Wedding Registry Tips and Favorite Items
Happy "Wedding Wednesday" everyone! Today I'll be talking about a topic I see questions on a lot - what to put on your wedding registry. As someone who got married less than a year ago, I will share my husband and I's top 10 favorite items from our wedding registry. First though, a few tips on the registry process in general!
*This post contains some affiliate links. That means that purchases made through these links may result in a small commission to me, at no extra cost to you. As always, all choices/opinions are my own. Affiliate links are what keeps this site up and running, so thank you for your support!
2. Register at store(s) that have a specific registry app or a registry function within their normal store app. Most stores that are big with wedding registrants do have this, including the three places we registered: Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This is extremely helpful because with an app, you are able to add items to your registry very easily from anywhere. For example, my husband and I would be cooking in our kitchen and realize that a _____ would be helpful to have, so I'd grab my phone, pull up the app, and add the item to our registry in about 30 seconds.
3. Make sure that wherever you register has LOTS of items you want. What we did not expect was that between showers, an engagement party, and the actual wedding, we ended up getting lots of gift cards as gifts. By coincidence, about 90% of those gift cards were towards one store we registered at, whereas the other 10% was split between the other two stores. Luckily, the one store had an endless supply of things we were happy to spend the giftcards on! However, if that had happened with a store that only had a few items we were interested in, it would have been a bummer.
4. Look everywhere for registry inspiration. The first thing I did was read about 25 articles/lists/blog posts online that were along the lines of "best and worst things to put on a wedding registry". This gave us a lot of great ideas. Another places we got lots of good ideas? Thinking about household items our parents, friends, and siblings have that they love, or that we like using when we are at their houses. I definitely added several things because I've seen how useful they are for my mom.
5. Think outside the box. Spoiler alert: one of our favorite registry items ended up being a fancy Simple Human trash can! Are trash cans a traditional registry item? Nope! However, it was something we needed, and was the perfect example of not wanting to buy an expensive (but top of the line) item, but once we had it, we appreciated how much better it is than the average trash can. Other outside the box items to consider: vacuum, furniture, accent pieces (nightstand, side table, etc), luggage, steamer, and patio furniture.
2. Silverware set. Before, our silverware was a piece-meal combination of the hand-me-down assorted silverware sets that we both had before moving in together. It was nice to pick out a nice, simple set that we will hopefully be able to use for years to come. The other nice thing about this item is that we were able to register for 12 individual sets, so lots of people bought us a set or two here and there, instead of someone having to buy/go in on then entire set as one item.
3. Le Creuset 12" x 9" Baking Dish. This baking dish is the perfect size, and it has become a staple in our kitchen. We use it for everything from enchiladas to pork tenderloins. There are lots of options for this size baking dish, but make sure to register for one that includes a lid. The one we got comes in lots of fun color options!
4. KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I love to bake, and this mixer makes it so easy - just dump the ingredients in, and turn it on. I bake a lot more often now because I know it will be so low-effort because of this mixer. One thing to note, however: the mixer is really really heavy. It's so heavy that we just leave it in a corner on the counter instead of trying to put it away between uses. If you have a limited amount of counter space, consider if it's worth it to get something that will permanently take up space.
5. Cozy Throw Blanket. We registered for this one from Pottery Barn. It is ridiculously soft and cozy, and had a permanent place on our couch all fall, winter, and spring.
6. Garment bag. We have friends and family scattered around the country, so we end up traveling a lot for special events like holidays or weddings. We got a nice, heavy duty travel garment bag as a wedding gift, and we've already used it numerous times since the wedding. This gift came before our wedding, and I actually ended up using it to transport my wedding dress to the state where we got married!
7. Chromecast. After the wedding, we moved, and now we only have streaming services for tv, so we use the Chromecast all the time!
8. Memory Foam Pillows. We added these to the registry on a whim after they felt nice at the store. This is truly an item we use every single day (well, night)!
9. Trunk coffee table with lid that raises up. We were really excited (and lucky!) to get this because it was one of the more expensive items on our registry, but we love it! We had seen the same thing or similar ones a few times, and knew that it would be perfect for us. It makes it a lot easier to work from home or eat on the couch, and we know it is a piece of furniture we will have for a long time.
10. Nice pots and pans. Pots and pans might not be the most exciting thing on the registry, but these will be staple pieces in your kitchen. We have noticed already how much better our new Calphalon pans hold up than the cheaper ones we had before.
Don't forget to check out my other wedding post - Wedding Planning Tips From A Recent Bride!
*This post contains some affiliate links. That means that purchases made through these links may result in a small commission to me, at no extra cost to you. As always, all choices/opinions are my own. Affiliate links are what keeps this site up and running, so thank you for your support!
