India Registry Options?

RyansBelovedBride

My fiance is Indian (I'm American) and I'm moving to India.  We're having two weddings (we hope, if we can afford it) one here, and one in India.  From him I understand that while gifts may be given, registries are not typically done (he'd never heard of them.)

My family and friends, however, will be expecting it. Neither Ryan nor I have anything; we both live with our parents.  Ryan because it's culturally acceptable (and cheaper) there, and me because I graduated college and didn't find a job right away, and have only found low paying jobs since and have never been able to get my feet under me.  So neither of us has ever set up an apartment before, and unlike most modern couples we actually need all the kitchen stuff and dishes and the like.

But we can barely afford a wedding, we can't really afford the shipping if my American friends gave me gifts here.  So I'm thinking an online registry for a store or stores based in India would make the most sense. It'd have to be a store that could accept American credit cards, but they could ship to my FIL apartment (or ours, depending on how long before the wedding we get it).  The Indian store wouldn't necessarily have to have a registry system in place (though that'd be nice) I could use a universal registry to just pick items off their website.  But they'd have to be able to accept American currency.

Ryan's not really a help because he really has never given any of this any thought and has no idea what companies really sell household goods in his area.  And apparently while American restaurants have all seems to jumped the ocean, none of the chains I've mentioned has he ever seen there.

Any suggestions? Or is this just not going to work?

temurlang

I have no actual knowledge about this, except that there is no concept of a registry in India.  It's my impression that most household goods come from small shops over there, and the stuff is different (i.e., my ILs have traditional metal plates at home, and a lot things like knives DH has brought them from here).  I think a tactful suggestion from your BFF or mom that you could use the cash over there to buy pots and pans would work best.

rv224

There's no concept of gift registries for weddings in India. In India, people give cash as gifts and maybe jewellry or saris.

However, I do know of some gift stores in India that Americans can purchase from. You won't get the usual gift registry stuff (household goods)  but they have some other types of gifts on there:

http://excitinglives.com/

RyansBelovedBride

Thanks. I know there's no gift registry concept for my Indian wedding. This would be for my American family and friends to buy online so it can be shipped to India without paying international shipping rates.

If anyone else knows of any sites, I'd really be appreciative.

RyansBelovedBride

I just checked out exciting lives and thank you! While it's not mainly household goods I've already found throw pillows and a coliander and I think if I keep searching I might find at least a dozen items for a registry for those who must send a gift instead of cash. Thank you!!

jsleik

Hi!

I see why you want to do that, and I know shipping is really expensive.  But I think letting people know that you will need to set up a house in India via your mom or BFF is a great way to go.  I would look here to register for small things that you could pack up in an extra suitcase to take with you.  People will get the idea that you need to get the stuff when you are physically there.  But you also don't want to lock yourselves into a few stores that aren't going to sell what you really need. 

I've done several international moves.  And one thing I can tell you is that you can not predict what you will need or where you will need to get it.  If your friends and family know you are relocating and they are reminded of it when they ask about where you are registered, they'll figure out a good solution.  I wouldn't worry about it so much.