Registry Questions

kristan1022 · March 2012

FI and I are finally registering this weekend, so I'd like to pick your brains for ideas. I searched some old threads and saw this had been done a few years back, but updated opinions are always good

FWIW, FI and I are currently planning on registering at BBB and Home Depot, though the Home Depot registry will have to wait for now besides generic tools and things (our plan is to buy a fixer-upper, so we're thinking things we'll need for that).

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why?

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had?

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace?

Any items/brands you love?

Any items/brands you loathe?

Jen6862 · March 2012

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why?
Two: Macy's and Crate & Barrel
Each place had a number of items at every price range and where easily accesible. You also get a gift card back from Macy's of 5 percent of what people spend on your registry!

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had?

More small pots to replace my old ones. We got a pot set, but it only has one in it.

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

No. We really tried not to over-register for stuff we didn't need. I didn't put any fancy dishes or glassware on the registry--we wouldn't use them. Just a nice casual set and wine/bar glasses from C&B.

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace?
Just one I wish I could, our iron, it keeps getting black gunk on it and is worse than our old one. Everything else was fine, I checked everything out before we included it on the registry.

Any items/brands you love?
Crate and Barrel glassware is so nice! Hotel Collection bedding at Macy's, masculine, but luxurious enough for me. We had a hard time selecting a set we both loved.

Any items/brands you loathe?
None that I can think of.

professorscience · March 2012

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why? Four. Although one of them was a little boutique in Waco that everyone on H's side of the guest list shopped at -- we registered for our china and other fancy stuff there, and the fourth (Belk) was actually made by my mother because she lives in MS, and Belk had our dishes, and she got a discount for creating a registry. Our big ones were Target (do not recommend) and Williams Sonoma.

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had?

A slow cooker and silverware. Lane's (the boutique in Waco) only had one set of silverware that was super expensive, so we originally agreed to register for something elsewhere, and then never did.

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

I don't think so. Again, our Lane's registry was so weird -- people would just buy stuff without checking to make sure we didn't already have a ton of it. Fortunately the store doesn't actually order anything until you say "Yes, I want that," so we just ended up with a bunch of credit.

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace?
Not yet!

Any items/brands you love?
I am a big fan of my new All-Clad cookware. H actually worked at Williams Sonoma for a while, so he was able to really pick nice stuff.

Any items/brands you loathe?
I don't "loathe" it, but WS has some really overly-expensive "cook's tools," and the bargain brands are just as good.

fallbride1109 · March 2012

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why? I did two places and felt like that was perfect. Not too many choices but more than one.

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had? One of those digital picture frames!

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

Our luggage. It was such a good price--because it was being discontinued! It is very heavy and the biggest bag almost goes over the weight limit all on its own. Overall, I'm still glad we have it, but I wish I had done more research.

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace?

Our vaccuum--it ended up being a lemon. Can't remember the brand but it wasn't a real expensive one.

Any items/brands you love? I love both my Calphalon and Emeril cookware.

winechic25 · March 2012

This was the WORST part of wedding planning for me. I'm an older bride and while single, didn't feel I shouldn't have nice things just because I wasn't married. So for years, my mom has been giving me nice kitchen stuff, for Christmas and other holidays. And Matt & I have lived together for three years, and had already been in our house for a while, and didn't really need anything. But everyone threw a fit when we talked about not registering. That said...

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why?
Three. Pottery Barn / Crate-n-Barrel / Macy's (we originally registered at Williams Sonoma, but like Amanda mentioned, WAY expensive and you can get most everything we had on our list at Macy's or CB).

This is where I wish those registries that pulled everything together actually worked well, because we didn't have enough to register at any one place, and if I could have picked from lots of various places, I could have filled a registry.

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had?
No.

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

Yes. A lot of our registry actually (decorative stuff) for reasons mentioned above. We ended up taking a lot of stuff back to Pottery Barn, and put it all towards our kitchen table.

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace?
No yet...

Any items/brands you love?
LOVE All-Clad, that's what all my pots and pans are, and love my Henckels knives.
Like Jen also mentioned, all LOVE the Hotel Brand at Macy's. all of our towels and bedding are from that line.

I love the brand of silver that Macy's has, I registered for quite a few serving pieces, and got it all as it's so reasonably priced.

I got this before I ever met Matt, but I am also in love with my Dyson vacuum cleaner, and their pet one, rocks!

