What To Put On A Wedding Registry: Ultimate Checklist
Congrats, you’re engaged! This means you’re about to embark on the exciting journey of planning your dream wedding with your partner. While trying on dresses and looking for venues might be top of your list, it’s essential to tackle your wedding registry so it doesn’t sneak up on you at the end of the planning process. This activity is fun and something you and your partner can do together on the weekend. You can have blast scanning items in-store or get nice and cozy on the couch and build your registry with a few simple clicks.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to your registry, but there are definitely some must-haves and a few things to keep in mind when putting yours together. We’ve created this simple guide so you can check all the boxes and create your perfect wedding registry.
Wedding Registry Guidelines
While there aren’t any rules when it comes to your registry, there are some helpful guidelines you can follow to ensure its user friendly for your guests:
- Start the process after your engagement. This will guarantee that you won’t forget, and it’s a fun way to start imagining your future together. If you’re planning an engagement party, some guests might want to get you a gift. Share your registry on your wedding website, so they have an idea of what you two are looking for.
- Register at multiple stores. This will give your guests plenty of variety to choose from.
- Register with online retailers. This is super important for the family and friends that don’t live near you. They may not be able to shop at the local stores at your registry, so online shopping enables them to just order something for you. This is also handy for guests that unfortunately can’t make it to your wedding but still want to get you a nice gift.
- Make sure to include gifts at a variety of price points. There’s nothing wrong with wanting some lavish items, but just be sure to have some lower-priced things for guests who’d like to get you a gift but can’t drop a ton of money on one.
- Add your registry to your wedding website. These are super trendy and simple to make. They’re a great one-stop-shop for your entire wedding, so guests don’t need to sift through emails and letters to try and track down dates and important info. Including your registry keeps things easy for your guests to find whenever they need to take a peek.
- You can keep adding to it over time. During the wedding planning process, you might see things you’d like for your home while you’re out shopping. Instead of buying them for yourself, see if you can add them to your registry. There’s a chance someone might just buy it for you instead.
You Don’t Need to Be Traditional
Many couples today live together for years before getting married. When it comes time to build your registry, you’ll realize that you might already have all the home items you need. It’s more fun to get things you want than just to create a list of fluff so your guests have something to buy you. If you already have everything you need for your home together, try some of these great registry alternatives:
Honeymoon Registry
This is fun because guests can actually contribute to your honeymoon. Once you’ve picked a location, provide a broken-down list of exciting activities you’d like to do on your vacation. Gifting an experience feels so much more personal, and they’ll love to see photos of your snorkeling adventure or helicopter ride. Many guests would prefer to buy you both a fun experience instead of something that might collect dust in a closet, so this is the perfect way to do it.
Home Renovation Fund
If you’re planning to do a fun renovation for your home, like a new pool or some upgrades to your kitchen, create a registry for it. Your guests might love the idea of getting involved in helping you build your perfect home together.
Charitable Donations
Some couples prefer that guests support a charity of their choice in place of gifts. If this is you, there are registry sites that offer options for this and more.
If you decide to go for one of these non-traditional routes, create a short, traditional registry as well for guests who would simply prefer to get you a little gift.
Wedding Registry Inspiration
If you’re really unsure of what to add to your registry, here are some great ideas for different rooms in your home.
Kitchen Ideas
For the kitchen, choose items that really complement your style and make your kitchen yours. You can always get your own inexpensive odds and ends, so put the items you’re really excited about on your registry.
- High-quality cookware sets
- Stand mixer
- Fancy blender
- Specialty appliances
- Apron, hand towels, and oven mitt set
Entertaining Ideas
For this list, choose things that you’d love to showcase when you have guests over.
- Custom charcuterie boards
- Serving platters, bowls, and trays
- Specialty glassware
- Wine decanter
- Whiskey stones
- Bar accessories
Home & Decor Ideas
This list can be of anything your heart desires to make your house feel like a home.
- High-quality linens
- A luxury duvet
- Artwork pieces
- Towel sets
- Luxurious robes
- Throw blankets
- A firepit
- A grill
While these are some great ideas, you really can’t go wrong. There are no limits to what you can put on your registry so just make sure you’re choosing gifts that reflect your style. Creating your wedding registry is like making your Christmas list as a kid. Just have fun with it, and no matter what, you’ll love what you receive. One thing to remember is to write thank you cards to everyone that sent a gift. Go the extra mile and personalize each letter you write so your guests know that you genuinely appreciate the gift that they bought for your special day. Write a little something about the gift and how you intend to use it to show how much you care.
