How To Build A Wedding Registry

Assess Your Household Needs

Even couples who already live together should do this… in fact, especially those couples. Go from room to room in your home. Look at the furniture and decor. Open the drawers and cupboards. Whats missing? What needs to be upgraded or replaced? What would be a welcome addition? Then make a list of wedding registry ideas. We’ve put together this wedding registry checklist to help you out.

Do Some Online Browsing

With your list of potential gifts in hand, do some online research to identify which stores have many of the items you need. While you can certainly have a registry at more than one storemany couples doyou dont want to have so many separate gift registries that your guests get confused. Ideally, you will register at stores that offer many of the items on your list so that guests have plenty of options.

During this research, make a note of what store carries the items you need. To save yourself time as you build your registry, you can even add links to the spreadsheet when you see an item you love. Keeping track of potential gifts helps you narrow down your registry from the start so that you arent as overwhelmed when you begin adding items to your list.

Setting Up A Wedding Registry Together

Setting up a wedding registry is best when you do it with your partner. This is because every item you choose will serve both of you for a very long time. Again, we know that two good heads are better than one. Choose items that both of you really love as they go a long way to support your bonding. Dont make your partner feel left out. Include them!

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Keep Track Of Items As They Arrive

As you create your wedding registry, Dennis suggests watching it closely, especially as gifts are received in the mail. Returning items can be cumbersome right now and you want to avoid that if possible, he says. As you receive items, check online to make sure its no longer on the registryotherwise, remove it manually.

How Does A Bridal Registry Work

A bridal register is a centralised system where the couple can decide on one or more retail outlets they would like their gifts to come from, and then lets them set up a wanted list which can then be accessed by guests when it comes to decision time.

A very useful feature of the system is that as each gift is purchased it is automatically removed from the list so that there is no risk of duplication. Delivery is also taken care of by the retailer, so guests do not have to worry about lugging around a beautifully wrapped ironing board with them on the day of the wedding!

Is this system hard to set up? Actually not at all. The steps are very simple, and easy to follow.

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How To Create The Perfect Wedding Registry

Lets be honest, your friends will want to throw engagement parties and bridal showers for you after taking the first leap. In terms of protocol, your family and friends may want to prepare those activities for youbut those who will attend shouldnt arrive empty-handed. When its time for your guests to shop for presents, theyll go straight to your registry so make it easy for them . Here are some of our best recommendations on how to create the perfect wedding registry:

How Many Registries Should You Have

Most couples have between one and three wedding registries. A versatile supersite like Zola allows couples to register for material goods and cash all in one place and is always a good place to start. From there, a couple might also register at a department store , a big box store , or other national chains .

A couple might also have more niche goals for their early married lifehome renovations, art purchases, major honeymoon adventuresor could be interested in supporting a charitable cause in lieu of gifts. Registry sites exist for all of these options, and couples often find that using a combination of a few is the best way to cover everything.

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Amend Your Registry As Needed

You might create your wedding registry soon after your engagement and then realize a few months later that there are new items you want to add. Maybe you need to upgrade your coffee maker or replace a broken appliance. Its perfectly acceptable to add to your gift registry in the months leading up to your wedding. Many guests wont shop the registry until the month or weeks before your wedding, so you have plenty of time to adjust the registry as needed.

Plus, youll want to monitor your registrynot to see if any gifts have been purchased but to ensure that items stay in stock. You dont want out-of-stock items on the registry, and you want to ensure that you have enough items for your guests to choose from.

Play With Prints And Color And Texture

The best registries are a collection of products that work together. Review your selections and edit them as a collection. Mix and match your dinnerware. Select four place settings, each of four different patterns, which will give you 16 sets in total when you mix them all together. You don’t have to commit to just one style inject variety into your dinnerware. An assorted, layered tabletop is far more interesting and visually captivating for both you to enjoy and for the guests you’ll impress and entertain.

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Should You Be Paying Attention To The Cost Of Items

The value of a gift is not tied to the price tag, and its important to give guests options they feel comfortable with, says Skurnik. Each guest will approach your registry with a different price point in mind. Guests that want to spend more will often bundle items together to reach that goal, so its good to include a mix of items $50 and under, between $50 and $100, and over $100. And dont feel self-conscious about registering for a few higher ticket items as well. Loved ones often like to join in on gifts together, and you never know who might want to spring for something extra nice, says Skurnik.

Add Your Wedding Registry To Your Wedding Website

Add your registry to your wedding website free of charge, and share all the details of the big day so that nothing is missed: wedding calendar, geolocalised maps, RSVPs, hotels, transport, photographs, videos… a unique and private space that you can design and tailor to your liking, which allows your guests to interact from anywhere in the world.Do you want a unique wedding website? Purchase a custom domain, create cards to include in your invitations, and manage privacy settings with ease – amongst many other things!

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How To Make A Wedding Gift Registry

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A wedding registry is a gift-giving guide for your guests, one that helps them purchase a gift that you truly love. Building your registry, then, is an important step of wedding planning. Wedding guests rely on the registry for their gift shopping, so you want it to showcase items that you truly need. This guide will teach you how to make a wedding gift registry that reflects your interests and needs so that youre showered with practical gifts that youll love when you say I do.

