What To Register For...

[ljsmith001]

For those of you who have already gotten married or have already registered.. can you fill me in on the most important things to register for!? Or the things that people actually buy. My FI has to go out of town and we will be registering at Bed Bath and Beyond today in a hurry. Other than kitchen items, sheets, etc.. anything that I should make sure to register for?

Thanks girls!

 

[JerseyGrl81]

I haven''t registered yet, so I can''t tell you what I registered for. But why don''t you go on BBB website and check out what other people have registered for, that may give you some ideas!

 

[aprilcait]

Obviously nice towels are fabulous, but those were probably included in your "etc.". We registered for a salad bowl serving set, some pieces of furniture (i.e.: a wine tower like this: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=913&f=28601) that we knew we needed. A duvet cover for our bed and a bedding set for our guest bed were great registry items. Oh, and our FAVORITE item was the espresso maker.

You can reigster online at BB&B (that''s what we did), so don''t feel like you have to register for everything today. We did the online registry with BB&B, William Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Amazon... never did the in-store registry. We just went to BB&B to actualy check out the look and feel of the sheets, towels, and duvets.

 

[cara]

Things you actually want, have room to store, and will actually use!!!

Registering is a bit overwhelming so I recommend being free with the zapper gun in store and then editing online afterwards. Also, I registered (as in signed up, not made a registry) online at cooksillustrated (free for two weeks, then a fee) and downloaded all their reviews of bigger appliance things to get brand recommendations. Amazon reviews can also be useful.

The key things we did were to register for single pieces of nice upgraded cookware and nice knives and a few appliances (kitchenaid mixer, food processor, coffeemaker, handblender, etc.) Make sure you go somewhere where you can put the knives in your hand to see if you like how they feel. Also, we registered for an absurd amount of glassware (and ended up buying a new hutch to store it in) and nice casual dishware and medium fancy silverware. We passed on having fancy china, silver, or much true "crystal" but others might make a different choice. Also towels for us, but others do sheets as well, furniture, vaccuums, camping gear, honeymoon stuff, the list is endless!

People love buying appliance gadget things (microwave, blender, coffee maker, ice cream maker, etc.) so make sure you carefully select those items. My friend that went a bit crazy on the registering is now appalled as she has no idea where to put half the things and no idea when they will be used.

If you will have a shower or engagement party, make sure to have lots of smaller ticket items, but otherwise most people bought wedding gifts in the $50-150 range. Good luck! (And if you register for china, make sure you like it!!)

 

[Stephanie]

Since we have lived together for almost six years (goodness!), we just registered for stuff that we needed to upgrade. Better towels, linens, and nicer appliances (like a stand mixer) that we would never buy ourselves. If we don''t get it, so be it - it will go on holiday lists later.

 

[surfgirl]

BBB and any other place with decent registries should have a welcome packet that gives you a run down of what "should" be included in a well stocked home. That doesn''t mean you have to register for all of it but those lists will give you an idea of different options - just ask at BBB, I''m sure they have them.

You might also want to select a few really special items that you wouldn''t normally buy yourself, like nice crystal vases, some silver candlesticks - things that will last a lifetime and remind you of your wedding.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

They will give you list and I did most my registries (baby and wedding) online. No need to be in a rush.

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

hmmmm we are totally running into the same issues. We really don''t want a registry... We have been living together for over 2 years and there is nothing we "need." We much rather get money but there is no way to ask for it so now we have decided to make a small registry. I think we are going to ask for 1 inexpensive china set, maybe some high end towels and bedsheets, and a kitchenaid blender. I just want to give our guest a gift buying option incase they are uncomfortable giving cash....

Has anyone who has gotten married tell me how many people gave cash vs. giving gifts?

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/31/2008 3:10:48 PM
Author: ilovethiswebsite

Has anyone who has gotten married tell me how many people gave cash vs. giving gifts?

I only know this because I kept a record of gifts and when I sent out the thank you letters, so:
- 39 couples gave us cash
- 86 couples gave us gifts
So, the majority of our guests sent gifts before the wedding. However, we live in Chicago--I know there are regional and cultural customs that dictate the type of gifts people give.

ljsmith--Cara gave you wonderful advice, listen to her!
We registered for nice silverware for everyday use, small kitchen appliances that we knew we definitely wanted (a mixer, toaster oven, blender, coffee maker, etc.), gorgeous all-clad cookware, bath linens, nice serving dishes, bakeware, a variety of small kitchen items, some fun specialty items (cheese dome, cheese knives, that sort of thing), and fine china.

That sounds like a lot of things, however our registries were pretty small compared to most I''ve seen. We only registered for things we knew we would want, and we STILL found ourselves returning gifts. I''d also make sure you have space for everything in your kitchen, all of these "small" appliances take up cabinet and counter space very quickly.

Have fun registering, I know we did. We attended a Crate & Barrel registry event, and that was a great way to get the job done.

 

[little miss sunshine]

We added typical stuff - china/silver/new bathroom stuff/bedroom stuff/some lamps/etc.. As an after thought I added digital picture frames and put two on my registry because they were different sizes/prices and we got both!! They have been SO much fun, even though we have yet to put any wedding pictures in them. They were literally bought within a week after we added them...

No one wanted to buy our sheets/pillow shams - but we got the comforter. . . The bathroom stuff was all left on the registry as well, but I got a lot of gift cards where we were registered so we just bought them with those...

