For brides- and grooms-to-be, signing up for wedding registries
can be an overwhelming endeavor. Here are some tips from those who
deal with it every day
For an engaged couple, walking into Bed Bath & Beyond is like walking into a wonderland of possibility. Home appliances, bedding, dishes and other gadgets rise to the ceiling and stretch from wall to wall. All this can be theirs with the swipe of wedding registry “gun” and the cooperation of generous guests.
“Men love the gun,” said Leslie Clark, the corporate bridal manager for Bed Bath & Beyond in Gilroy, referring to the bar-code scanner couples use to log items they want included on their registry. “Couples come in, we give them a packet we’ve put together to help them with the process, and we share our expertise with them.”
When putting together a registry, the first step for couples is to select stores where they want to register. Once the stores are selected, most have special packets of information to help couples jump into the process. Stores often have online resources as well. These resources provide information such as the 50 most popular registry items at Target, online tips about what to do before coming into the store to register at Linens-N-Things, and store location guides at Macy’s so you know if guests coming from other parts of the country will have easy shopping access.
“We had family on the East Coast, so we tried to make sure we registered at at least one store they would have access to,” said Carolyn Fortino, who was married last month. “We did most of it online, which was great. We looked at things online, registered for them online and we made changes and kept track of everything online. It was so helpful.”
Carolyn and her husband, John Foster, had lived together before getting married, so they already had most of the household items they needed. They used their registry as an opportunity to upgrade older appliances and replace things that had seen better days, said Carolyn, who grew up in Gilroy.
“Many couples live together before getting married, so it’s very common for them to use the wedding and the registry as a chance to get things on another level,” said Marian Haveriland, the assistant manager at the Gilroy branch of Bed Bath & Beyond. “So, we help them think of what they have, what color furniture they have, what the rooms in their home look like, and we help them build a registry from there.”
Valeri Hinderleider and her husband, John, used the registry to register for items they liked and wanted but were an expense they couldn’t necessarily justify spending themselves.
“We got a pasta maker attachment for our KitchenAid that we’d been wanting and we got a pizza stone with a paddle, which was fun,” Valeri said. “We love to cook, but we probably never would have bought those things ourselves. It was fun to get them as gifts. It felt like people were spoiling us.”
Jamie and Jonathan Fowles of Hollister were on the opposite end of the scale before their marriage in June. The couple didn’t live together, so they needed virtually everything required to set up a home. To help ensure they got the things they needed, Jamie decided to register in cycles. For her first cycle, she registered for the big, important stuff like dishes, bedding, silverware and cookware.
“I had two wedding showers – one for family and one for friends,” Jamie explained. “I registered for all the stuff we would need right away when we first moved in, and nothing else. After that shower, I had a lot of the big stuff, so I registered for more things that maybe weren’t absolutely necessary but that we really wanted. After the second shower, we had a lot of those things, so we went back and registered a third time for some of the extras and the fun stuff. I think it worked out really well.”
Maybe registering in cycles isn’t for everyone, but most people have some plan of attack when setting up a registry. Most stores have checklists of recommended or popular items for wedding registries, but Bed Bath & Beyond includes quantities with their checklist.
“We include that because we’ve thought about quantities so the couples can make a more informed decision about how many to register for,” Leslie said. “We recommend people register for 12 place settings because these are dishes they’re going to have for a very long time. If you start thinking about how many people come over on holidays or special occasions, the number of place settings you need starts to add up fast. We also recommend people have three sets of sheets – one for the bed, one for the laundry and one for the linen closet.”
Leslie and Marian also warn not to fall for the stereotype that grooms aren’t interested in helping with the registry.
“Grooms love the gadgets, the barware, the indoor grills, the knives and, surprisingly enough, they really love picking out the colors for the mats in the dining room,” Marian said.
Jamie said the only her husband really wanted on their wedding registry were a few tools and extension chords. Home Depot also offers online wedding registry for grooms who may not be as interested in linens, towels and closet organizers but who are interested in power tools, kitchen fixtures and building supplies.
Finally, make sure to register for a combination of expensive items, items in the middle price range, and fairly inexpensive items, Leslie said. Many people will buy the less-expensive items for shower gifts, and people will pool their money and by expensive items, such as the popular Dyson vacuum cleaner, as a group gift.
“Above all, have fun,” she added. “This is your chance to imagine how your dream home is set up and to put together a wish list. This is supposed to be fun.”