Contents

Make sure you have these items on hand as you build your wedding gift registry:

• List of gift ideas
• Internet access

Destination Wedding Registry Wording

If you’re planning a destination wedding, your guests are already investing a fair amount of money on travel expenses to join you. Oftentimes, couples acknowledge this by requesting no gifts. Explain this with a short and sweet note on your wedding website.

Having you join us for our celebration in is the best wedding gift ever. These precious memories will last a lifetime, so please, no gifts.

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Assess Your Needs And Wants

Are you a young couple whos never had your own place before? Are you digital nomads that work from home? Are you wanting to get funding for your honeymoon more than traditional gifts? In addition to the big questions, then youll want to take stock of what you need. Go into as much or as little detail as you want here. For example, if youre looking for new towel sets, do you think three will be enough per person? Would you want both face and hand towels to match?

In addition to what you think you need, keep in mind how much you think you need of any one item.

Areas to Consider When Making Your Wedding Registry List

• Kitchen and Dining
• Honeymoon

Quick Tips for Registering

• Register for more gifts than you have wedding guests. A total of 2-3 gifts per guest as a good rule of thumb.
• Make sure your items come in a wide range of pricing. Dont be afraid to register for expensive items, just be sure you include a variety.

Look at other couples registries to see if there is anything you arent thinking of and consider asking friends and family that have already been married.

Choosing A Honeymoon Fund Site

Not all cash registries are created equal. Some registry websites can take up to 5 percent of your total cash gift as a service fee or even charge your guests for their credit card transactions. Needless to say, you dont want to ask your loved ones to pay any additional expenses on their already generous wedding gifts! Make sure to look for a zero-fee option like Joys all-in-one registry, which allows you to keep every penny your guests contribute toward your cash fund.

Another factor to keep in mind is ease of use. If you want Grandpa Joe to contribute to that wine tasting excursion, hes going to have to know how to use the honeymoon fund first. Joys registry site is super simple to navigate, making it easy for guests to give you the dream getaway youve been planning for months. The best part? Your friends and family can choose any amount to contribute. You can also add your honeymoon registry to your wedding website for easy access.

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How To Create A Wedding Registry

We know you have a wedding checklist as long as your arm: shop for a bridal gown, choose a reception venue, order wedding stationery, etc., etc.

Create a wedding registry better be on there, too. Its an essential part of planning both your wedding and your married life. Follow these wedding registry tips, and youll create a wedding gift list that both you and your guests will love.

Start Early If You’re Having An Engagement Party

If you and your future spouse decide to have an engagement celebration or if a close friend or family member is throwing one for you, it’s important to create your wedding registry beforehand . While some couples opt for a “no gift” message to spread before an engagement party, most people will still want to give a gift to celebrate your milestone. Without registering prior to the celebration, you might end up with a ton of “Mr. & Mrs.” décor, or stuff you don’t really need . While all gifts should be graciously accepted and appreciated, if you can register before your engagement party, it’s ideal.

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How To Set Up Your Wedding Registry

Its never too early to start your wedding registry unless youre not engaged yet. In fact, many etiquette experts recommend having at least part of it set up within two weeks of your engagement so that family and friends can select from the registry for early events such as engagement parties and the like.

Now, lets talk about how to set up your wedding registry.

Wedding Registry Ideas $150+

Giving a wedding gift is about so much more than the price tag. With that said, these gifts are on the high end of the spectrum and are typically reserved for immediate family members, close friends, and members of the wedding party. Depending on your wedding guests, it might be wise to limit the number of gifts in this range. From a high-end espresso machine to must-have kitchen items, a GoPro action camera, our guide has you covered.

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Honeymoon Fund Wording Examples

To let guests know about your honeymoon fund, use your wedding website registry tab to give your loved ones all the details with one of these popular honeymoon fund wording examples.

We’re looking forward to celebrating with you on our wedding day. We’re planning a honeymoon to and will gladly accept any contributions, tips or advice to help us plan our trip!

We have set up a honeymoon fund at under registry ID

*****

Thank you for being a big part of our special day. If you feel inclined to give us a wedding gift, it would mean the world to us if you contributed to our amazing honeymoon in .

You can see our itinerary and all the activities we have planned on our honeymoon registry at under registry ID .

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From cookware to a living room sofa and everything else in between, Crate & Barrel offers stylish pieces at affordable prices.

Where to register: Online or in stores nationwide.Shipping options: Free shipping for purchases of $99 or more. It offers two different ship-to addresses, in case you would like gifts sent to different destinations pre- and post-wedding.Return policy: Same as Crate & Barrels overall return policy.Registry will stay active for: 18 months after your event.Gift-wrapping fee: $5.50 per gift box.Discounts to know about: Gift registrants receive 10 percent off all remaining items in the registry, plus anything else theyd like to purchase, for up to six months after the wedding date.

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Time Is Of The Essence

Congrats to the happy couple. Here are two crucial distinctions regarding when you set up your registry that are important to recap:

With easy categorization and access to hundreds of top brands, Zola is ready to create the perfect registry whenever you are. Register now and see for yourself how exciting it is to set up and add to one of our famously easy wedding registries. You can always save it and send it out when the time is right.

Zola is the perfect platform to ensure that you make the most of your registry experience. Zola’s competitive pricing, access to thousands of classic gifts, and our universal registry feature make Zola the top choice for couples all over the world. Whenever you choose to set up your wedding registry, one thing is certaina Zola wedding registry is an unbeatable experience.

For more resources from the wedding experts at Zola on creating your registry, see below: