International gifts

sandragermany

Hi evrybody,
I have a fairly special problem. My fiance and I are living in Germany permanently but we are getting married inOhio so all of his family can attend. We will also have a significant number of German guest though. Where could we register so both groups of guest can order/buy the gifts. My biggest problem is too: how do we get the gifts home? (luggage restrictions/customs).
On top of things, we don't really need anything (we've been living together for a while and we don#t have room). Also electronic gadgets don#t work here (different voltage and plugs).

Does anybody have a good idea?

sassy8179

I would suggest setting up a small registry in Germany so that your German friends/family can purchase things locally there (if they even do that there - I have a friend in Switzerland who has never heard of registries before, not sure about Germans). I think it would be really difficult to purchase things in the US and ship them over there... If your American family/friends can't purchase physical gifts, they will most likely give you cash - which is always a nice thing! If there is an online department store in Germany, they should be able to purchase items that way as well.

Hope that helps!

kathrynhabibti

Sassy's right.

samscsi

I would definitely do two registries, one in Germany, one in the US, but also tell your parents or another close friend/relative to spread the word that you'd prefer cash if anyone asks them about registry info.  You'll probably find that many of your guests will have similar concerns about transporting bulky gifts, and will avoid getting you something like a crock pot, knowing it will be too hard to take back to Germany with you.

Another idea is to make sure your American registry is full of items that will be easier to transport, like towels, and linens, and to avoid registering for anything that plugs in.