How many?

Ballet513

Hi, I'm curious how many registries are appropriate. I would like to have three, Macy's, BBB and Williams Sonoma. Are three too many? 

ElisabethJoanne

3 is not too many. 4 is thought to be too many. The rule I made for myself is I have to be able to answer "Where are you registered?" in one casual breath. It's actually 2 casual breaths, because our china registry is unusual. "We're registered for fine china at replacements.com. We're also registered at Macy's and Sur la Table."

Simply Fated

I wouldn't go more than 3. Personally, I think more than 2 is excessive, but that's just me.

cebrady89

Three is totally fine. I actually think 4 would be the absolute limit, anything above that seems like a lot. We did Macy's, Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdale's and a local store. 

aragx6

I think it depends what the third is. Honestly, what's the difference bweteen Bloomingdale's and Macy's really? But if the third were say REI or something a bit more "fun" I think it makes more sense.

ElisabethJoanne

Bloomies + Macy's may be a regional thing. While it's best not to do extra registries to accomodate guests from different regions, it can be OK, even if necessary, depending on the regions involved. Department stores are in some regions and not others.

And, yes, I think it's important that all guests (or almost all) have close access to a brick-and-mortar registry store. Not everyone likes to shop online or even can.

cebrady89

If the Bloomies/Macy's question was directed at me (not sure if you were just questioning in general or not), we originally had only Macy's but Macy's decided to stop carrying the China pattern we already had some sets of - Bloomingdale's did carry it, so we added the difference to a registry at Bloomingdale's and ended up finding some great kitchen stuff there that Macy's didn't have. A lot is similar between the two, but there are definite differences in the selection.

I think as long as each registry has a good amount of stuff on it, it's not a problem to have multiple registries, within reason. I've actually never been invited to a wedding where the couple was registered at less than three stores (but also never to one with more than 4).

teralicious

I am registered at one place (Macy's) Personally I think more than two is excessive. Anything over three is just plain greedy!

ElisabethJoanne

I was responding to aragx. I, of course, totally get having an extra registry to deal with a hard-to-find china pattern. Ours hasn't been made in over 50 years, thus replacements.com [which theknot helped me with - thank you]

morenachica110

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_many-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:cf513480-bb0a-4f9d-b914-9c45f52cc2d1Post:b766279e-4039-4516-aeca-3c992f247a21">Re: How many?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think it depends what the third is. Honestly, what's the difference bweteen Bloomingdale's and Macy's really? But if the third were say REI or something a bit more "fun" I think it makes more sense.
Posted by aragx6[/QUOTE]

<div>Ditto this. We'll be doing Belk, BBB, and Rei =)</div>

Bonzo2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_many-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:34Discussion:cf513480-bb0a-4f9d-b914-9c45f52cc2d1Post:dec3e356-de91-4510-843a-f8310b9b3af8">Re: How many?</a>:
[QUOTE]This is an honest question - why do you ladies feel like more than 2 registries is greedy ?  Don't you think the amount of guests plays a role in that decision, as well as the couple's living arrangements prior to getting married? Just wondering :)
Posted by cebrady89[/QUOTE]



I agree with this. If a couple had more than 3 or 4 registries, I would find the number of options somewhat overwhelming, especially since I don't have much experience buying wedding gifts. But as long as there is a distinct reason for each registry, it doesn't seem greedy to me at all.

strlzfan11

For me, I think it looks greedy when you have multiple registries (as in more than 2-3) and a small guest list, but that's just my personal opinion.

hoffse

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_many-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:cf513480-bb0a-4f9d-b914-9c45f52cc2d1Post:023a89d1-75b4-48e0-9245-1efe0a78afb1">Re: How many?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: How many? : I agree with this. If a couple had more than 3 or 4 registries, I would find the number of options somewhat overwhelming, especially since I don't have much experience buying wedding gifts. But as long as there is a distinct reason for each registry, it doesn't seem greedy to me at all.
Posted by Bonzo2011[/QUOTE]

<div>This is my feeling.  Plenty of people have guests from different regions or are having large weddings and can't find 300 things at one store.  Personally it doesn't bother me to see a lot of registries on a web site, particularly if the wedding is out of town.  The other thing is that you don't have to put all of your registries on your web site.  I don't know why people think you have to run a full list to every person who asks - we have several, but I will direct guests to the ones most local to them if anybody asks me.  We have more than 300 people who will be invited, and they are from all over the world.  We are doing more than 3 to accommodate everybody.  Most of the registries in my hometown that I see have at least 5 stores, because few things are local and so they provide a lot of options for when people go shopping out of town.  Doesn't bother me one bit and doesn't seem greedy to me if there is a range.  What bothers me is when there is a ton of things over $100 - THAT strikes me as greedy.</div>

rlavach

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_many-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:cf513480-bb0a-4f9d-b914-9c45f52cc2d1Post:dec3e356-de91-4510-843a-f8310b9b3af8">Re: How many?</a>:
[QUOTE]This is an honest question - why do you ladies feel like more than 2 registries is greedy ?  Don't you think the amount of guests plays a role in that decision, as well as the couple's living arrangements prior to getting married? Just wondering :)
Posted by cebrady89[/QUOTE]
I agree with you on this. Although the general consensus seems to be that 1-3 are the norm, it really depends on the couple. There are a lot of factors, such as guest list, previous/current living situation, and even regional preferences. <div>
</div><div>In some areas, physical gifts are given at both the shower & the wedding (therefore requiring more selection). In our area, a physical gift is only given at the shower. <div>
</div><div>IMO, I think 3 is the max. You start to push it at 4. Then again, I have 3, so I may be biased :)</div></div>