5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Wedding Registry

by Tali Joy. February 2024.

Creating a registry is such an enjoyable part of planning your wedding. This is where you can start dreaming with your spouse about your new life together! You begin to envision what your home will look like, what activities you may want to do, or what items bring you both joy!

As someone who has already gone through the process of curating a registry, here are five tips I would recommend to any bride-to-be who feels overwhelmed and needs guidance on how to build their own ultimate wedding registry!

1. Evaluate your spaces!

Before you start hitting the “Add to List” button like crazy, start with a plan! Grab a pen and paper, and brainstorm by walking into your bathroom, living room, kitchen, and bedroom. Ask yourself what are practical things that you would need, and write them down. Do you use your toaster every day to make your signature avocado toast? How about new bed sheets for a queen sized mattress instead of your childhood twin sized one? Essentials such as a toothbrush holder, hangers, pots and pans, cooking utensils, or cleaning gadgets can be a great place to start. After this initial run through, starting your registry is a little less daunting; by doing this, you add your most used items on the list first. Scrolling online or running through stores can be a lot of fun, but physically walking through each room in your house, apartment or future house will help you not miss any practical categories!

2. Over Add!

You may think, “hold on, I can’t put on too many items!!” I’m telling you that this is a time and season of your life where people LOVE to splurge on you and bless you. So literally ANYTHING that you need or are going to buy yourself eventually, put it on your registry! And guess what, if those items don’t end up getting purchased, your plan was to buy it anyway! Don’t rob someone else’s opportunity to bless you. I received this advice from a few people while we were building our registry; we underestimated how much people really wanted to bless us. Also, sometimes if you don’t put a lot on your registry, you run the risk of getting a lot of duplicates!

3. Have Fun!

Be playful, run around the store with your significant other, and dream with them! Put stuff on your registry that you might not need, but you want! New camping gear for your annual hiking trip? A fancy coffee maker to make your cappuccino in the morning? How about the pantry glass storage containers pinned to your kitchen Pinterest board? Or maybe you’ve always wanted to upgrade your regular cotton pillowcase to a silk one because your hairdresser always says they’re better for you? Fun gifts are often the ones people love giving the most because they share a love for the same interest! My husband and I both had a few things on our list that were our top personal picks. I really wanted this fancy paper cutter for scrapbooking and Seth wanted a new quality meat thermometer for cooking steaks! Try writing a little memo under some of your gifts describing what you may use them for so that your guests can get excited with you!

4. Vary the prices!

Make sure you are adding a large variety in the price range of your registry. There are people in all different financial situations attending that still want to be able to get you something. It’s also fun for people to do themed gifts that include a few items off your registry, such as a “baker’s basket” filled with muffin tins, oven mitts, rolling pin, a Mrs. apron, etc. So while you may ask for the expensive stainless steel pan set, be sure to ask for the small things like salt and pepper shakers, too!

5. Clean it up!

After you’ve come up with your list, it might look a little messy! I recommend sitting down with a friend that you trust, ideally someone who has already been through making a wedding registry too, and begin to narrow down your list! Your friend can inform you of the items that they loved from their registry and what items you could avoid altogether. You can take or leave what they say, but their advice can be helpful! Next, try imagining receiving the gift itself. What emotions are you feeling holding it in your hands? If your first reaction is, “Aw, darn it, I needed something else!”, then the item does NOT belong on your registry. If your reaction is, “Yes! This is what I really wanted!”, then keep it on there! This small mind game was SO helpful to filter through and figure out the items I didn’t really care about.

Bonus Tip: For the people who don’t think they need a registry, those who already live together or feel like they have everything you need – you can STILL have a wedding registry. Why? People still want to be able to buy you physical gifts. Also, if you don’t have a registry, people will still buy you things blindly and you may end up with items you don’t want at all! Create a registry to upgrade the items that you already have to get a higher quality, long lasting option. You can also use a registry to pay for your honeymoon, don’t be afraid to ask for cash! You can create an option for your guests to fund your plane ticket or buy your dinner outing at a specific restaurant, or gift you a scuba diving experience! Some guests enjoy this option because they feel like they’re actually giving you a gift that will create fun memories!

Overall, have FUN building your registry and see this as an opportunity to DREAM with your partner. This part of the planning process doesn’t have to be stressful! ENJOY!

Need somewhere to start? Be sure to check out my Amazon Storefront* for my top wedding registry recommendations!

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