Anyways, one of the "To-Do's" we are going to attempt to tackle is registering!
So, I'm trying to plan ahead (which works well for me since I'm a plan ahead spaz). I have been looking online for various "Wedding Registry Checklists." I know the stores provide these for you but I figure it'd be smart to have a list before we go. I have found a ton of them but I personally found Bed, Bath & Beyond's list to be the most comprehensive. It's a little excessive and repetitive, but I'd rather have more on the list than have something not included. I figure this list is a great starting point....J and I can look at it and figure out what from this list we really need and what we really want.
I've included the Bed, Bath & Beyond list for your reading pleasure!
One place setting equals one person. Get enough for each of your friends, family and
guests for your biggest dinner party or holiday dinner. That's at least 12 place settings.
guests for your biggest dinner party or holiday dinner. That's at least 12 place settings.
12 each:
__5-Piece Place Settings
__Accent Plates
__Soup/Cereal/Pasta Bowls
plus:
__Medium/Large Platters
__Covered Casseroles
__Gravy Boat and Stand
__Salt and Pepper Shakers
__Sugar Bowl and Creamer
__Teapot/Coffeepot
__Storage Protector Sets
12 each:
__5-Piece Place Settings
plus:
__Serving Set
__Hostess Set
__Entertainment Set
__Storage Chest
plus:
12 each:
__Goblets
__Iced Beverage Glasses
__Red Wine Glasses
__White Wine Glasses
Do the math. Boxed sets contain 4 place settings. Two people eat two meals and, presto,
you're out of clean dishes. Add two or three sets to your list and wash dishes less often.
you're out of clean dishes. Add two or three sets to your list and wash dishes less often.
plus:
for many patterns. Ask your
consultant or check online.
two to three boxed sets or 8-12 each:
__Juice Glasses
__Double Old-Fashioned Glasses
__High Balls
__Goblets
__Red Wine Glasses
__White Wine Glasses
__Pilsner Glasses
__Ice Bucket and Tongs
A well-equipped kitchen usually starts with a 10 to 14-piece cookware set.
Then add all the specialized items for the way you like to eat, cook and bake.
Then add all the specialized items for the way you like to eat, cook and bake.
plus:
plus:
plus:
__Cookie Sheets
__Muffin Pan
__Jelly Roll Pan
__Loaf Pan
__Baking Pan
__Cooling Rack
Why three sets of bed linens? One set on your bed. One set in the laundry.
And one in the linen closet. The same arithmetic applies to guest and children's rooms too.
And one in the linen closet. The same arithmetic applies to guest and children's rooms too.
3 each:
__Flat Sheets
__Fitted Sheets
__Pillowcases (Pairs)
plus:
__Comforters (Down & Other)
__Duvet Covers
__Pillows
__Pillow Shams
__Bedskirts
__Blankets (Summer & Winter)
__Mattress Pads
plus:
3 each:
__Flat Sheets
__Fitted Sheets
__Pillowcases (Pairs)
plus:
__Comforters (Down & Other)
__Duvet Covers
__Pillows
__Pillow Shams
__Bedskirts
__Blankets (Summer & Winter)
__Mattress Pads
plus:
You'll need three towels for each of you. There's the one you used this morning. One on the shelf.
And, one in the laundry. That's six towels. Four for your guest room should handle the job.
And, one in the laundry. That's six towels. Four for your guest room should handle the job.
There are scores of cleaning, convenience and décor items to register for, too.
Sure, they're not as glamorous as your fine china, but there're things every household needs.
Sure, they're not as glamorous as your fine china, but there're things every household needs.
Also, what about China? J and I have been disagreeing on this. I think we should register for China because someday we are going to want it (well, I am going to want it) so this is a perfect time to get some nice dishes we will have for a lifetime. But, J thinks that because we won't have a need for China for several years that we should use our registry for items we want and need now, but he also thinks China is unnecessary in general. I agree with him to some extent, I would just hate to pass up the opportunity for China only to regret it down the road. Did you register for China? Are you glad you did? Are you going to use it? Is it a waste of registry space?
What was your registering experience like? What do you regret or what would you do different? Any tips or ideas or words of wisdom?
Help me out here guys! I want to enjoy this!
15 comments:
We haven't registered yet since we still have a bunch of time, but I've heard fantastic things about registryshop.com - you can compile all of your registries on the site, and it makes the whole process MUCH easier. Maybe it'll help!
As for the china thing - there's a new "trend" (that I actually love) of getting dishes that are mix of everyday and sorta-fancy China.. I believe Lenox actually makes a few sets.. but anyway, if we do anything, it will be that. My mom and grandmother both have massive china sets, so if we ever need anything in the (wayy) future, we'll most likely end up using/getting that!
The BB&B list is great! I recommend registering for everything you want even if it's not on the list and no matter the cost. We are snobs when it comes to cookware and registered for All Clad pots and pans...we received every piece. You think people will not spend the money on you and your fiance, however, most people will plunk out money for a nice piece off your registry. Pyrex dishes are a must and of course, I tell every bride and groom to register for a Kitchen Aide standing mixer...best gift ever. As for China, we registered for China and we ended up taking it back!!! My mother and his mother have at least 7 sets of China to hand down to us and we thought that was more special and more sentimental than something from Dillards, etc. Best of luck! Just remember, it's all about y'all...no one else, so shop away. :)
First of all, I LOVED registering. I had a hard time starting because I focused on 'needs' but then I realized that if I chose need and wants, I would give people a wide variety of choices and price ranges!
China is expensive, but older people love giving it because that was traditional when they were young (as told to me by grandparents/great aunts). We personally didn't register for china because my mom has 3 sets ready for us that have been passed down if we would like to use it. I say go for it if you think you'll want it later!
