I have to admit, registering for stuff is one of my guilty pleasures. In the middle of the night, I love poring through Amazon, just window shopping, and dreaming about a time when I will have a slow cooker or a pizza stone. I just absolutely love going through lists of kitchen things and thinking, oooh I would looooove to have one of those one day. All of the joys of shopping, but without the crazy bills.
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Source: IMDB / Confessions of a Shopaholic
Mr. PBear and I are currently only registered on Amazon, mainly because I can window shop online constantly. At some point, we will probably add Macy’s on there so I can register for bedding and towels, but for now, it’s just so easy to shop online. I have to admit, I started dreaming about our wedding registry about the time we moved in together—so yeah, about two, three years at this point. It probably would be cheaper and easier to just buy all of this stuff for ourselves (instead of throwing a gigantic wedding), but what’s the fun in that?
Since we’re both students, when we started trying to put together our first kitchen, we tried to stay under a very tight budget. While we did spend an insane amount of money furnishing our apartment, there were a lot of things that we bought the cheapest option, or just went without.
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Anthropologie Georgina Bedding in Cream
The bedsheets that I bought four years ago are getting shredded up. I’m looking forward to having a real adult bed with pretty sheets.
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And I have been dreaming about this griddler thing for as long as I can remember. Even having an on/off button would be such an upgrade from the tiny panini press we have now.
I’ve been trying to put off registering because I’ve heard that due to product cycles, if I start too early, a lot of the things I register for won’t be available anymore. But it’s really been difficult to stop myself.
I’ve been having trouble filling out the registry completely, though, since Mr. PBear and I are big cooks. Many of the bigger purchases that people usually get, like a KitchenAid mixer, a food processor, or even an ice cream maker, I’ve received and/or bought for myself over the years. Furthermore, things like china seem extraneous, and I would hate to have to ship them across the US later, once we finish up school.
That being said, I must admit some of the things on the registry were really easy to pick out, like our silverware pattern.
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PBear and I actually went to college with the same set of silverware—apparently our mothers have similar tastes in silverware. When we first started dating, I was slightly annoyed that PBear kept stealing and hiding some of my silverware with his kitchen stuff. It took me months to realize that those were his.
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Storybook Romance Dishtowels on Anthropologie
Or these dishtowels. God, I’ve been trying to find an excuse to buy these for forever. ooh so sweet.
My question for you readers is how much stuff should you actually put on a registry? I’m trying to have a range of items from the really cheap to the not so cheap stuff. I’m concerned, though, that if we have too many cheap items, the more expensive, more desired items (say the griddler, hint hint) won’t actually get purchased.
On the other hand, if we don’t have enough stuff, would people ignore the registry and then get me that ugly crystal vase that I’m going to feel bad getting rid of, but that I don’t really want in my house? Is there a good rule of thumb about how much to put on a registry without looking greedy?
I don’t think there’s a rule for how much stuff you put on a registry. Register for what you really want to complete your home, for things that you will still love in 5-10 years, and when you run out of ideas, stop registering. I have wayyy too many married friends who make jokes about stuff they registered for that they never use, and it’s really sad, because someone thoughtfully bought those gifts. If everything is purchased off your registry, people will likely give you cash or gift cards – but you never know whether your crowd will be one to buy off a registry or not. We invited 180 people, our wedding is in a few days, and we’ve only gotten 7 gifts off our registry so far.
i dont think there’s a hard and fast rule either. register for the stuff you need/want, and if there’s nothing left people will give you cash or stuff you can easily return if it’s weird. i think wedding gifts are a little different that most gift giving holidays – returns and exchanges are sort of accepted (and made easier by having a registry in the first place).
also love that you registered for anthro stuff! in my experience, people will buy it!
I wouldn’t worry too much about “registering too early”. We did it a year in advance (with continual tweaking, of course) and the only problem item we had was the towels we picked at BB&B.
Regarding the number of things to put on the registry, I really think there is no good answer. We put way less than recommended on our registries and still had tons on them afterwards. It’s hard to know each family’s gift giving tradition / individual financial situation. You can always use the remaining items as a Christmas gift inspiration list. 
We have the same flatware pattern! Be advised: A & I picked it out at Bed Bath & Beyond, and they also had it at Belk at the time. Now, it’s special order only- not in our stores. BUT Amazon has it in stock, and it’s on Oneida’s “Never to be Discontinued” list, so I think we’re fine.
I have been stalking that Cuisinart griddle/grill also. That will be the first thing on our registry, along with the Cuisinart standing mixer.
I would register for what you want (what you really, really want), especially if you have to move it all in the near future, you’ll learn quickly what you actually need when you have to pack and unpack that ish. Also, I love both of those things from Anthro, I just can’t justify buying them!
I would register for more rather than less. Trust me–if you don’t register for, say, towels, because you would rather have the griddle, someone will notice you forgot to put towels on your registry and just buy you some anyways! If people buy you stuff from your registry that you decide you would rather return, to instead be able to buy your griddle, you can do that. We got a lot of plate sets from Macy’s, then realized later that we would have rather had something else. Super easy to return them and buy the thing we wanted more instead.
Also, many guests will give you money or gift cards, which you can use to buy those “must have” gifts that slipped away. We got a lot of Visa gift cards and used them to buy the sheet sets and kitchen utensils we really wanted but didn’t get.
@Miss Wallaby: Yeah, I’m not sure our guests are going to be registry people either. oh wells. we’ll see. I know people don’t tend to buy gifts until the night before. Hopefully your guests are similar!
@Miss Gray Wolf: I am obsessed with anthro. love everything about them (except the price tag). I didn’t realize it’s fairly acceptable to return registry stuff, this will make me not worry about it as much! thanks!
@Mrs. Bracelet: Good to know! I’m going to drag PBear into Macys asap then!
@Merelymere: !!! Good to know! I haven’t seen it anywhere else and I was 99% sure it was going to be discontinued shortly. This will let me relax a bit! thanks!
@FutureMrsSpencer: yup, cuisinart makes the best kitchen appliances. I think half of my registy is made by cuisinart
@Mrs. Pony: I guess what’s hard about this is I’m really really bad at asking for gifts. I never know what I want for Christmas or my birthday. If it’s 100, I feel guilty about asking for it.
@Alleycat: You have a good point. The last thing I want is 10 different set of towels because everyone thought I forgot to register for it!
@ChicagoDreamer: I agree, I love it so much, so pretty
Miss Panda, Boston, MA Age and Occupation: 26, Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Graduate Student Engagement Date: June 27, 2011 Wedding Date: June 2013 About Me: I love window shopping, cute animals, crafting, baking, and most forms of procrastination. I tend to be overly meticulous with choices to a point of complete and total indecision. Mr. PBear and I met and live in the amazing city of Boston. We are big nerds who love trying new foods, playing video games, and cuddling with our adorable hamster. After 5 years together, we are planning an intimate, DIY-heavy, vintage garden themed, nonreligious wedding in the city where we fell in love.
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