buy one place setting or one dinner plate. But when one item is damaged, you have to bring the entire place setting in and risk getting another damaged item in shipping - seems silly and unnecessary.

Other than that, no one has said that they had any difficulty locating items from either store - i''ve been satisfied overall with both registries.

 

[zoebartlett]

Sorry to be so long-winded!

We registered at Macy''s and Crate and Barrel, and we haven''t had any problems with either place. We chose Macy''s because there''s a store right down the street from us, which made it very convenient. Macy''s is everywhere, so I knew it would be convenient for our guests. Although the closest C&B is about 45 minutes from us (and from many of our in-town guests), I knew the reputation the store had. We like the items they carry (although some things, like bed linens, seem pretty over priced).

We began our registries in the stores but we could add and delete any item or change quantities online very easily. Both sites have easy to use features.

We haven''t done Macy''s Star Rewards program, which is what I *think* their registry completion program is called. I think it can be a good idea to take part in any store''s completion program, but really, the stores obviously just want you to spend more money. We chose not to do this because we didn''t want the left over items badly enough to shell out money for them. We''re trying to save for a house and a few other things, and we deemed those things more important than any of the leftover items on our registries for which we''d have to pay ourselves. We did get a few gift cards from Crate and Barrel, which we''ll definitely use.

The SAs at both Macy''s and C&B were very helpful in walking us through their registry systems. You know how it is at Macy''s (or a similar department store) -- sometimes you need to wait until a sales associate is available or is able to come over from another department to help you. Occasionally that happened, but usually, there was always someone there who was happy to answer any questions. There were always SAs at C&B who were very friendly and knowledgeable about their products.

We''ve only needed to return one item, and it was to C&B. There was nothing wrong with the item, but it was much larger than we thought it would be. It had been shipped to us, and we brought in the packing slip when we returned the item. They gave us a gift card -- actually, they added that amount to one of the other gift cards we already had received, which made it easier for us.

C&B packs things REALLY well before shipping, which is great, but I hated to think of how much waste there was. Everything came in an appropriately-sized box, but the wrapping they did was a bit excessive. Everything did arrive in tact, though, so I guess that''s nothing to really complain about.

Macy''s has sales often, which lowered the price of many of our items listed on our registries at different times. That''s pretty helpful.

We considered registering at BB&B but chose not to, simply because we don''t shop there all that often. I didn''t know the store very well at the time (which I have since found out is pretty much comparable to Linen''s and Things). I''ve heard great things about BB&B, so if I were registering again, I''d consider adding a store.

Overall, I''ve been very happy with our registries and the service we''ve gotten from Macy''s and C&B.

 

[lucy.lucy.80]

we registered at Bed Bath & Beyond

So far everything has been great and have had no issues.
- The prices are good and the selection of items is very good as well.
- If a registry item is out of stock on line, they will tell you if they are reordering the item or not if you call.
- Instant online updates
- Can use 20% off coupons when purchasing gifts of registry in store (they also accept expired coupons)
- They accept competitors coupons

 

[Haven]

Great thread idea, Surf!

We aren''t a year out from the wedding, but we''re finished with both of our registries so I figure we qualify.

We registered at two places: Crate & Barrel, and Bloomingdale''s.

Crate & Barrel
We registered here because I love Crate & Barrel, and I often shop there. We registered for some larger kitchen items there (mixer, toaster, coffee maker, etc.), every day dish accents (chargers, appetizer dishes), and a bunch of specialty items (cheese dome, tea set, decanter, yadda yadda yadda). We also had our eye on some furniture, and we knew we''d get 10% off things after the wedding, so that was a bonus.
We attended one of their registry events where they close down the store to shoppers, set out appetizers and drinks, and give couples scanners to walk around and scan whatever they''d like on their registry. This was very nice because the store was nearly empty, so it was very easy to walk around and find the items we wanted.
Crate & Barrel doesn''t have a lot of variety for each item, so if you want to be able to choose from 17 different spatulas, you won''t have that opportunity. However, the items they do stock are great and they have fabulous taste, so you can''t really go wrong.
We ended up returning a few items that we realized we didn''t really need, and they were very easy to work with. We didn''t have the receipt for several things and it wasn''t a problem. They offered us cash back, a gift card, or a credit for other items we recently purchased (we had the receipt for the items we purchased ourselves.)
After our wedding we received a coupon for 10% off of anything we purchase on one trip to the store and one trip shopping online.
In all, we had a fabulous experience with Crate & Barrel, I''d highly recommend them.

Bloomingdale''s
We registered at Bloomingdale''s because Crate & Barrel didn''t have the bed or bath linens we wanted, and Bloomie''s is a national chain so our OOT guests would be able to shop there. And I love Bloomingdale''s and generally despise Macy''s, so that was a factor, too. (I''m a Chicagoan, Macy''s took out Field''s, I''m still hurt, okay? And they''re rude and their return policy is horrible.)
Anyway . . . we registered for our bed and bath linens, fine china, cookware, and other miscellaneous items at Bloomie''s. The gifts were beautifully wrapped, and returns were very easy to make. They offered cash back or a gift card, with or without the gift receipt.
The Bloomingdale''s registry website is really nice because it has a "Thank You Card Manager" section that lists the gifts that have been purchased, and who purchased them. This was especially useful when we received a gift in the mail without a gift card. (C & B did not have this feature on their website, but they did look up a purchase order for us in the store when we received a gift without a card from them, too.)
Bloomie''s has beautiful things, a great selection of china, crystal, and silver, and they were lovely to work with. I''d recommend them, as well.
(We didn''t get the starter package that Surfgirl wrote about, though, and we registered in-store. Phooey!)

We had a really nice registry experience, and now I''m having a blast using all of our wonderful new gifts.

 

[winston26]

We also registered at Bed Bath and Beyond. So far so good......depends if I ever get my missing flatware! Had a shipment that had flatware on the shipping receipt but it wasn''t in the box. Makes me nervous because I have nothing to really prove it! They said they have to "investigate". Finally got someone to say they''ll send out a new one but found out they are still "investigating" and haven''t it shipped it yet???? They''ve been wonderful about everything else. Had 2 place settings shipped to my house......both broken, but exchanged them with no problem.