Your Bed, Bath & Beyond consultant will tell you that everyone should register for a stand mixer. Your mother will tell you to register for a quality dishes that don’t resemble her expensive China set – collecting dust.  Choosing items for your wedding registry should be exciting! When else is someone going to drop the big bucks on a blender for you? Knowing what to register for can also be overwhelming. We have been talking here in the 1928 office about items we regretted registering for as well as things we wish we had thought of. So we put out some feelers and took a poll on items couples wish they had registered for. And here is what we found.

Quality towels and sheets

sheets towels

Wesport 900 thread count sheets via Macy’s; Sage Turkish Towel Collection via Restoration Hardware; Nomad Sheet Set via Anthropologie

Register for the more expensive brands, and order more than you need. Newlyweds Kristen and Brandon ended up with more towels than they registered for and took some back because they didn’t know where to store them all. Now, 11 years into their marriage they wish they had kept all of those towels for the ones that were lost or torn. Sheets with a 200 thread count may feel fine, but after being used and washed several times, they will likely fall apart. Select sheet sets for your wedding registry with long fibers and close to 800 thread count. (For more info on buying sheets, check out this article by Huffington Post on the truth about sheets.)

Tools

 

Insert cute picture of a drill here. 

 

You don’t have to know how to use a drill in order to need a drill. Household tools are often overlooked for a wedding registry because people assume they will acquire  them over time. Husband and wife, Chris and Maddy say they wish they registered for a cordless drill. “We didn’t know how much we would need tools until we bought a house,” said Maddy. Consider registering for a basic drill and toolkit to keep around the house. These can be pricey items, but stand out on a registry full of kitchen and bathroom goods. Your guests are more likely to notice them.

Art and decor for your home

artforyourhome

 Pottery Bowls via Esty; Colorful Table Lamps via Etsy; Candelabra via Etsy; Henri Matisse Painting via MoMA Store

This is something I wish I would have taken advantage of when I registered for our wedding. My husband and I bought a house after we got married, and I had very little decor to fill a whole house with. Websites like Etsy and MoMA Store  are a great starting point for vintage, handmade and fine art registries. With these, you are only a few clicks away from registering for art for your home. Art and decor is something couples often don’t want to spend the money on, but don’t think to ask it from others either. Consider registering for new throw pillows on Etsy or that Matisse print you’ve been wanting on the Museum of Modern Art.

For more helpful hints on building your wedding registry, head over to Danielle’s post and get the scoop on more wedding registry alternatives. Get creative with your registry and as always, share your ideas with us!

Happy registering!

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Creating your wedding registry is an exciting time because it’s all about planning out your new life together! Just with every other aspect of wedding planning, there are helpful do’s and do not’s that we’d like to share to help keep you on track and organized! First, decide whether you lean towards being a traditional or modern-registry couple. It will help you decide which stores or alternate types of registry outlets are best suited for you. For instance, there are wedding trends showing an increase in the number of couples taking an alternate route and deciding against the traditional wedding registry gifts like bed sheets or pots and pans. Instead, listed among some of the more popular registry outlets made by couples:

One-Stop Shop for all things registry

Honeymooning & Travel Gifts

Charitable Donations

Unique and One-of-a-Kind Finds

If going the more traditional route, ask your selected registry stores if they have a completion program. Often times, stores will give you a discount for items remaining on your registry after your wedding date. This percentage can range anywhere from 10% – 15% and can help you purchase those items on your wedding registry you really wanted but didn’t receive. Those that made the cut for being the top wedding registry stores were:

Store Collage

Here are a few tips to keep you on track and organized when creating your perfect wedding registry:

Have a wedding registry at more than one place – preferably at two to three stores. It gives your guests options and versatility in their shopping experience.

  Maintain a balanced wedding registry with various price points and types of items.

 Register for what you want and need! Who cares if it’s non-traditional! Want new outdoor equipment, hobby items, or board games? Register for it! Some guests are looking for these fun, unique items on your registry and want to give you something more enjoyable than typical wedding registry necessities like a stand mixer or measuring spoons.

 There is no harm in registering early on in your engagement. Some guests will want to take a glance at your registry as soon as they receive your Save The Date. The worst thing you can do is register too close to the wedding and make things hectic for your guests.

 Don’t limit yourself – see the future! Are you like me and still live off of your college mismatched dishes or have towels that have seen better days? Eventually your college items need to be upgraded and now is the time to do so! In the future, you may want to host family get-togethers or dinner parties so being prepared to do so now, and registering for those items will help out in the long run!

Prepare Yourself! When heading to the store to create your wedding registry, go in with an idea of the items you for sure what to register for. It’ll make things go smoother, be more organized, and often is a time-saver so you aren’t in the store for hours on end.

  Don’t forget to write your thank you’s! It’s one of our most important tips for you regarding your registry! Make sure they are personal and given to your guests promptly!

 

Want to learn more? Reach out to us so we can chat! Hope these tips help you when registering! Happy Planning, and shall I say shopping too!

 

✿ Danielle