everything to know about registering
One thing that I very much looked forward to was registering once we got engaged. I know that the months leading up to getting engaged when we needed something -- like new knives or a new cutting board, I would jokingly say to my now husband, Jessie, “We can’t buy that-- we’ll just register for it!” But then, when it came time to actually register, I felt super overwhelmed by all the store options, and then all the different opinions on what we should register for, etc. Check back tomorrow for my top registry picks, but today, we’ll explore my favorite stores to register & the best ways to build your perfect registry.
Favorite Stores to Register At:
Bed Bath and Beyond.
Grade: A
Pros: have SO many options both in store & online, you can find them ANYWHERE, will ship directly to your home, always have coupons for your guests to use
Cons: dont do a lot of sales, can be very overwhelming, often your guests have to order items online & some people don’t like to do that
Macy’s.
Grade: B
Pros: SALES. All the sales, wide selection of upscale items, great registering process/ fulfillment discount, older guests may choose this store to shop at
Cons: items may be a little more expensive, store locations may be harder to find
Target.
Grade: B
Pros: can add items from other stores, very accessible/ locations everywhere, helloooo Hearth & Hand
Cons: not a lot of coupons, not a lot of good sales
Amazon.
Grade: C
Pros: can add items from other stores, can find good deals on items
Cons: a lot of people want to shop in person, you cannot look at any items in store, no coupons, things can go out of stock easily
Crate & Barrel.
Grade: B
Pros: Very modern, less “cookie cutter”/ “trendy”, great value, “different” place to register than the norm
Cons: more high end, less store locations
Tips for Registering:
Consider your guest list when you’re registering. Do your guests like to shop online? Are they mostly older folks who are going to struggle to shop at Amazon?
Take a break! Go, register for half of the items you’d like to look at, leave, have lunch, and then come back and finish. There’s nothing worse than being at a store registering for 4-5 hours with no snacks. Also, this will help your fiance to make it through the registering process without getting bored/ overwhelmed.
Only tackle one store each day. Trust me, going to more than one is absolutely going to overwhelm you.
Only register at 2, maybe 3 stores. You definitely want to give your guests an option of where to shop, but with more than 3 registries, you’re going to have a hard time keeping up with them, and your guests are going to be overwhelmed.
The best advice that I got when I registered was to make pretty much identical registries at every store. It may sound weird, but I registered at Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond and my registries were basically the same. My husband and I went in to Bed Bath & Beyond and made a registry, printed it, and then I went through online and added similar/ identical items to a registry through Macy’s. Yes, there were a few things that didn’t carry over-- i.e. my dishes set was all at Macy’s-- but, then when I recieved gifts, I just went to the other registry and took the item off. I would have hated for a family member to be shopping at Macy’s and be looking to buy something specific, but alas I only had that item on my Bed Bath & Beyond registry. This system really worked for me.
Have fun!