Tip #2 --
Complete your registry ASAP!
WHY: Gifts! Gifts! Gifts! We got engaged in November of 2008 and we registered about 3 weeks later. Not only was it super fun but for Christmas all of our gifts came off of our registry! Also, my birthday was 2 months before the wedding & my birthday gifts came from our registry. We then had all of our showers & teas where we received more gifts. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who overwhelmed us with not only their time but also gifts to help us start our family and make a home for ourselves. Since the major holidays have passed there are still minor ones between now & wedding season! Valentine's Day would be a fun one to start with! You & your honey can exchange gifts that are off your registry only. This is what AW & I did for Christmas. There is also Easter & the Easter bunny can always fill your basket up with hangers, door hooks, measuring spoons or a blender!
(*Sidenote: NEWLYWEDS NEED HANGERS! -- Everyone kept asking "What is something you really need?" & I replied, "Hangers!" but alas only one person got us hangers ((Thanks, Steph!)). This is not to say we were not appreciative of every single thing we got but really, newlyweds need things like trashcans and hangers! Practical gifts are the BEST wedding gifts!*)
Another wonderful aspect about registries is that most places will keep your registry in their system for a while. We registered at BB&B only and they keep your registry in for 2 years! This is great because this Christmas Santa brought me some more of my fabulous Calphalon cookware off my registry; I now have more pots & pans than I do stove eyes, WOOHOO!!!
As I stated we only registered at one store which I personally loved because BB&B has a ton of stuff in all different price ranges plus your registry is online so anyone can view it by going to their website & searching for your name. We had relatives in TN that just went online and our gifts were sent to our home! Super cool! We also did this for some friends of ours who were out of state. Some people would argue that there are not BB&B's in every location but I believe that the online store is the remedy to that. It worked for us also because I didn't have to keep up with matching items for one room from two different stores. My personal opinion is to register at one large, well-known location but I know that this is not the majority's opinion. Just some food for thought...
CAUTION: Do NOT register at stores that are going out of business for the obvious reasons. Also, most places will tell you this, but do not register for items that are on sale or are clearance as they will probably sell quickly and will not be re-stocked by the company. That would be a bummer!
At the end of the day, registering is so much fun! We had an absolutely wonderful experience at BB&B & they have a few hubby gadgets to keep the men happy too. We got most of the items on our registry and we got all of the things we really needed which was such a blessing. So, GO REGISTER!!!
--L
I couldn't agree more! I don't think people realize that you should register right away. We registered at myregistry.com right after our engagement even though we weren't getting married for a year and a half, but this not only allowed us to receive registry items for the holidays inbetween, but I ended up making a category on the registry for things we wouldn't mind having right away. This way people giving us gifts early knew which ones would be good to go ahead and give.
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