Wedding Where are you registering and how soon?

[zoebartlett]

Okay, I really should be doing report cards but this is so much more fun. Where are you planning on registering and how close to your wedding will you begin to register? My wedding is not until next July 12th so I know it''s too early for me.

 

[littlelysser]

We aren''t registering for anything...don''t need any more stuff...got a houseful!

But, friends that I know what have registered did it maybe three or four months before the wedding. Before the invites went out, but not much before.

They registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Macy''s, etc...Guess it really depends on what they needed...

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We registered at BB&B (LOVE THEM!) and C&B. I think I started it 9 months in advance or so. I would not do it too early since some stuff is seasonal. I did my entire C&B registry online (I found registering in person slightly stressful). What ever you do, do not register at Target. I did a baby registry there and their return policy is HORRIBLE plus all the stuff I like it online only.

 

[Fancy605]

We registered about 6 months out because once we looked at our scheduals, it seemed like it was the best time for both of us to take an entire day for shopping. It also gave us time to reevaluate what we registered for once we had time to sit back and think after the initial yay-we-get-to-register thrill died down a bit.

 

[neatfreak]

We registered at about 5 months out.

We did Crate and Barrel and Williams and Sonoma.

 

[E B]

We registered at 6 months out, at Pottery Barn and BB&B. So far, not a whole lot has had to be updated (maybe 4 or 5 things).

 

[AmberWaves]

We''ve registered at BB&B and C&B (I LOOOOOVE my place settings), and we did it a year out- my family made me. We got some of our registry for Christmas!!

 

[robbie3982]

We registered about 9 or 10 months out. People kept asking us if we''d registered yet, so we figured we should just go ahead and do it. We ended up getting some gifts off of the registry as engagement presents. We registered at BB&B and Target. I haven''t had any problems with returns to Target, but so far, I''m not happy with the way the ship delicate items. They don''t pack them well at all. I had no problem returning the broken item that I received though.

 

[onedrop]

Honestly I feel we have done everything hiney-backwards in our relationship.

We started planning the wedding before the engagement, and we had our wedding first...then (months later) the reception. In any case, we just registered for our August 16th post-wedding reception. Registered at C&B, Target and Macy''s and did all the registering on-line. Only down side is that the casual china I love at Macy''s is not available for registering on-line. Other than that the whole process was painless.

 

[So_happy]

Date: 6/19/2007 7:40:53 PM
Author: Fancy605
We registered about 6 months out because once we looked at our scheduals, it seemed like it was the best time for both of us to take an entire day for shopping. It also gave us time to reevaluate what we registered for once we had time to sit back and think after the initial yay-we-get-to-register thrill died down a bit.

This is what FI and I did. We were pretty excited about doing it so we figured why not? Honestly, I did TONS of refinements and I feel like the registry our guests may be seeing now is MUCH more thought out and "right". Most of your guests won''t even think to look for a registry anyway until they get a shower or wedding invite so you''re safe, IMO, doing it whenever you want.

Definitely keep in mind that C&B will discontinue things ALL the time. It''s rather disappointing but I keep tabs on it and update with new stuff if I feel I need to. But it is something to keep in mind. BB&B has discontinued/backordred only a very few things.

 

[basil]

Dunno when we''ll do it. Probably next spring or summer sometime. I''ve been sporadically looking at china patterns though.

Definitely BB&B. That''s where my cousin registered for her wedding and had no complaints. I like that you can almost always get a 20% off coupon, and I hear returns are pretty easy. If you go to the store, you can use the 20% off coupon on special order items, then have them shipped to your house for a shipping fee. I recently did this to buy a kitchen knife for my bro, and it came out to be cheaper than the prices I found online. Unfortunately, you can''t use the 20% off coupon on most of the "high end brands" - Lenox, Wedgewood, Wustof, Dyson, All-Clad, etc. Dunno how much of that we''ll actually register for, though.

I want to register for china at BB&B and probably a dept store for guests convenience. Macy''s is the biggest chain (as far as I can tell) but I''ve had bad experiences buying things off their registry for others. There''s an extra fee for special order or out-of-stock items in addition to shipping, and they don''t have much in stock ever.