I also got probably 90% of my registry gifts at my shower, most of our wedding guests gave checks/cash which was perfectly okay with us!!

Good luck --- definitely look at what stores recommend... I felt a lot better because macy*s recommended x number of items and I had less than what the recommended - even though I felt so incredibly weird and a little greedy doing the whole registry thing... I also got almost everything which was so exciting and surprising!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/31/2008 3:10:48 PM
Author: ilovethiswebsite

Has anyone who has gotten married tell me how many people gave cash vs. giving gifts?

This is TOTALLY regional/cultural and also depends a lot on who you''ve invited (close family only? Or extended friends?). So only you know your guests...

We had a small wedding but received like 6 gifts (and 2 of those were from people who couldn''t attend). Everyone else gave us cash. On the other hand one of my good friends got married and had the exact opposite experience. She had like 10 people who gave them cash out of about 150...so it depends...

 

[Pandora II]

In the UK, the registry is the main gift-list as we don''t have showers.

We registered for:

- Bed Linen - sets for us and for a spare room
- Bath Towels - Ditto

I was a little annoyed that we had registered for organic fairtrade towels and a bedlinen set. They were then discontinued and we have to choose again in a months time. Grrrrr

- Wine glasses - red, white and champagne
- Hi ball glasses and tumblers
- White bone-china dinner service
- Flatware

- Kitchen stuff - utensils, timers, baking trays etc
- Siemens Porsche toaster and kettle
- Kenwood Chef Mixer (we registered for the top-of-the-range titanium one, never believing we''d get it as it was over $800 and the only item over $200 on our list. DH''s brother and SIL bought it for us - I still can''t believe their generosity).

The only thing we weren''t given at all were saucepans!

Most of our friends also registered for china, bed linen, towels, kitchen stuff and appliances.


Some of my favourite gifts were non-registry and brought on the day. A distant cousin gave us a beautiful print of a benevolent dragon that she had bought when she was visiting the Miao tribe in SW China last year. She included a print-out with all the information on the Miao and photos of the artist and the village it came from.

Another friend of my parents who works in Laos gave us a package of antique textiles from the Laotian royal family. They are exquisite and very rare. I''m going to talk to a textile conservationist and possibly put them behind glass as a picture.

 

[zoebartlett]

We''ve lived together for a while now, and we had a lot of things already. We registered for mainly upgradeable things -- glasses, towels, flat ware, wine glasses, sheets, pots and pans, luggage, etc. We also registered for a few home decor pieces, but not furniture. We didn''t get some things that we really wanted (like the pots and pans), but we did get a few C&B gift cards. We''re going to use the gift cards to help pay for the pots and pans so we can have a nicer set than what we have now.

I kept track of who gave us what, and it seems as if it''s about even -- gifts and cash/checks.

 

[ljsmith001]

Thanks everyone for all the advice! I ended up registering at Bed, Bath and Beyond and also @ Dillards. I mainly registered for Kate Spade china, new flatware, Caphalon cookware, bakeware, and kitchen gadgets. *new stainless microwave, blender, toaster, coffee maker* granted, we already have all these things, but the semi-annoying helper at BB&B said, "this is the time to get rid of all your old things, give them away, throw them away, and start fresh! I registered for 12 new towels, shower curtain, new bathroom decorations, sheets (that i really, really, want) and a comforter. I might end up switching my tableware.. any opinions on it??

 

[Gypsy]

I like it. It''s for everyday right? I think Black and white is great.

I didn''t see knives on your list. If you don''t already have a nice set of knives, I would suggest getting adding on to your list. And a couple of nice decorative things that last a lifetime like a nice vase and a pair of nice candlesticks. I wanted a few items I could keep and pass down (if they survive my cat)... I just wanted to be able to say "I got this at my wedding from so and so fifty years ago, its yours now."

 

[violet02]

Date: 8/2/2008 2:41:51 PM
Author: Gypsy
I like it. It''s for everyday right? I think Black and white is great.

I didn''t see knives on your list. If you don''t already have a nice set of knives, I would suggest getting adding on to your list. And a couple of nice decorative things that last a lifetime like a nice vase and a pair of nice candlesticks. I wanted a few items I could keep and pass down (if they survive my cat)... I just wanted to be able to say ''I got this at my wedding from so and so fifty years ago, its yours now.''

I love this Gypsy!! I have my champagne saucers on my registry (lol, i know saucers suck but i like ''em! ) so far. Maybe I can pass those down?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 8/2/2008 2:36:35 PM
Author: ljsmith001
Thanks everyone for all the advice! I ended up registering at Bed, Bath and Beyond and also @ Dillards. I mainly registered for Kate Spade china, new flatware, Caphalon cookware, bakeware, and kitchen gadgets. *new stainless microwave, blender, toaster, coffee maker* granted, we already have all these things, but the semi-annoying helper at BB&B said, ''this is the time to get rid of all your old things, give them away, throw them away, and start fresh! I registered for 12 new towels, shower curtain, new bathroom decorations, sheets (that i really, really, want) and a comforter. I might end up switching my tableware.. any opinions on it??

I like it, although it''s a little busy for me. What do I know though -- I just went for basic white.

It is very nice though, and I can see why you''d like it.