Registry Tips
1. Register early! Before the wedding, you might have an assortment of parties and showers. Some people will bring gifts to these events, and if you don't have a registry before them, people WILL keep asking where you are registered until you do it. In addition, a registry is something that you can do as soon as you get engaged, which is not true of all wedding tasks. The days leading up until your wedding will get busier and busier, so cross this task off the list early to help yourself later on.2. Register at store(s) that have a specific registry app or a registry function within their normal store app. Most stores that are big with wedding registrants do have this, including the three places we registered: Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This is extremely helpful because with an app, you are able to add items to your registry very easily from anywhere. For example, my husband and I would be cooking in our kitchen and realize that a _____ would be helpful to have, so I'd grab my phone, pull up the app, and add the item to our registry in about 30 seconds.
3. Make sure that wherever you register has LOTS of items you want. What we did not expect was that between showers, an engagement party, and the actual wedding, we ended up getting lots of gift cards as gifts. By coincidence, about 90% of those gift cards were towards one store we registered at, whereas the other 10% was split between the other two stores. Luckily, the one store had an endless supply of things we were happy to spend the giftcards on! However, if that had happened with a store that only had a few items we were interested in, it would have been a bummer.
4. Look everywhere for registry inspiration. The first thing I did was read about 25 articles/lists/blog posts online that were along the lines of "best and worst things to put on a wedding registry". This gave us a lot of great ideas. Another places we got lots of good ideas? Thinking about household items our parents, friends, and siblings have that they love, or that we like using when we are at their houses. I definitely added several things because I've seen how useful they are for my mom.
5. Think outside the box. Spoiler alert: one of our favorite registry items ended up being a fancy Simple Human trash can! Are trash cans a traditional registry item? Nope! However, it was something we needed, and was the perfect example of not wanting to buy an expensive (but top of the line) item, but once we had it, we appreciated how much better it is than the average trash can. Other outside the box items to consider: vacuum, furniture, accent pieces (nightstand, side table, etc), luggage, steamer, and patio furniture.
Our Top 10 Favorite Items from Our Wedding Registry
1. Simple Human trash can. Before, we had an inexpensive but functional trash can from Walmart. We constantly had to take out the trash because the old trash can did not contain any bad smells. I cannot rave enough about the Simple Human one we got - it contains bad smells 100%. You could have the smelliest trash ever, but you'd never know it, even if you were standing right next to the trash can. This is a total game changer, especially in small apartment settings.2. Silverware set. Before, our silverware was a piece-meal combination of the hand-me-down assorted silverware sets that we both had before moving in together. It was nice to pick out a nice, simple set that we will hopefully be able to use for years to come. The other nice thing about this item is that we were able to register for 12 individual sets, so lots of people bought us a set or two here and there, instead of someone having to buy/go in on then entire set as one item.
3. Le Creuset 12" x 9" Baking Dish. This baking dish is the perfect size, and it has become a staple in our kitchen. We use it for everything from enchiladas to pork tenderloins. There are lots of options for this size baking dish, but make sure to register for one that includes a lid. The one we got comes in lots of fun color options!
4. KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I love to bake, and this mixer makes it so easy - just dump the ingredients in, and turn it on. I bake a lot more often now because I know it will be so low-effort because of this mixer. One thing to note, however: the mixer is really really heavy. It's so heavy that we just leave it in a corner on the counter instead of trying to put it away between uses. If you have a limited amount of counter space, consider if it's worth it to get something that will permanently take up space.
5. Cozy Throw Blanket. We registered for this one from Pottery Barn. It is ridiculously soft and cozy, and had a permanent place on our couch all fall, winter, and spring.
6. Garment bag. We have friends and family scattered around the country, so we end up traveling a lot for special events like holidays or weddings. We got a nice, heavy duty travel garment bag as a wedding gift, and we've already used it numerous times since the wedding. This gift came before our wedding, and I actually ended up using it to transport my wedding dress to the state where we got married!
7. Chromecast. After the wedding, we moved, and now we only have streaming services for tv, so we use the Chromecast all the time!
8. Memory Foam Pillows. We added these to the registry on a whim after they felt nice at the store. This is truly an item we use every single day (well, night)!
9. Trunk coffee table with lid that raises up. We were really excited (and lucky!) to get this because it was one of the more expensive items on our registry, but we love it! We had seen the same thing or similar ones a few times, and knew that it would be perfect for us. It makes it a lot easier to work from home or eat on the couch, and we know it is a piece of furniture we will have for a long time.
10. Nice pots and pans. Pots and pans might not be the most exciting thing on the registry, but these will be staple pieces in your kitchen. We have noticed already how much better our new Calphalon pans hold up than the cheaper ones we had before.
Don't forget to check out my other wedding post - Wedding Planning Tips From A Recent Bride!
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