random registry question!

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

i would ask this over on the registry board since it is a very specific question, but they can be kind of rude over there and i am hoping no one jumps on me for seeming greedy or anything like that.

fiance and i are curious as to how many items we should actually put on our registry. we are inviting around 260 guests to the wedding. i keep hearing that we should put twice as many items on our registry as the number of guests we are inviting...but 520 seems like an insane amount of things!

however, i keep looking at our two registries, and it just doesn't seem like we have all that much stuff considering how huge our guest list is, and it makes me nervous! it isn't particularly common to just give money in my family, so we are expecting the majority of people to shop off of our registries.

i don't want to seem greedy by adding too many things, but at the same time, i want guests to have a decent selection of stuff to choose from, and i don't want to run out of choices for guests by the time we are close to the wedding day (especially since i am likely having two wedding showers as well).

after the long winded introduction, here is my question:
how many items are on your registries? Are you using any sort of calculation based on number of guests when figuring out how many items to place on your registry? are you considering the numbers of gifts you might get at your shower in figuring out how much you should add to your registry?

bblouin · February 2012

we sort of followed that double rule but since we registered for some bigger stuff as well so people could go in on it if they wanted to.

BmoreBride311 · February 2012

I think the "register for 2x # of guests" thing is something that stores like BB&B or Target tell you, so that you register for more things from them. If anything, I would register for less, as a lot of couples and families will give you one gift for all of them.

I am a believer that you shouldn't register for stuff just b/c ppl want you to, so I would say to register for the things you want, trying to be mindful to provide a range of prices and types of gifts. Check your registry after your first shower. If it's low, or if there are very limited selections in certain price ranges, then perhaps add more if there is more that you honestly want. If there isn't more that you want, then just leave it and people will either give you cash or find things off registry.

BmoreBride311 · February 2012

Sorry, in all my response, I didn't really answer your questions!

how many items are on your registries? about 80
Are you using any sort of calculation based on number of guests when figuring out how many items to place on your registry? no, we just registered for the things we *really* wanted, for now. We may add second tier things later if it gets low, or just leave it low and let ppl shop elsewher/give cash/give nothing, etc.
are you considering the numbers of gifts you might get at your shower in figuring out how much you should add to your registry? not really, for reasons above, but will check the registry after the shower to possibly add some place settings or more wine glasses, etc.

butterflyjumper1 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_random-registry-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:b1429472-8ef0-4754-b2e7-a167af7c9458Post:97c41d7d-1c5f-4318-ba3b-89824619fcde">Re: random registry question!</a>:
[QUOTE]I think the "register for 2x # of guests" thing is something that stores like BB&B or Target tell you, so that you register for more things from them. If anything, I would register for less, as a lot of couples and families will give you one gift for all of them. I am a believer that you shouldn't register for stuff just b/c ppl want you to, so I would say to register for the things you want, trying to be mindful to provide a range of prices and types of gifts. Check your registry after your first shower. If it's low, or if there are very limited selections in certain price ranges, then perhaps add more if there is more that you honestly want. If there isn't more that you want, then just leave it and people will either give you cash or find things off registry.
Posted by BmoreBride311[/QUOTE]

this is great advice - thanks! we thought it would make more sense to register for 2x the number of invites we send rather than number of guests, because as you said, families or couples will purchase one gift each, most likely. i will follow your advice and check things out after the shower!

bridetobe71412 · February 2012

That's a good point about the 2x number of invitations! I will have to keep that in mind when my mom keeps asking me to add to my registry.

At present, we have about 150 items on our registry. It's not enough for our 215 guests, but I don't really want to add that much stuff! And plus, they consider each freakin teacup one "item" so we're REALLY in trouble. I'll probably add a bunch of lower priced items . . . but (I know this sounds awful) I really want the china so I'm wary of adding too many! Oh well.

LADY324 · February 2012

We are registered for about 275 items between our 2 registries. My shower list is 60 people. Once the shower is over we will not add to the registry. It is normal in our circle to just give money for the wedding. Not a lot of people buy actual gifts here in NJ. You might see 1 or 2 gifts on the present table. Most people just give cards with cash or a check.

dramaqueen91087 · February 2012

I'm just registering for what we need/want. I figure I have a bunch of stuff and a range of prices so I should be fine. After the shower (s) I'll check the registries and maybe add a few things but not to much. If there isn't much left guests can give cash. I don't want to register for stuff we won't use just so people can buy us stuff. At that point I'd rather have cash we can save to buy a house.

Madisonpenny · February 2012

I think you should register for items that you actually need and not just stuff so your registry had double the number of guests like some books and website 's recommend to do.
Also quite often if you have larger items or more expensive gifts that can be bought by a group of people. For example, FI and I will be needing a new washing machine and dryer. We would never expect 1 guest or family to buy us one of these 2 items but we do think it could be possible that say my 3 uncles will get together and purchase one of the two.

bells24412 · February 2012

Our guest list is at 315 (we are hoping for less) we only registered for 202 items. People here only buy off the registry for the bridal shower which we are only inviting like 60 people. The day of the wedding here people usually give how much they think the place is.

littlemoments324 · February 2012

There is no need to register for 520 items...that is insane!! Honestly, you're probably fine with what you have now...You registered for things you think you need & want. If they get bought, if they don't, they don't...if you run out, they'll give you cash or gift cards. At the wedding we'll most likely have only a few actual gifts & the rest will be cards.

NikkiF731 · February 2012

I agree with PPs. Register for what you need and want. If someone comments to you that they're having a hard time finding something to get you, you can always add then.

singing_lyn · February 2012

Right now our registry between 3 places is at 67 items and I'm inviting 206 people to our wedding. I would never register for 412 items. That's just an insane amount and people will think I'm being greedy. Plus there are some expensive items and I know people will go in on them. We've also set up a honeymoon registry for people to put money towards different things on our honeymoon so they can feel like they're contributing to something that we'll really enjoy. I know some people look down on them but I know that some of my guests would rather give a memory than something that will end up breaking or going bad. I still might go in and add a few items here and there that I think of that we need for our apartments but I probably won't get above 100 items.

aynos77 · February 2012

I say register for what you want / need. But adding stuff just to hit a certain # seems silly, and you'll likely end up with random stuff you really don't want or need.

If you think you need to add a few more things, Maybe add a few more place settings, or add extra glasses, etc. since those things do get broken over time and its nice to have extra.

random registry question!

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