This time last week Spencer and I made the trek back to Georgia for the first (but certainly not last!) time this month. Let me tell you, though, 6+ hours of driving was worth it for the weekend’s festivities. (Easy for me, the nondriver, to say, right?)
Family friends of my future in-laws hosted a shower for us, and I was simply over the moon about the prospect of good food, great company, and gifts galore from our registry lists! As such, I spent the week beforehand checking, altering, updating, and staring longingly at our registries, and I have a few tips for those of you just starting to feel the registry brain creep in.
Stay organized.
Since we’re registered at a few different stores, I used an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what we registered for, how many we wanted, how much it costs, and what store it came from. I found a couple of graphs on Pinterest that helped me determine how many items I should buy in each price range based on the number of people we expected at the wedding, and I’ve stuck to them religiously. Some people won’t be able to afford that Keurig, so why not give them the option of buying you odds and ends for the bathroom or pillows for your bed?
Upgrade what you already own.
Yes, we already own a few knives and a lot of miscellaneous pots and pans. Does it make sense for us to register for the Calphalon sauté pan and deep skillet set? Of course! You want things that will last, and sometimes the stuff you bought to use in your college apartment just isn’t in it for the long haul.
Register for what you (and your husband-to-be) want.
I’ve come to realize that where registry items are concerned, everyone has an opinion. You have to ask for formal china. You must choose a silver pattern. No one wants to buy you an external hard drive. Try to tune out everyone else, and do what you two feel is right.
Register for what you’ll use.
If you will never in your life use a 6-quart stand mixer, then for goodness sake don’t register for one! Ultimately, your guests want to buy things that you and your husband-to-be will be able to use from now until the end of time, so let them. If that means you put a toolkit instead of a set of picture frames, then by all means do it!
Have fun with it!
Did my fiancé make fun of the adorable fox-shaped cookie jar that I put on our Target registry? Of course, he did. Do I care? Not at all! 🙂
Some guests will want to buy more traditional items, but others want to give you something with a little personality. Let them!
Perhaps the most important tip I’ve learned so far…
Guests will get you what they want to get you, so be appreciative!
Some of our shower guests completely disregarded our registry lists, and I’m glad they did! I got great platters, serving pieces, little accessories that I never would have thought to put on our registry. No matter what, you should always be grateful that your guests went to the trouble to pick out something that they thought you would appreciate and be able to use. That means smiling even when you a. don’t know what something is, b. have seventeen of this one item, or even c. would never ever if the world was ending use it. After all, that’s why God created the gift receipt!
Well, I hope at least a bit of this post will be helpful to all of the brides-to-be out there! I’m heading to my bachelorette weekend in t-minus 2 hours, so I’ll have tons to share in next week’s Something Blue post. Have a great weekend!
What are you hoping to receive off of your wedding registry? Is there anything you’ve been going back and forth about including?
P.S. You can keep track of your gifts in your guest list document or through a wedding website application!
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