Gift registry, two countries

kellyclloyd

My fiance and I are planning our wedding in Belfast, Ireland, where he lives currently and is from.  I live in the US.  We will begin our life together in the US, but with some delay due to visa processing times. Eventually, we'll end up in Belfast after a few years.

Most of the guests come from his side of the family in Ireland. Receiving gifts purchased in Ireland is a difficulty for us because we would have to transport them all back to the States.

We keep getting questions about where we're registered. We're not registered anywhere, yet.

What is a good way to handle this? Should we register for gifts in Ireland? The States? Or not at all? If not at all, what do we tell our guests when asked where we're registered?

And, what's the normal protocol for letting people know where/if you're registered?  (The whole registering for gifts thing seems awfully presumptuous to me...)

Thanks!
-Kelly

[Deleted User]

I would probably registry in the States. It should be pretty convienient for guests to order online and have the gifts shipped. Since you guys will be living here first, that just makes sense to me in case you need to make any exchanges or returns.

sister2groom

If you're going to register it makes most sense to register in the states. Bonus for your guests: sales tax in the U.S. is significantly lower so they can probably get more gift for their money (depending on the exchange rate). I would also suggest registering at a store that non-Americans would be familiar with: the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Macy's. I just feel like they would be much more likely to shop online at Macy's than at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Oh, and at least for Americans, registering is very common and not considered rude. You don't advertize it, but you can put it on your wedding website (if you have one) and certainly if people directly ask about it. I don't know how they feel about registries across the pond, so if they would be offended by registries, then adjust accordingly.

emilyinchile

H and I live in Chile but had a reception in the US with my family and friends. For that, we registered for only things we knew we could pack: sheets, towels and small kitchen items. Some people bought off the registry, others gave cash. We only had one person go off registry and buy something so fragile and heavy that it's still at my dad's house in the US - everything else we brought back with us.

I'd do your main registry in the US with a registry of small/light things in Ireland. If people ask, it's perfectly fine to say "thank you so much! we registered at XYZ Store for just a few things we know we'll be able to pack back to the US." They'll get the hint. Otherwise, the generally accepted ways of letting people know are by posting the info on your wedding website and having your family/close friends spread the information by word of mouth. If someone asks you directly, you can of course answer, but you shouldn't just be going around telling everyone who'll listen.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I probably wouldn't register. And if people ask, tell them the truth - you're moving back to the states and it would be hard to take things with you. They might get you cash or small items. If you really want to register, I'd register for towels/sheets and other things that are small and pack more easily.