Any items/brands you loathe?
Not really

A Few Extra Thoughts:
At first we really didn't want to register for china, but we did, and I am so glad we did! Everyone said that it'd sit in a box like "theirs" does, but we have made a commitment to use it once a month, and we do, even when we have Trent. It's a nice way to make sure you have extra special dinners sometimes. We also didn't register for crystal or nice silverware.

fallbride1109 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:9154f410-6632-498b-bc6b-44b3fb309cd1">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]A Few Extra Thoughts: <strong>At first we really didn't want to register for china, but we did, and I am so glad we did! </strong> Everyone said that it'd sit in a box like "theirs" does, but we have made a commitment to use it once a month, and we do, even when we have Trent. It's a nice way to make sure you have extra special dinners sometimes. We also didn't register for crystal or nice silverware.
Posted by winechic25[/QUOTE]

I think every woman should have a set of nice china. :)

cwaggoner07 · March 2012

I just registered this weekend and my only advice is, holy toledo, eat something beforehand and bring a bottle of water.
I was so exhausted.
And we're not even done yet.

ejheart · March 2012

Amanda, would you mind giving details on why you wouldn't recommend Target? I'm sure there's gotta be a story there. (Sorry to hi-jack your post, Kristan.)

aeliza06 · March 2012

How many places did you register? Did you feel like that number was good/bad in the long run? Why? Two. Crate and Barrel and Target. FI and have lived together for 4 years now so we have everything we need, but it could use replacing since most of it is craigslist/college stuff. Target has been annoying, as half of our stuff is no longer available (after 2 months) and the sheer difference between in-store availability and online availability is beyond frustrating.

Anything you didn't register for that you wish you had? Not yet. Our registry is kind of odd since we have already bought (and furnished) our first home together.

Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't? Decor. I need stuff to decorate the house now, but I hate having to wait until after the wedding. I would much rather goodwill/diy my decor anyways.

Anything you registered for that you ended up having to replace? Not yet.

Any items/brands you love? Dyson Animal Vaccum. Worth. Every. Penny. Also, as Stephie said, I love my C&B Dishes/wine glasses.

Any items/brands you loathe? Target has been a PITA. I had to choose between either Kohls, Dillards, or Target for my family in Abilene (they don't like ordering online so I needed a store they could physically go to). I think next time, I would have gone with Kohls.

Notes: So far, all of our gifts have been from CB (about 15) and we have 0 from Target. Our shower is this weekend so I can update this after.

kristan1022 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:75800b77-71ee-41ce-bbf1-ac7bfa51bb82">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]Amanda, would you mind giving details on why you wouldn't recommend Target? I'm sure there's gotta be a story there. (<strong>Sorry to hi-jack your post</strong>, Kristan.)
Posted by ejheart[/QUOTE]

<div>Hi-jack away! :) I know a bunch of us need/want registering advice, so I welcome all questions to expand this post.</div>

winechic25 · March 2012

And my understanding is returning, even for shower/wedding gifts at Target is a MAJOR PITA!

professorscience · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:75800b77-71ee-41ce-bbf1-ac7bfa51bb82">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]Amanda, would you mind giving details on why you wouldn't recommend Target? I'm sure there's gotta be a story there. (Sorry to hi-jack your post, Kristan.)
Posted by ejheart[/QUOTE]

Sure!

I had heard some things about Target registries being really stupid, but totally ignored them. My MOH told me her brother and SIL ended up with like, four carseats off their baby registry because Target didn't update when people bought for them. Like I said, I ignored it and said, "That won't happen to us."

It ended up being a really frustrating ordeal. First, the stupid registry gun died on us and it took them forever to figure out what was wrong. Eventually they gave up and told us to come back the next day. Granted, that was a store problem, not a national problem.

The biggest deal was that stuff kept just disappearing from the registry, like these big trash cans we wanted, or things would duplicate, like a comforter. The WORST part was that stuff that we didn't ask for just appeared... like baby stuff. Like, my family almost DIED when they checked the registry and saw that I had (apparently) asked for crib sheets.

And then I found the website to be really frustrating. They did a major site overhaul halfway through my engagement and it became really hard to navigate and edit.

Returning was actually NOT a problem, though. We returned an air mattress and all I needed was a copy of the registry, and then they could look up the thing that was purchased for the SKU number.

cwaggoner07 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:881626ad-03eb-48d8-b932-01d5c4757eaa">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE] The WORST part was that stuff that we didn't ask for just appeared... like baby stuff. Like, my family almost DIED when they checked the registry and saw that I had (apparently) asked for crib sheets.
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry but I love this so much.

professorscience · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:8cb5d2e1-9f2e-42a0-af9a-e5f4921879e5">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Registry Questions : I'm sorry but I love this so much.
Posted by cwaggoner07[/QUOTE]

Good note: Target sent me gift cards to apologize because I FREAKED OUT on some poor customer service guy.

