How many?

gonnabemrsh

Well, our total invite list is 126, including kids. So...how many things do I register for? Obviously things at lower & higher price points, but there are some in the family who are fairly well off that could buy 2 or 3 things, and others who may not buy anything... I was thinking of trying to get about 150 different things on the list, but then I've heard it's greedy to have a big registry. I just want people to have options, not look greedy. So is there a "rule of thumb" here?

marissa_claire

I wouldn't even follow the rule personally.  I think we probably registered for 100 or so items when we're planning on 100 guests and we've already had two showers.

Seriously, just register for what you want.  Don't add stuff to fill a quota - add stuff because it's something you would like to use in your home.  If you don't need dishes, don't register for dishes to just to meet a number. 

gonnabemrsh

Well, I'm the type of person who goes "ooooh pretty!" to just about everything, so I'm sure that between Target and Bed Bath and Beyond (the two places we plan to register) I could easily register for 500 items lol. *That* would be too much, though. You know what I mean?

Thank you for your responses, any other opinions are also welcome!

noodle_oo

I looked at registering from another perspective:  what do we NEED?  We have lived together for a while, so we registered for upgrades of stuff, stuff we didn't have, and some stuff we'd never buy ourselves (china, stemware, silverware).  Registering was kind of hard and we ended up with about 100 items total (over 3 stores).  It would have been very hard to add more since we just didn't need it and we didn't want people to buy us stuff we didn't really have a use for.  So we figured if it was mostly sold out, we'd add a bit more but then we'd just hope people would either give us a personal gift or cash.  Worked out fine since mostly we got cash, so I'm glad we didn't spend a lot of time trying to make a bigger registry.

For you:  remember with 125 or so guests, many are couples who will just get you one gift for the wedding together.  If you also have a shower, depending on how big that is, that gives some extras.  So I think I'd aim for about 150-200 items on your registry (that gives people a lot of choice).  I think more than that might be excessive.

But I'd start by just registering for what you want and see where that gets you.

MacFreitas7

In really want to quote the "rule of thumb" speech from Boondock Saints right now... But I won't... but, keep that in mind!!

Here's what we did. FI and I weren't going to register because 1. we aren't living together before we get married so we would need NEW everything. (both moved back home) 2. we really didn't know that it's super helpful for the guests... BUT... instead we registered for EVERYTHING and while not expecting it... we have the options out there for the guests and if things don't get purchased we get the discount which is always a plus!

You want to have various price points on your registry and while you may only have a certain number of guests you don't want to have just that amount. I mean one guest could purchase all your kitchen utensils which will be counted as separate registry items. Towels are also separate on a registry... so in retrospect you could register for 200 items... but 20 of them are kitchen utensils and 20 are towels, so you've already knocked it down to 160.

Basically I agree with noodle... think what you NEED first... then go from there - there's no SET # of items... just not go EXCESSIVE

lmckenzie98

I wouldn't be following any rules......just have a good variety of pricing, and put on the list what you really want/need and don't worry about counting.  I think you will have more fun this way.  You can always check your registry (or have a friend do it).  If it is getting too low, go in and add some more.