surfgirl
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 4,438
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.
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.