You should register for your wedding
gifts at least four months before your wedding. Gift registering is
a service offered free of charge by department stores, jewelry stores,
and gift shops. This registration of preferences benefits absolutely
everyone involved. It is not only a time for you and your fiancé
to choose the patterns and colors that will make your house a home,
but also a step to avoid countless hours you could spend returning and
exchanging gifts. Your family and friends are saved the time of selecting
a present and are assured that their selections are well received. The
store is saved the time and expense of costly exchange procedures and
returns. These stores often provide consultants to help you in making
your selections. If your family and friends live elsewhere, it is an
advantage to register with a national chain department store. Also,
many stores’ registries may be accessed on the internet. There
are even web sites that specialize in wedding gift registries.
It is important not only to register
for your chosen patterns of china, silver and crystal, but also to make
your registry broad enough to include all of the items you’ll need
in your new home together. Ask yourself what items reflect your lifestyle.
Will you live in a small apartment with little storage space? Is your
style of entertaining formal or more casual? Do you entertain friends
often, and if so, do you cook? If not, don’t register for formal
tableware to store and collect dust. Register for the tools you’ll
use to start your life together. Many couples today register at nontraditional
places like hardware or lawn and garden stores. The following items
are suggestions for registration:
- Fine china, silverware, crystal
- Everyday dinnerware
- Everyday glassware
- Everyday stainless steel
- Cookware
- Kitchen appliances
- Table linens
- Bath linens
- Bed linens
- Home cleaning and comfort appliances
- Luggage
When registering, select a broad price
range from which family and friends can choose. Often couples who are
marrying older do not need the items to start a household and will elect
to register for money applied to their honeymoon or wedding photography.
It is never proper for you or your fiancé
to volunteer registry information without being directly asked. This
information should not, furthermore, appear on any printed wedding materials.
Friends and relations normally ask your mother, maid of honor or you.
Without such inquiry there is no way to tastefully give out registry
information. The one possible exception is with a wedding website. If
you create one, you could have a page or section entitled "wedding
gifts". Here the names of stores where you’re registered could
be included. Another exception where you can include registry information would be a shower invitation where you are asking to be showered with a gift.
