So I probably should have posted about our registry a long time ago—we put together the various registries wayyy back in September, about a month after we sent the save the dates. But we’ve had to do some major updates to the registry since mailing out the invitations last week. Now the registry was a bit of a challenge for us. See, FH and I have been living together for three years now, so we pretty much have most household items that we need. But even though we already have most things that people typically add to registries, we still wanted to partake in some scanning goodness.
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KitchenAid Martha Stewart Blue Collection / Image via Squidoo.com
We ultimately decided to register at three places—Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon. As a fourth option, FH was also adamant about adding in a charity registry, so we opted to support a charity that helps with various relief efforts in Haiti (particularly after the devastating earthquake three years ago). The charity we chose is Partners in Health—we heard about them through our favorite band Arcade Fire who has partnered with them for many years now. I know adding a charity to a registry isn’t necessarily for everyone, but again, since we don’t really need much, it seemed like a good option.
In terms of the traditional registry, we didn’t have much to add. In fact, I keep getting reminders from all three registries that I should be adding in twice the number of gifts as guests invited. We tried really hard and just could not add anywhere near this amount of stuff. But there are definitely a few key things that would be fantastic to have. We are both very much into cooking and wine, so you’ll notice a trend in our selections. Feast your eyes on the registry porn below!
A registry wouldn’t be complete without a KitchenAid mixer. / Image via Amazon.com
Le Creuset Cast Iron Skillet / Image via Amazon.com
Mikasa Champagne Flutes / Image via Macys.com
Charter Club Bedding, Damask Stripe 500 TC Queen Sheet Set / Image via Macys.com
Mariposa Cheese Board / Image via BedBathandBeyond.com
Haier 8-Bottle Wine Cellar / Image via Amazon.com
Krups Perfecto Pump Espresso Machine / Image via Amazon.com
Wusthof Gourmet 12-Piece Knife Set with Block / Image via Amazon.com
Honestly, though, not really sure how many gifts we’ll get considering we’re having a destination wedding. People will already be spending a good amount of money to come celebrate our big day with us, so I’m keeping my expectations low on receiving anything—at the end of the day, having most of our invited guests take the time and expense to come celebrate our wedding is way more important.
Did you struggle with creating your registry too? Are there some absolute must-haves on your registry?
We also had fewer items than the registries suggested we should have – and we only received a portion of the things on our registry. I’m sure you’ll do fine!
Just be careful with those knives, lol. I was not used to having SUPER NICE knives……and I ended up cutting myself with one of our wusthof knives. =P If it touches you just barely they will cut you. I love them though. Best knives ever. I just need some knife skills lessons, lol!
Regarding the knives, you may want to register for each knife separately + the block. That way there are more gifts for people to get you, and one person doesn’t have to shell out a HUGE amount for that one registry item. It does mean you may have to complete the set at a later time, if not all of the knives are bought, but you should get a discount from your registry, and knife sets already aren’t complete- the idea is to add to them anyway, and the block will have spaces for knives that aren’t included in the ‘set’– AKA your going to be adding to it regardless.
Good choices!!! We got a LC skillet (perfect for scrambled eggs…seriously, they taste 100x time better when you cook them on that thing), the same mixer in red, and a Wusthof chef’s knife, and I use all 3 almost daily. Such good quality!
Um, the color of that KitchenAid mixer is FAB. We also registered for some Mikasa crystal stemware, a fun cheese board and a block of knives (not nearly the quality of Wusthof though!) I think those are all fabulous choices!
It looks like you chose quality or quantity, which is way more important in the long run 
Oh no… Now I want these things on my registry! Honestly registering has made me feel a little weird. Makes me feel bad to openly pick things out for people to give us! But we’ve done bed bath and beyond and amazon. I love the idea of a charity registry too! Maybe I can add the Humane Society!
