Not registering...any creative "registry" ideas?

Re: Not registering...any creative "registry" ideas?

• jessicabessica member

  

  January 2013

  People will give you cash on their own.  Do not register for cash.  Like you said, they take a percentage, and many people consider asking for cash rude.  

  
  

  You can also make a small registry of packable items, like sheets and towels, that you can easily use in Spain.  

  Report0 Reply
• Fancypantsamy member

  

  January 2013

  My brother in law and his wife had a wedding in Canada even though they live in Korea. All of their guests figured out that cash was probably the easiest thing to transport without anyone telling them. 

  

  Report0 Reply
• itzMS member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  Don't register. Simple as that.
  
  Should you get boxed gifts at your reception, you and FI can decide if you'd like to ship, return, or donate the item.
  
  In the meantime, start saving up for shipping costs! I know it sucks, but it's something every bride and groom who don't get married near where they live deal with.

  Report0 Reply
• AddieCake member

  

  January 2013

  I think most people will give you cash knowing you are living in another country. 

  What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14

  

  Report0 Reply
• gymbugmj2k member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  "If people ask where you are registered you can just tell them you decided not to register because you were worried about getting the gifts back home. People will take the hint and give cash. Most people know international shipping is a pain."
  
  
  THIS.  If i knew a bride and groom had to travel home, there's no way i'd send them back with a bulky gift. i'd give cash.  you COULD create a small list of stores and activites that the two of you enjoy and spread that via word of mouth. a sort of unofficial list of 'good gift card' ideas. lol
  
  hubby and i purchased a home and gutted a kitchen weeks before our wedding. when our families and friends heard about this, many people got us gift cards to home improvement stores, restaurants and grocery stores   We LOVED this. they were such useful gifts to us!

  
  

  ~*~ Charmed By Wine Blog! ~*~
  

       

  Report0 Reply
• Avion22 member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  Just a note about getting cash as a wedding gift:  

  
  

  If you are planning on going back to Spain soon after the wedding, make sure you have a plan to cash/deposit checks or get currency exchanged, and give yourself a few days for this.   I know that cash seems like a really easy gift for people getting married stateside but living abroad, but it can be a huge pain to cash checks in dollars if people don't have a US-based checking account.  Even getting cash in dollars can be a hassle because it's hard to travel with a lot of cash (and there are limits on how much you can carry into a lot of countries), and sometimes it can be hard to get currency exchanged in a hurry without taking a HUGE cut on fees and accepting bad exchange rates.  

  
  

  It might just be easier to register for sheets.....USPS flat-rate priority mail boxes are the bomb, and you can ship them internationally.  Just remove items from their boxes/packaging to maximize space.  

  

  Report0 Reply
• LynneF72 member

  

  January 2013

  Thank you for all the ideas!! I guess I would lean more toward a travel registry than anything, IF anything. So, what about friends giving friends cash? I would feel sorta awkward about giving a friend a check. Or is that just me??

  Report0 Reply
• hoffse member

  

  January 2013

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_not-registeringany-creative-registry-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:249cf3b3-35b5-47cb-8b94-71da5b3f76d6Post:23f89cb3-ccae-47ae-8e4e-3f59c218329b">Re: Not registering...any creative "registry" ideas?</a>:
  [QUOTE]Thank you for all the ideas!! I guess I would lean more toward a travel registry than anything, IF anything. So, what about friends giving friends cash? I would feel sorta awkward about giving a friend a check. Or is that just me??
  Posted by LynneF72[/QUOTE]
  
