A few registering questions...

lopezeli

When is it acceptable to being registering? We are getting married in March, so we still have about 9 months. Also, I would really like to register at Crate and Barrel, but I live in Louisiana, where there aren't ANY , but we are getting married in California (where 95% of our guests are from, so it wouldn't be a problem for them). Is this okay? I'm just thinking about how big of a pain it might be if we need to exchange/return something. What do you ladies think??

egm900

While you can register online, there are things that I think you need to see/feel to determine the quality (towels, sheets, flatware).  You could either register for things like that somewhere local, or make a trip to a city with a C&B to register.  The closest C&B to NOLA is in Houston, which in the scheme of things, isn't that far.  If you decide to register there, I would be selective on what I registered for.  Extra set of wine glasses can be useful, small appliances not so much.

mbatzlaff

We registered in February for our August wedding and a number of items have gotten discontinued. You can start registering now if you want, but be prepared to change out some things.

BTCarolus

I think you should register somewhere where you can touch things. Obviously the kitchenaid stand mixer is the same everywhere, but the quality of the towels or whether a certain set of flatware fits in your hand is a totally different matter. You don't happen to be going on vacation to CA or another state with a Crate & Barrell anytime between now and then? Although it's good to be registered pretty far out, for your own sanity (it takes longer than you think to go through the whole process), guests usually don't start buying until really close to the wedding/shower. Like the week before. Even the weekend before. So if you only registered three months ahead you'd still be doing ok.

C&B's online registry and customer service are great. The only thing you'd have to worry about are returns, but you can strategize around that. So long as you don't have anything on your registry that you don't actually want, there should only be issues if you get double gifts or if something happens to be broken.

I registered at C&B in February for an August wedding and not a single item has been discontinued. But my registry for JCPenney has had about half of its stuff get discontinued, and I need to rebuild it (I was sort of expecting that). So it totally depends on the item/store whether that will happen or not.

erbear84

We started a small registry at BB&B for our April 2013 wedding at the request of several relatives...and we just bought a house so that will likely come in handy for any gifts anyone might want to give us (same for our birthdays/holidays).  I kept it REALLY small though - just some appliances we liked - and will add things that can get discontinued later.

Also, I have the opposite problem with C&B - we have one in Pittsburgh, but FI's family won't have one and doesn't shop online. 

divinemsbee

I also think it's good to register for things you can touch. I live in San Antonio, TX, but I'm getting married in MS, and that's where my shower will be and where most of our guest list is. I really wanted to register at CB or PB or Macy's, but I knew if I did we wouldn't get much off of the registry at those places because no one could get to one and I don't have a lot of online shoppers in my group. I'll admit that I've kind of made it harder on myself because I registered at a regional department store and will have to go back to MS to complete my registry. However, I registered there in person and was able to touch everything when I picked it out. And we also registered at BBB, so I know I can do that here.