In the months leading up to your big day, you’ll likely have plenty of tasks to complete on your to-do list. Scheduling tastings with catering companies, sending out invitations, creating seating charts and so on! Yet another one that has become a mainstay on most couple’s planning agenda has been a wedding gift registry. With the rapid growth of the wedding industry as a whole, this process has become so much more seamless and the entire thing can be done online as well.
Since our blog places an emphasis on various wedding planning tips and given that wedding registries are so common, we felt that would be a terrific topic for this week’s blog post! We’ll take an inside look at a few best practices for actually compiling your wedding registry, as well as discuss some tips on where you’ll actually want to register. Before diving into that though, we would first like to give a quick hello to anyone that may be visiting our website for the first time. Madera Estates is a luxury event space based out of Conroe, Texas. Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to host hundreds of amazing weddings and as stated above, love utilizing our blog as a platform to share some of our favorite tips and tricks for planning a flawless wedding! If you’re engaged and ever interested in taking a tour of our venue, don’t hesitate to check out our online booking calendar HERE. That all being said, let’s now hop right into a little advice on taking care of your wedding registry!
Photo on the thumbnail is courtesy of Ivan Garcia Studio.
Where to Register
As I briefly mentioned in the opening paragraphs, the entire wedding registry process has evolved quite a bit over the last decade or so. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where you should be able to do it all online, thus making your job and your guest’s lives much easier! So…one of the first questions you’ll have to ask yourself is where you want to register. Keep in mind that you can have multiple registries, as well as plenty of potential gift ideas, but a good rule of thumb is to avoid going overboard and create a situation where guests have to visit 5-6 websites or sift through an endless list of products. Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with including extra items as well to ensure there’s something on there for even the last-minute shoppers!
However, back to the original question of where you should register. Wedding registries are popping up everywhere, thus making it a little cumbersome to go through and evaluate every potential platform. With that in mind, we’ll highlight a few of the more common options that we see couples flocking to. Amazon is obviously a no-brainer, as it has such a wide range of products, making it an easy choice for couples. Bed, Bath & Beyond has long been a popular wedding registry option as well, thanks to its plethora of various household goods that you’ll need to furnish you and your partner’s home. Although certainly on the higher-end of price points, Pottery Barn is another store that gets tossed around fairly often when couples are considering potential wedding registries. In addition to these, there are plenty of other retailers too, including Target and Ikea. All in all, the store in which you register with is likely going to be dependent on your individual situation. If you and your partner still need a lot of the basics (dishes, pots and pans, household decor, etc.), then you’re likely going to look at Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond. Likewise, if you’re someone that would just prefer to have everything in one place, then Amazon is likely going to be your best bet. Luckily, the entire process of setting up a registry in 2022 is about as easy as they come!
Take Your Time and Make It a Dual Effort
While we touched on some specifics above about where to actually register at, there’s nothing wrong with having a little basic advice that any engaged couple can utilize. When the wedding registry task makes its way to the top of your to-do list, here are two simple pieces of advice: (1) Take your time. There’s no rush to whip something up right away, so take a moment to truly figure out what you actually need. If you and your soon-to-be spouse are already living together, chances are you may have most of the essentials already. If so, try to think of items you actually need or consider adding a section asking for money for your honeymoon. Long story short, don’t just put random items on there to fill up space! (2) Make sure both you and your partner work on this project together. It’s important that you each have a say on what gets included, so you might as well have a solid mix of items you love, items your partner wants, as well as ones that you both think are needed. Just following these two basic tips will already put you in great shape on your wedding registry journey!
Etiquette
Even though we always encourage couples to follow their own vision and plan their wedding day how they want it, there’s no denying that the wedding industry is filled with buzzwords like “etiquette” and “tradition.” There’s nothing wrong with either and in many respects, they both are important components in terms of how the wedding industry has evolved over the years. Nonetheless, there aren’t any specific rules that everyone has to follow either! One example of etiquette in terms of wedding registries is that most people say it’s best to avoid directly mentioning your wedding registry on the invitation themselves. Rather, a reasonable alternative is to include an insert with the URL of your wedding website, which would be where they would have easy access to registry information. As a side note, this is an etiquette example that we recommend following!
On the topic of etiquette though, another topic where questions seem to arise revolve around whether or not you can ask for cash on a registry. The short answer to this question is yes! We briefly hinted at this above, as we discussed asking for money to help with your honeymoon. The only caveat is it’s usually best to make sure the wording around this is thoughtful and subtle. In any case, the action of asking for cash as a wedding gift is no problem at all. In fact, if most of the items on a guest’s particular budget range have already been scooped up, this can be the perfect alternative for them too.
Come Check Out Madera Estates!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this inside look at several different wedding registry topics. The key to remember throughout all of this is making sure you select items you actually need/want and setting up the registry process in a manner that is easy for your guests to purchase products. After that, it’ll be a walk in the park and you’ll have this task completed in no time! Long before you start game-planning your registry though, you’ll need to have your wedding venue selection booked. As we briefly mentioned in the opening paragraphs, our wedding venue is located not too far from North Houston and The Woodlands. If you’re still in the early stages of wedding planning and are interested in learning more about our wedding venue, don’t hesitate to schedule a tour HERE or give us a call at (936) 441-9337. We look forward to hearing more about your big day!