The wedding registry has evolved quite a lot over the years. What you need on your wedding registry will be different for each couple, however. For some, the list will be pretty obvious, as starting off a new life from scratch can indeed require many essentials and some assistance. Others who already have everything they need can find it a little more difficult to narrow down, but it is still necessary to give your guests a little bit of guidance towards your taste and wishes.
Getting the Word Out
It should be general knowledge as wedding etiquette rule number one to never include registry cards in with the wedding invitation. This gives off the wrong message and is incredibly tacky. Directing your guests towards your own wedding website, however, that so happens to contain a registry – as well as all of the other details of your wedding – can be a little more tactful. Just include the domain URL to your wedding website on your invitations and let your guests do the rest. With the various list of new top level domains on the internet, you can even get creative and include your name and your fiancé’s name in the domain, with .wedding instead of .com or something else cute and to your taste. See here for available options if you’re interested in this idea.
Timing
You want to set up your registry early enough that people aren’t scrambling to buy a gift at the last minute. Normally 4-5 months before the wedding is a good enough amount of time to finalize your registry. If you do go the personal wedding website rout, which includes your registry, you will be able to add to or revise items at will, which can help aid the time constraint of seasonal items, as well as give you more freedom if something comes to mind or your wishes change.
The Stores
It is important that you practice a little restraint here. If your guests visit your registry and see 20 different stores on it, they will most likely get overwhelmed by too many options. The general rule of thumb is to limit your store choices to a maximum of three, and don’t register for similar items at each store. If you choose stores that have a wide variety of products instead of incredibly specialized, you are more likely to cover all of your desired gift areas. On the other hand, if you already have all of the things that you need, you can easily set up a specialized registry for guests to give contributions to charities of your choice, or even set up a honeymoon registry so that guests can contribute to your honeymoon instead.
The Price
Ultimately, you should stick to a price range that you yourself are willing to pay at a friend or family member’s wedding. Or, if you do have “big ticket” items, then set it up in a way that more than one guest can contribute towards that gift. Also, stay away from anything that seems like a “gift grab.” Although you may want a hot tub or a plasma TV, you should include gift items on your registry that seem practical as well as romantic. After all, you really want your guests there to share the day with you, gifts themselves are a secondary kind gesture and not the reason for the invitation.