Choosing Your Wedding Gift Registries

The wedding registry has become an important part of the wedding planning process. It is almost as important as the tasteful wedding favors you choose to express your love and gratitude to your guests for choosing to spend a day celebrating with you. But when do you do it? How do you go about choosing the stores? How many stores should you sign up with for your registry?

Generally it is advisable to begin working on the wedding registry early in the wedding planning process. Really, six months early is not too early as there are a lot of factors to consider.

Choosing the right stores and the right items can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of work. Plan on choosing between two and four stores to complete your registry needs. One should be an all-inclusive department store. A second option is often a homegoods store specialty store. Generally, it is wise to complete the selection of stores with a choice of stores that offer something more directly related to the specific interest and household needs of the groom. For example, does your fiancé have the tools he needs to engage in common household repairs?

But choosing the companies that you want to enroll as part of your wedding registry is not just about choosing types. Rather there are a number of factors to consider:

• What stores carry merchandise that you actually like?
• What stores carry a wide range of price points to accommodate the needs of your guest list.
• How is the store’s wedding registry is actually administered?
• Is the staff knowledgeable and able to offer guidance to either you or your guests?
• How easily can you modify your selections?
• How long does it take for a purchased item to be reflected on the registry?
• Does the store offer any incentives that allow you to purchase remaining items at a discount in return for sending your guest to their store as opposed to the competition?
• Consider whether your bridal registry be available online? This is becoming increasingly important - especially if you use a wedding website to communicate with your guests (If you don't have one, get one. It makes everything much easier and helps you to involve your groom in the wedding process).
• Are your store’s locations convenient for your guests?
• Will your gift registry kept active for at least a year after your wedding? This may seem like overkill, but history has shown that though activity certainly slows after the wedding, it doesn't always stop - for a wide variety of reasons.

Enjoy the process. This is meant to be a fun part. Use it to dream about how you would like your house and yard to look like when you get everything put together. But be wise about it. Choose your stores as carefully as you choose the items on the registry. You want the process to be painless for all involved. Fortunately, with online wedding registry access so readily available from everyone from Macys to Walmart to Lowes it is easy to find a vendor to match your tastes and styles all while considering the budgetary constraints of your guests.