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As you throw yourself into wedding planning, your main focus will probably be finding all your vendors & inspiration for the day of your wedding. However, keep in mind that a wedding is the start of your new married life together so it’s important to think about what items you may need and want for that life & home- we’re talking about creating your wedding registry! 

Even if you don’t think you need anything — maybe you’re already living together or you just don’t have a desire for the traditional wedding registry items — when else do you have a socially acceptable opportunity to ask your family & friends to shower you with gifts?

Now, this doesn’t mean we’re telling you to get greedy and register for everything under the sun just because you feel like it. But, we do recommend creating a thoughtful registry that is reflective of your life together so that your guests have direction when purchasing gifts for your wedding celebration or wedding shower.

Otherwise, you may end up with 5 blenders, wine glasses even though you don’t like wine, a piece of art that doesn’t fit the style of your home or other specialty items that aren’t returnable and then you don’t know what to do with them.

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Here are ten tips to get you started on creating your ideal wedding registry!

1. CHOOSE WHERE TO REGISTER

Select 2-3 places to register. Someplace higher-end (like Macy’s, West Elm, or Crate & Barrel) and another place that is more approachable (like Target or Bed Bath & Beyond). Or do something really non-traditional like these following ideas:

These look like traditional registries, but you can also register for experiences & cash funds, not just stuff!

Zola Registry | My Registry | Blueprint Registry

These allow you to raise money for a honeymoon or trip!

Traveler’s Joy | HoneyFund

This one focuses on monetary gifts for a house down payment. Feather The Nest

Register for Food & Drink items (or add these links to one of the all-inclusive registries above) like a wine of the month club or a yearly subscription of meals!

Charitable Registries- Guests can make direct donations to a charity of your choice through The Good Beginning or you can set up your own crowdsourcing through a platform like GoFundMe.

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2. MORE OPTIONS = HAPPY GUESTS

Sign up for more than you think you should. Guests are more likely to become frustrated if they can’t find an item on your wedding registry that fits their taste or price point. Really you should be selecting what you know you will use, love, and have room for.

3. ADD MULTIPLE PRICE POINTS

Ideally, you should have an equal number of mid range and lower-cost items, and then a smaller grouping of big-ticket ones. Take particular care when choosing the inexpensive pieces. Pick items that reflect your personality so friends on a budget feel as if they’re giving something you’ll care about.

4. ARE YOU GOING TO USE THIS?

Don’t feel like you have to go off a traditional wedding registry list. If you hate to grill at home, don’t feel like you have to register for the big grill and tool set. Also it may be a good idea to get a set of silverware, china, glassware etc.. for ten+ people rather than sets for just four or six if you like to entertain.

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Photo by Marissa Kelly Photography

5. CONSIDER TIME OF YEAR

Don’t register for seasonal items that will not be available for people to purchase in a few months. And don’t forget to register for things to organize your new things– like storage for the sterling silver or fine china.

6. BUILD WEDDING REGISTRY AS A TEAM

Make sure to create your wedding registry together! Get things you both will enjoy and discuss beforehand what your style is and level of formality in the home. If there is a lot of conflict, divide and conquer categories. Oh, and take your time! Do not rush or you may regret the choices or miss things.

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7. MADE YOUR LIST? CHECK IT TWICE.

Once you’ve finished creating your list, ask for a printout from the store (or go through your online registry) reading it over carefully to make sure there are no mistakes– like accidentally registering for 11 stand mixers instead of 1.

Ask the store if it will ship to any address you designate. That spares guests the hassle of having to go to a store to pick up your gift and then to the post office to send it out to you.

8. ADD REGISTRY DETAILS TO YOUR WEDDING WEBSITE

Let everyone know about the registry on the wedding website or by word of mouth. It is not proper etiquette to include registry information with your wedding invitations. Although, your registry info can be listed on your bridal shower invites since the invitation does not typically come from you, but rather from the person hosting the shower.

9. KEEP TRACK OF GIFTS

There’s nothing like coming down from the excitement of your wedding or shower and then having the daunting task of writing thank you cards but not knowing what gifts came from whom.

Keep track of your gifts as you receive them and send thank you notes immediately after the event where you received them. It is proper etiquette to send notes after each event- don’t just lump all your gratitude into one note after the wedding.

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10. HAVE FUN & START EARLY!

Creating a wedding registry should be a fun wedding task for you to accomplish together since these are the items or experiences that you’ll be enjoying for years to come! Start with one category at a time and start early so that building it doesn’t seem like a big chore that you have to get done quickly before your shower invitations go out.

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