I like the stuff at C&B, but I don''t know how much of that we''ll need. Maybe just a small registry for some glassware or something.

Is it tacky to register at a store that isn''t even located near you? We don''t have Dillard''s here, but there are a bunch of my guests who like that store...would it come across as gift grubbing or as convenient to register there? I kind of go back and forth.

I really just want china and some nice pans, just trying to figure out which places are the least hassle for people and have the best prices.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

basil, actually you CAN use those 20% offs on the higher end items (even though it says you can''t). I have used one on ALL-CLAD, my Vera Wang china AND a dyson. I have never been refused. I also like how you use your registry instead of a reciept.

Robbie, I registered at Target for one of our baby registry and when I went to return some stuff they said I could only exchange up to $40, twice a year (they took down my DL info) AND have to buy stuff in the same section (baby/toddler). I find this VERY poor customer service. The stuff was clearly new (plastic, tags, everything in tact). Hopefully you will have better luck. Just thought I would throw out the warning.

 

[labbielove]

we are getting married in THREE months and just are registering now.
we don't need any more 'stuff' but we're putting some house things on (a grill, new towels,etc.)

we are almost done at BB&B (love it!) and will do Sears and Penneys as well

i'm having one shower with 20 people, and no fine china so we really don't expect too much in terms of gifts off of our registry.

 

[Krissie]

I figure we''ll register next February or March (for October wedding). Right now we definitely want BB+B; unsure where else we should register. Mom thinks we should register at Macy''s because it''s convenient for a lot of people - but the china and crystal I like are both available at BB+B! I''m wondering if there''s really anything Macy''s has that BB+B doesn''t have.

The china I love seems to have only limited availability in the US. It''s Wedgwood Opal and they''ve got it at the major department stores here in London; they''ve got some of the pattern at BB+B but not all of the items we would want. I don''t see it online at Macy''s at all. Frustrating!

 

[sumbride]

We registered really early, about a year out, because people kept asking us to, but then we didn''t get anything until Christmas, a few months later. I''ve been vigilant about making sure things are still in stock and quite a bit of stuff was discontinued in the last 6 months. But it also gave me a chance to really look at what I wanted and I''ve changed a lot of stuff in that time.

We''re registered at BB&B, C&B and Dillards. All 3 stores have been GREAT. We had a Macy''s registry but I found them to be really irritating and their prices were such a joke that I closed that registry.

C&B can sometimes have a LONG backorder for online purchases though... My cast iron skillet and lid were purchased but I won''t get them till late August, according to the website, and I have no idea who bought them! It''s like a big mystery now.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 6/20/2007 12:20:00 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
basil, actually you CAN use those 20% offs on the higher end items (even though it says you can''t). I have used one on ALL-CLAD, my Vera Wang china AND a dyson. I have never been refused. I also like how you use your registry instead of a reciept.

Robbie, I registered at Target for one of our baby registry and when I went to return some stuff they said I could only exchange up to $40, twice a year (they took down my DL info) AND have to buy stuff in the same section (baby/toddler). I find this VERY poor customer service. The stuff was clearly new (plastic, tags, everything in tact). Hopefully you will have better luck. Just thought I would throw out the warning.

Tacori, did you have a receipt or a printout of your registry? I had the gift receipt that came with the thing I returned, but online it says you can use a printed out copy of your registry as the receipt too.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''ve worked for Target in the past and I personally know the frustration some of you have experienced with the return policy. I understand why they do it but I personally feel it''s way too restictive. I think it would be helpful to know which stores have the easiest return policies...anyone?

 

[akw94]

Our wedding is in Sept. and I''m almost finished registering.
We''re registering at some off the wall places though that are only online:
www.smallislandtrader.com (has our china for much cheaper than Macy''s)
www.replacements.com (other china/silver site that has the china set that we already own and want to get more of, can''t find it elsewhere)
www.honeyfund.com (honeymoon registry)
Macy''s (but right now it only has one bowl on it.. weird but I really like that bowl and can''t find it elsewhere)
BBB (still have to finish that one but started it online)
Target (only a few items on there so may delete that one and register for similar stuff at BBB)

I think that''s enough for us!