ejheart · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:5f4f2025-6687-4163-8e8e-22772b505816">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Registry Questions : Good note: Target sent me gift cards to apologize because I FREAKED OUT on some poor customer service guy.
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

<div>Bahaha. That IS a good note! Man, now I am torn. I almost always check people's Target registries first because there's always such a good variety there (in price and products). Plus, if I'm going to be honest...I can always pick up a few things for myself while I'm there. :) It doesn't sound like it's going to be worth it though if it will cause more harm/stress than good. : /</div>

professorscience · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:8d2c20a6-3e33-4743-bf1e-bd58bc4b01c2">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Registry Questions : Bahaha. That IS a good note! Man, now I am torn. I almost always check people's Target registries first because there's always such a good variety there (in price and products). Plus, if I'm going to be honest...I can always pick up a few things for myself while I'm there. :) It doesn't sound like it's going to be worth it though if it will cause more harm/stress than good. : /
Posted by ejheart[/QUOTE]

<div>Honestly, Bed Bath and Beyond has the same stuff (and often nicer).</div>

juliebug1997 · March 2012

I didn't realize that Home Depot was doing registries again--I thought that had been discontinued about the time we got married.

We registered at Williams-Sonoma and BBB. I know a lot of girls on here hate how expensive W-S is, however, I don't think we had one item over $50 on our registry there. We asked for cookie sheets (theirs are the best!) and other smaller, but better quality items there. We added some of the sauces and other cooking mixes that we liked to our registry there as well. Also, for six months after your wedding, you will get a 10% discount on completing your registry at W-S every time you go in; they even gave it to me one time when I bought something that wasn't on our registry. BBB will only give you a one time 10% for completing your registry.

We registered for everything else at BBB. Including a $200 knife set, a $300 cooking set, a $150 pan with lid and a $500 Dyson. My registry here had the more expensive things and we got lots of gift cards that covered about 3/4 of the price to complete our registry. We also did our dishes and silverware, all the bath stuff and a few things for entertaining here. I'm pretty disappointed in our dishes because paint has been chipping off since about three months after we got married. Some of the towels have started unraveling recently but not too terribly bad. I was not impressed with their every day glassware, so we ended up looking around until we saw something that we thought would work well at Target.

I went into C&B, but I didn't find anything that I liked there and Bill and I both checked out Macy's but I didn't care for their dishes (although I am now considering Fiesta even though I hate their bowls) and I thought that their prices were very similar to what BBB had, but every one has coupons to BBB and Macy's sales on their housewares aren't always that great (IMO).

We didn't register for china or silver because my mom had already told me that I could have her wedding dishes and my grandmother's silver (it's real silver and not silver plated). We also could get some from Bill's mom.

My mom's suggestion to me when I was much younger and I talked about registering for china (way before I met Bill and way before she offered me their wedding dishes) that only do it if you were prepared to receive pieces of it for the next five years to complete the set if you didn't have enough money and gift cards after the wedding.

ETA: We had a problem with BBB clearing out the stuff that we picked for our guest bathroom. It made me really angry.

professorscience · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:05628d92-700b-4aa8-8b53-29bdf1ef6ce7">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]My mom's suggestion to me when I was much younger and I talked about registering for china (way before I met Bill and way before she offered me their wedding dishes) that only do it if you were prepared to receive pieces of it for the next five years to complete the set if you didn't have enough money and gift cards after the wedding. Posted by juliebug1997[/QUOTE]

I'm actually excited about this. There were a few things we didn't get from our china registry, and I just told MIL I would be happy to receive a few of those pieces for the next several birthdays and Christmases.

juliebug1997 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:5d6ebe02-20cc-4209-9416-141ea958b0a4">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Registry Questions : I'm actually excited about this. There were a few things we didn't get from our china registry, and I just told MIL I would be happy to receive a few of those pieces for the next several birthdays and Christmases.
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

It went on for them for about four years. I think she was still getting some of it after I was born. I wouldn't want to get the same gift for all that time, but that's just me.

kristan1022 · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_registry-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:f36cbbd3-8287-4524-b326-551029a16d70Post:05628d92-700b-4aa8-8b53-29bdf1ef6ce7">Re: Registry Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>I didn't realize that Home Depot was doing registries again</strong>--I thought that had been discontinued about the time we got married. I'm <strong>pretty disappointed in our dishes</strong> because paint has been chipping off since about three months after we got married.
Posted by juliebug1997[/QUOTE]

<div>I actually don't even know if they do registries... I should probably check! Haha. I just had heard of people registering there before.</div><div>
</div><div>Do you mind me asking which dishes you got?</div>

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