  <div>I don't think you get it.  Travel registries are cash registries.  Either make a traditional registry of THINGS or don't register at all.  No honeymoon registry, no travel registry, no house registry, no "student loan registry" (I saw this recently.  Extra gross).  A lot of people give cash and a lot of people will write checks.  It's not my prefered mode of gift giving but for a bride & groom living abroad I would probably break my own rule and write you a check.  Or else I would go to the bank, get some euros, and stick that in a card.  You might be surprised how many people give you euros.</div><div>
  </div><div>That said, just plan to stay in the US at least through the Monday after your wedding so that you can go to a bank and deposit the checks/cash.  I did this when I lived in Italy, and I had an ATM/credit card that I was able to use overseas from capitol one or citibank or something - the US bank didn't charge me an exchange fee, and so the only fee was through the actual ATM (it was just the fee to use a different card - it was like 1 euro per transaction or something cheap).  I was in college, so in the event that I was about to run out of money my dad could move some money over to that account to access it.  Maybe look into setting something like this up if you don't have it already - pick a bank that is local to where the wedding will be so you can physically go there and deposit checks, and everything will be fine.  Also set up an account beforehand with both your and your FI's names on it in case people write checks to you with your married name.  For joint accounts, it's usually best to be "Miss Jane Smith OR Mr. John Doe."  That usually lets customers only need one endorsement when the check is written to you both.  Having "AND" in between sometimes requires you both endorse, and you may not be able to if people write the check to you at your married name.  You just have to check with your bank. But if you will be here for only a couple days after, I would shop around to make sure you pick a bank that isn't going to give you trouble with this.</div><div>
  </div><div>But yes: you will mostly get cash without registering for it.  I'm pretty sure everybody knows you live overseas.</div>

  

  Report0 Reply
• MyNameIsNot member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  Please don't do a travel registry.  It's just a cash registry with a lie.  It's rude and decietful.

  
  

  You'll be fine if you just don't register.  There will probably be a few physical gifts that you'll have to ship or donate, but most people are smart enough to figure out that flying overseas with a blender is not the greatest plan.  

  Report0 Reply
• Fancypantsamy member

  

  January 2013

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_not-registeringany-creative-registry-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:249cf3b3-35b5-47cb-8b94-71da5b3f76d6Post:23f89cb3-ccae-47ae-8e4e-3f59c218329b">Re: Not registering...any creative "registry" ideas?</a>:
  [QUOTE]Thank you for all the ideas!! I guess I would lean more toward a travel registry than anything, IF anything. So, what about friends giving friends cash? I would feel sorta awkward about giving a friend a check. Or is that just me??
  Posted by LynneF72[/QUOTE]
  
  <div>
  </div><div>
  </div><div>Did you not read my post? Your friends will figure it out. Stop trying to maximize profits on your wedding. </div>

  

  Report0 Reply
• EK2013 member

  

  January 2013

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_not-registeringany-creative-registry-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:249cf3b3-35b5-47cb-8b94-71da5b3f76d6Post:23f89cb3-ccae-47ae-8e4e-3f59c218329b">Re: Not registering...any creative "registry" ideas?</a>:
  [QUOTE]Thank you for all the ideas!! I guess I would lean more toward a travel registry than anything, IF anything. So, what about friends giving friends cash? I would feel sorta awkward about giving a friend a check. Or is that just me??
  Posted by LynneF72[/QUOTE]
  
  <div>What if you make a <em>very </em>small registry with a shipping address to <em>your address in Spain</em> at an online retailer that will allow international shipping? I don't know how much more clear that message could get.</div><div>
  </div><div>I would never contribute to a travel registry and strongly suggest against them. They're not only rude, as they are asking for cash, but most likely you will lose money in that deal because in most cases you will not see the full value of your gifts. </div><div>
  </div><div>While I personally, at this point in finances, would rather do just about anything other than give a friend cash, I also wouldn't bring a boxed gift to a wedding that the B&G traveled to internationally.</div>

  Report0 Reply
• bridalmarch member

  

  January 2013

  I have zero problems writing checks for a friend. Hell, we ended up writing a check for FI's sister's wedding because I had the date wrong and didn't get a gift in time. 

  

  Report0 Reply
• kjlamb member

  

  January 2013

  You could ask people in leiu of gifts please make a donation to (insert name of Charity here) add that to a wedding website. 

  
  

  
  

  

  Report0 Reply