Wedding registry help

[spup1122]

Doc and I are working on our wedding registries over the next few weeks. The first runthrough at target.com only netted around 40 items which will not work with the number of guests we're inviting/expecting. For the married SportsJournalists.com folk, what were some of your favorite wedding registry gifts? We're both young, so living a lot like fresh out of college kids. What are some things around the house that you just can't live without?

So far, I think our cutlery set is my favorite item on the list, and that's sad to me. I should be more excited about the prospect of fun gifts.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

"Okay, well, uh... candlesticks always make a nice gift, and uh, maybe you could find out where she's registered and maybe a place-setting or maybe a silverware pattern. Okay, let's get two! Go get 'em."

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I know this sounds stupid, but waffle iron and serving plate big enough for Thanksgiving are the gifts I still use and next year's my 25th anniversary.

 

[spup1122]

Thanks Michael. I think we're still in the mind-set that we have a lot of things we need to live with because we're living on our own. I don't think either of us have thought of actually throwing away old stuff if we get an updated version of the same thing, ie Microwaves.

The first time we went through the list, there were numerous times each of us said, "Well, we already have that. We don't need it." I've had to get that idea out of my head.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Lowe's has a gift registry at its web site and stores; it doesn't sound particularly romantic, but you may find that the Lowe's gifts end up being more useful than the Target gifts. Home Depot also has a registry, but a downside to the Home Depot registry is that the online registry isn't accessible at Home Depot stores.

 

[OTD]

If you're just starting out, you will always need glasses (drinking and wine) and linens (bath and bed). Avoid things like crepe-makers and ice-shavers and other crap you'll never use.

One of the best wedding presents we got was a gift certificate to a restaurant supply store, which also sold to the public. Lots of basic glasses and kitchen utensils that we needed.

We should have an on-line shower for you guys.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Go beyond Target.com... set up registries at Macys.com and BedBathandBeyond.com

Throw the everyday stuff you two will need on the list even if you already have it:
- sheets/linens for the bed
- comforter (if you live in a cold weather area)
- towels
- crock pot
- cookware (pots & pans)
- kitchen utensils (turners, slotted spoons, ladles, etc.)
- a nice set of dishes
- a china set
- flatware/silverware
- fondu pot

Make sure you have enough of a variety of items and stores for everyone's price range and convenience. Then be prepared to get gift cards from stores not on your registry that aren't near you and items that weren't on your registry to begin with.

 

[spup1122]

You all are SO helpful! We have some of the stuff you all are suggesting on the list, but definitely not a variety of the items. We've been pretty good on the price range. If any of you want to give me specific help, PM me and I'll send you to our current registry. I hadn't thought of bedbathandbeyond.com. We had planned Macy's, Target, and Crate and Barrel.

 

[slappy4428]

Yeah, Lowe's and Home Depot will prove very useful...

 

[spnited]

One word spup:

CASH!

I have never bought a wedding gift. I just write a check or put cash in a card.

 

[spup1122]

I anticipate getting a lot of cash. The wedding is around 12 hours from where we live, so I think a lot of people will give us cash, but I'm glad online registries can have stuff sent to our apartment, so we don't have to worry about how to get 100+ gifts back after the wedding, and still have a honeymoon.

 

[WildBillyCrazyCat]

Spup,

I finished the wedding less than two months ago, so I hope the following is helpful.

-- If you already have it, then maybe you really don't need it again.

My wife and I had some disagreements about this, but I was of the opinion that if we had something already and it worked as well as originally intended, we didn't need a new one just for the sake of having something shinier.

-- We wound up returning quite a few things that we registered for. When we originally did the list, it was fun to keep adding things to the list. But now, we realize that we're never going to use the bamboo vegetable steamer. Or the zester. My wife also registered for a lot of cute -- her word, not mine -- throw pillows from Pottery Barn. They went back, largely because the ones we already had are fine.

Keeping the list streamlined to things you actually need helps in one other area -- receiving my favorite gift, cash.

If your registry is fully purchased, then people will be left with little choice but to simply write a check. We did quite nicely in this area. Of course, you do run the risk of people then finding some random candlestick/serving dish/decorative piece and sending that.

-- Put items on that give people a price range, but only to an extent.

Not to sound greedy, but set the bar fairly high. If you've got a bunch of $20 gifts, then the people looking for your most inexpensive item will get those. If your most inexpensive item is $40, then people will be moved toward getting those. Also, don't be afraid to put something very expensive on your list.

We threw on a furniture piece from Crate and Barrel, never expecting it to be bought. Lo and behold... At the very least, you get a 10 percent discount at C&B off things from your registry for a year after your wedding. So if you have an expensive item that no one buys, you would get 10 percent off that if you chose to get it yourself later.

-- We registered at Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and REI. We got a lot of our camping stuff off that last registry, which was a lot of fun.

-- Stick with the basics, and you'll be fine. Cookware. Glassware. Sheets and linens. Dishes. We added a top-of-the-line blender and food processor to those, and we use them on a daily basis.

 

[hockeybeat]

One word spup:

CASH!

I have never bought a wedding gift. I just write a check or put cash in a card.

The man knows of what he speaks.

Cash is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[spup1122]

We have a pretty big variety of prices. Everything from $7.00 to $299, to be exact.

 

[DyePack]

If the Earth ever stops turning and I have to go through this type of thing, I hope to avoid much of the traditional stuff like this.

 

[EStreetJoe]

I just got married over the summer.
We registered at Macys and Bedbathandbeyond.
We didn't register for every fancy little thing that the stores suggest. We kept everything reasonable and got the vast majority of stuff on the registries.
Keep in mind what you'll actually use and don't register for stuff you won't use just so people will have it as an option to buy. For example, some registries suggest registering for a bread maker or a capaccino set. My wife and I don't drink coffee or capaccino and we don't want the hassle of making our own bread, so neither appeared on our registries.
This piece of advice from WildBilly will be most valuable when assembling your registry: "Stick with the basics, and you'll be fine. Cookware. Glassware. Sheets and linens. Dishes. We added a top-of-the-line blender and food processor to those, and we use them on a daily basis."
Contrary to WildBilly, don't be afraid to put those $20 items or items that cost less on the registry. We had a bunch of $5-$10 kitchen gadget items from BedBathandBeyond on our registry and someone bought all of them as a package gift. Most places charge a bunch of money for gift-wrapped shipping, so that $20 item can become $35-$40 once tax, postage & handling, and gift wrapping is added in.

 

[DyePack]

Does anyone outside of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan make their own bread?

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Cash is good. We bought furniture.

 

[spup1122]

I bake and cook almost every night, so for me, the kitchen stuff is going to be where I have the most fun. Maybe that's why I am excited about the cutlery and extra knives I picked out. The first thing that went on my list of "wants/needs" was a good counter-sized cutting board. I would actually love a bread-maker. I grew up with my mom making bread all the time. It made the entire house smell amazing.

I am SO glad I posted this. I have gotten a lot of good ideas from this. One of my friends and I were talking and he asked if we'd put a toaster-oven on the list. He said warm subs are the best thing he's ever had and they are perfect coming from a toaster-oven. I think we'll register at quite a few places. We have a lot of people coming in from all over the country...from New York to Portland, so the online registries will be really important. You all are wonderful...giving great advice. Keep it coming if you have any.

 

[buckweaver]

If the Earth ever stops turning and I have to go through this type of thing, I hope to avoid much of the traditional stuff like this.

Ditto.

Give me some cash, I'll let you drink some beer and we'll call it even. Anybody who I can sucker into would be interested in marrying me likely will feel the same.