Have a great time this weekend! I'm sure you'll have fun with it...don't feel like you have to get it all done in one day. You can change your mind and most places let you edit your list online!
We registered and Crate and Barrel, Williams Sanoma, Macys and Target. We had REALLY good experiences will each of these places. I especially like Macy’s because they send you 20% off postcards and e-mails after the wedding, which help go towards completing your registry—for those items that weren’t purchased. The other stores gave us 10% off.
I suggest registering for nice china. You may not need it now, but you will later down the road. I doubt that you’ll want to pay for expensive china once you’re married and have children. For me personally, it’s something I wanted, but didn’t want to pay for—thus, it was a perfect idea to put it on the registry. In the end, we ended up getting 10 of the 12 sets of nice china as well as the other fine china accessories--mainly from my parents friends and older aunts and uncles. We're so happy we put it on the registry!
Wowwwiieee. What a loooonng list! Our wedding is in October.. So I have a little bit of time before I have to register but wow. That is a lot. Guess I need to start on this project now!
xo
Samantha
My advice:
-Go for the china - you will have it forever and will love it. But make sure it is dishwasher safe and a good pricepoint so you actually get it.
-skip crystal. It breaks easily and frankly, nobody can tell weather they are drinking out of glass or crystal
- Research pots/pans and make sure you find something that you will love for a long time. There are pros/cons to all different kinds and you have to find the kind that works for your lifestyle
- Get LOTS of your casual dishes and glassware. It is sooo nice to have many, many sets when things are in the dishwasher - or they break etc... find a good price point and register for more than you think you really need. You can always keep them in the boxes and open them up as you need them. (We just opened most of our gifts and we've been married for 2 years!)
Have fun!!!
I thought I would love registering, but I hated it. It's really overwhelming and after an hour I would find a seat to plop onto and let the Fiance do the rest. He loved it. Everyone laughs and can't believe it when I tell them this!
Anyways, now that the majority of stuff is done I find it much easier to add items and evaluate our registries online. Macy's has a GREAT program for registries and their staff have been the most helpful I found. You should register for 3x the amount of guests you have so that there's plenty to choose from.
You should check the stores return policies as well, Target is horrible. Macys & BBB are great and often give you a discount on any remaining items from your registry that you didn't receive as a gift.
As for China, Matt and I at first didn't register for any but I have since found a gorgeous setting that I love and it comes in a box set of 40 pieces as well so we registered for that and then we can buy the single settings as needed in the future. when we weren't registering for it, EVERYONE both old/young told us to do it bc you'll never buy it on your own in the future.
Back in the day, even for the somewhat wealthy, registering was only for the elite and China was what to register for, (nowadays everything is made in China, Ha! Ha!) Then when you receive it as a gift you're like WOW, put it away for safe keeping. Then you move or split up and it breaks, .... so being more practical actually pays off.
Aww registering is SO much fun!! And the fact that you can edit it all from your computer makes it THAT much better!!
Just FYI-Bed Bath & Beyond, by far, has THEE best return policy for gifts on your registry. Anything that we've gotten and needed to take back that was purchased from our registry, they've given us cash back. CASH! To use however you'd like! It's pretty cool because there are some other decorative things at Hobby Lobby that we've wanted that we've been able to get since they don't have too much decorative stuff at BB&B.
My suggestion, if you know that people WILL buy your China or YOU will buy whatever people don't with cash, etc. afterwards.
We registered for 10 place settings I believe, and got 1! 1 flippin' china place setting. AND there is no way we could afford the other 9 at the time. Still couldn't actually. And ours wasn't that expensive. So here we sit with 1 china place setting.
We also had an issue with people NOT buying stuff on our registry. We probably got 5 colors of towels we didn't register for.
The best advice I have is to only put things on your registry that you REALLY want. People will buy it if you put it on there! We've had a few issues with people buying something from our Macy's registries at other stores and not including the gift receipts. We couldn't return these items (it's only two things). Don't put things on there that you don't want!
Hey, i do a post on china I would get it too
http://itzalovestory.blogspot.com/2011/01/dinnerware.html
We already own a house and have a lot of stuff that we need, so registering was tricky because most of the stuff on our list was high dollar items. We did a honeymoon registry at www.honeyfund.com to help us pay for our honeymoon since that is what we really want. As far as the china situation goes, we decided against it. I was all for it at first because it's just what you do, but when we really discussed it, JB convinced me that it was completely unnecessary for us.
We only registered for the honeyfund and at BB&B. If I can offer any advice, it's BRING SNACKS! Even though we weren't registering for much, we were still there for quite a while. Eat a good meal before you go and bring some snacks to keep you satiated while you are there. I am serious. :)
Have fun and good luck!
We didn't register for china because my great-grandma had passed hers down to me, so we really lucked out there! I probably wouldn't have registered for it though, because there was just so much other stuff I would have rather got. We've only used it once and have had it for two years! But I think it really depends on your lifestyle. If you plan on hosting fancy holiday dinners and things like that you'll probably want china. But that goes for a lot of registry "must-haves".
I didn't really follow any list, because we already had so much from living together. I used it as a great opportunity to upgrade from my old college stuff and it worked out really great.
I did the bulk of the registering online, because we don't live near the stores I registered at. I really liked doing it that way, because I could add or subtract easily, and read product reviews. Plus it would have been my husband's nightmare to spend a day registering for wedding stuff!!
I believe Steph referenced us a hopefully help site, but our address is: http://www.registrystop.com
Give us a look, hopefully we can make the process a bit easier for managing it all once you get started. And we aim to save your guests some money in the process as well.
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