First off, let me state that we in no way feel entitled to gifts. I'm just asking the question so that I can make things as easy as possible for those who want to give them to us.
FI has told me that his family/friends don't buy wedding gifts. Their family hasn't had many weddings in the US (they're Mexican-American) and I've been told that they're treated more like big parties than gift-giving occasions. I'm not sure if this is true, if he's been oblivious to gift-giving culture, if it's because his family has a tendency to PPDs, or if it's simply because he's spent most of his life in a small, close-knit community without a lot of money. Regardless, no big deal.
We're expecting about 200 guests. We've got about 110 on my side, 90 on his. On his side, only about half are family/from the same background.
My family gives non-cash gifts. We're older and both had established
households when we met so we don't really need anything. My aunt just offered to throw me a shower which, while we don't need anything, I'm super-excited about. We'll be using this period as an opportunity to upgrade what we have. We have a small home and simply don't have the space for a lot more stuff.
How much do we realistically need to register for? Do we only need to register for enough from my side? Do I need to find enough for his side too?
Also, while I'm at it, what's my timeline for registering? We're getting married mid-October so I'm assuming that I need to do it before the shower invitations go out. Is that fair?
This is all much harder than I expected!