When do I start my wedding registry?

Question

I am planning on getting married in 7 months and I am not sure when I should start making my registry for gifts. I don't want to do it too soon but at the same time I don't want to wait till the last minute. Any advice?

Answer 1

Around 2 months before your shower. You don't want to do it too early because stores change inventory for the seasons and you don't want your items to become unavailable, however, you want to make sure your guests have enough time to pick up a gift. If you were getting married in October, I would say around July would be good.

Answer 2

You're right that you don't want to wait until the last minute to register - it can be exhausting, and you will probably need to go to the store more than once to set up the list, even if you use the internet to edit and add to it.

You should probably register a few months before the first gift giving event - whether it be an engagement party or bridal shower.

But, if you really want to start working on it now, go ahead...you may find that you and your fiance need some time to work out your choices...because he might care more about china patterns than you think he should. :) In that case, just don't start spreading the word about the registry until a few months before the party.

Answer 3

It depends on where you are going to register. Many stores change their merch every season. So this can make it very difficult to find items for example during the summer in June that you may have registered for, say, six months ago in December when they had winter merch.

So, at Crate and Barrel where I work, since we are an extremely seasonal store and change merch very frequently, I always tell couples to register no longer then three months before their event. That way they can be sure that their items will still be available when their guests come to purchase. I would recommend this for really any retail store you will register at, but also take into consideration when your shower(s) will be, people don't just buy for the wedding!

Although, if you really want to start your registry early that's okay too, you just have to update your registry every now and then. Most stores that have registries allow you to access yours on their web site, that way you can add and delete items any time you want - and even change addresses where you want your gifts to be sent if they are to be mailed.

Also, just a little extra info, a great resource is theknot.com. This is a great web site to set up your own wedding web site for free. They are a great resource for planning tips, advice, and will send you emails (if you want) on wedding events like bridal shows going on in your area. Once your site is set up with pics and details about the big day, your guests can view it for updates and sent you messages!

Congrats and good luck!

Answer 4

I was engaged for five months before we got married and I started my registery as soon as we started telling people our news. That's when people started asking and I couldn't wait to get started on any of the planning that had to do with living with my new husband. I made sure that I registered with stores that had websites so that my friends and family could go shopping in the comfort of their own home if they wanted and they could have the gifts sent to me directly.

Also, make sure you update your registery regularly as some items may be discontinued or you may find something you like better. One more thing...purchase a couple of things off your own registery (they could be small items) to generate movement. I read this somewhere and it really helped. The thought behind it is that nobody wants to be the first to shop from your list.

Congratulations and have fun!

Answer 5

start your registry asap but only add the big items that are more likely to be in stock on a reg. basis.(ex. kitchen app.) wait until about 2 to 3 months before the wedding and add all of the smaller things.

Answer 6

you should start now. You should as soon as you are engaged in my opinion. Start going around to different stores and look around to see if they have anything that you would want and then start meeting with the bridal registry department, but make sure that you jot down what you want to register for because if you don't, it could take hours going around and scanning items.

Answer 7

a couple of weeks before your bridal shower is a good time to have your registry finished. start now! its never to early to start, because if you forget anything you can put it on. if you do it just once youll step out of the store and say "ratz i should have put.... on there too!" it happens believe me lol.

its good to have it done before your bridal shower that why guest can check that for gift ideas and for the wedding gifts too. it worked great for me. i didn't have ten million people (it seemed like anyway lol) asking me what i wanted, they just checked my registries!

Answer 8

I would wait about 2 more months to register but be careful when registering for seasonal items - they may not be available when your wedding rolls around.

Answer 9

I personally think that the sooner you start to plan the better. When you send out the invitations you want to ensure that you have finalized your selections.

If you haven't already, you should check out Weddingchannel.com, they have advice and everything you need to organize....they are certainly helping me in my time of need.

Answer 10

Ask the store you choose how long it remains in their system, that will help you decide. Also as long as it's before the shower so you can write, "registered at store XYZ" on your shower invitations.