I have a Kitchenaid mixer and I LOVE it! That sucker is heavy though! FI and I have been slacking on our registry… We started one at Crate and Barrel, but when I looked at it the other day at least 25%-50% of the items on there were discontinued!! So I feel like we’re back to square one now. And neither of us really want to go in and do the whole scanning thing. We are having a fairly small destination wedding too (probably 90 people? That’s small for Texas! haha. My friend who recently got married invited 350 people to hers!) so we aren’t expecting too many gifts either (which is totally fine, we just want people there sharing our day with us!) plus my fiance and I both already had houses when we got together, so we both already had a lot of stuff! One thing I do want to register for though is “grown up” plates. FI currently has melamine and extremely chipped ceramic plates and I just had IKEA plates at my house.
Also I wanted to recommend Nespresso if you are registering for an espresso machine. My parents got us one when we got engaged and it is AMAZING! This is the model we have: http://www.nespresso-us.com/machines/lattissima-plus/, although I think my parents got it cheaper at BB&B. The pods are about 60c each and it makes really good espresso and you don’t have to deal with the mess of ground coffee or foaming the milk by hand either.
The great thing about those registries is that folks can buy you gift cards for BB&B or for Amazon and you can use those gift cards to purchase what you don’t receive. I definitely think quality over quantity is just fine, and will encourage people to give gift cards. It’s better for you and much easier on them anyway!
@SuperDuperBrit: Yikes! Glad you’re okay and that didn’t scare you away from using them.
@bluebelle23: If it feels right, go for it!
@staceykate: That’s been frustrating for us too–we created these back in September and I’ve had to go in a number of times to remove items, add other ones because of discontinued or sold out items. Also, that Nespresso looks FAB–we might have to add that in as well.
@Blonde17Jess: That’s a great point!
I love your registries and that you chose a charity registry too! That’s a great idea if you already have a lot of what you need
Mr. Lemur & I have never lived together and we’ve never even furnished separate apartments—I live in a furnished apartment and he’s lived with friends/family so far. So basically we have nothing! To be honest that made it kind of hard starting out figuring out what to put on there. It was overwhelming!
@Miss Lemur: Ahh that can definitely be overwhelming if you are choosing things for the first time. Not sure if you’ve finished your registry yet but if not, I recommend taking it room by room. Start with the bedroom, then bathroom, then kitchen. Afterall, those will most likely be the main areas you’ll be utilizing the most!
@Miss Mongoose: One thing that was kinda helpful to me was that my first shower was solely a kitchen shower. So I was able to register for the basic kitchen items I needed (seriously, I didn’t even have cookie sheets!) before even thinking about adding other things to the registry.
Question: I didn’t add a KitchenAid mixer, but everyone says I should! Will I really use it that much? It just seems like so much money!
@Miss Lemur: You definitely shouldn’t add in the KitchenAid mixer if you don’t plan on using it much because it sure is hella expensive! Mr. M loves making bread from scratch and I really want to get more in to baking but just don’t have the arm strength to constantly use the cheap $20 hand mixer I currently have. So a KitchenAid is a must for us!
Miss Mongoose, New Haven, CT Age and Occupation: 28, Digital Advertising Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Business Development Engagement Date: November 19th, 2011 Wedding Date: May 2013 Venue: Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, CA About Me: I was born and raised in Queens, NY (though you would never know due to my lack of a "real" New York accent) but currently live in Connecticut with my fiance. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession for planning and organizing things, so it comes as no surprise that I'm currently obsessed with planning our wedding. I love dancing, music, traveling, reading fiction novels, cooking, the color blue, cupcakes, all things space science-related and TV shows created by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. My fiance and I have been together for seven years and are so excited to finally get married next year. We are planning a peacock-themed destination wedding in Montreal, one of our favorite cities in the world, with 100 or so of our closest family and friends. While we may look very different on the outside, we have eerily similar personalities (probably due to the fact that we share the exact same birthday) and share very similar passions. But above all else, we love each other and love to have FUN!!!
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