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 6/20/2007 12:05:22 AM
Author: basil

Is it tacky to register at a store that isn''t even located near you? We don''t have Dillard''s here, but there are a bunch of my guests who like that store...would it come across as gift grubbing or as convenient to register there? I kind of go back and forth.

I don''t think it is tacky. I actually tried to register at places that are local for my guests. Of the 4 places we registered, one is where we live (his home town), 3 are in my home town, and 3 are in the big city nearest us where lots of guests live. We tried to find place that were accessable for our guests (because I know how frustrating it is to try to buy a wedding gift when none of the stores are anywhere near by!)

 

[blushingbride]

We registered 2 months after getting engaged because we had an engagement party and were hoping that anyone who opted to buy us gifts would buy us something we actually needed. We registered at Michael C. Fina, Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma.

Michael C. Fina has this thing where if $5,000 is bought off your registry, you win a free trip to the Caribbean for your first anniversary!! My sister is actually leaving on Sat. with her hubby to the Cayman Islands which was the trip they won (they got married last April). The other cool thing is you have the option of having all your gifts held and then after you get married, you can see all the items people bought you and then switch them for other things you may need instead. For example - lets say I only need a couple more dishes to fullfill my china and someone bought me a nice vase that I registered for. Well, you can swap the vase for a dish from you china (I think they have to be around the same price, etc). Pretty cool!!!

 

[sumbride]

Date: 6/20/2007 12:05:22 AM
Author: basil

Is it tacky to register at a store that isn''t even located near you? We don''t have Dillard''s here, but there are a bunch of my guests who like that store...would it come across as gift grubbing or as convenient to register there? I kind of go back and forth.

If it is near your guests, do it! Registries are supposed to be convenient... it''s not tacky. Plus Dillards is a GREAT place to register. The packing is AMAZING, and all the china and crystal is shipped to you from the warehouse so you don''t have to worry about the guests having to deal with it. The prices are much lower than Macy''s regular prices as well. They about match Macy''s sale prices, but Macy''s... well, they just irritate me.

My wedding is in the south, where Dillards is king, but I live on the East Coast, and the closest one is about 3 hours away, but the bulk of our guest list does all their shopping at Dillards! There is no C&B within 3 hours of them, so they probably won''t even think to check there. And lucky for us AND our guests, since there is no Dillards in Maryland, anybody that has something shipped to us doesn''t have to pay sales tax. In Texas, that''s a significant savings.

The only catch with not having one near you is if you need to do returns, but they give you a long time to do that if it is something on your registry, and I belive you can also mail it in if you can''t get to a Dillard''s.

 

[surfgirl]

Even though we''re eloping, we''ve been told to register since people will want to give us gifts anyway. I was going to register at Bloomingdales but realized that our lifestyle doesn''t warrant fine china and we''ve no place to store it anyway! So we''ll register at Williams-Sonoma. I''m waiting until just after we marry because I have some relatives getting married soon and I''d hate for anyone to stumble upon our registry when nobody knows we''re getting married. So I''ll do it right afterwards, but before I mail our Wedding Announcements.

FYI ladies, I''ve posted a query on the Diamond Talk section, asking already-married PSers that have had honeymoon registries, whether or not they were a successful registry or if not many people used the h/moon registry. I know we talk alot over here about whether or not others will find hmoon registries tacky, but we never really talk about whether they work or not! So check that section to see what people who''ve used them say..

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 6/20/2007 10:11:38 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I''ve worked for Target in the past and I personally know the frustration some of you have experienced with the return policy. I understand why they do it but I personally feel it''s way too restictive. I think it would be helpful to know which stores have the easiest return policies...anyone?

I honestly DON''T understand. All the items I had where clearly not used, and in their packaging with tags. I would have been happy with a store credit (I wasn''t expecting cash) but she wouldn''t even give me that. Also it was all stuff they still had on the shelves since I returned it pretty early after my shower. I will never register there again.

That being said the returns at BB&B are VERY easy. No stress. No questions. If only they had a baby section

C&B are easy too but I had a gift reciept so I don''t know what it would have been like without it.

Something to know people get creative with your registries and OFTEN buy things that are not listed. So returns are bound to happen.