Gifts for the couple

Weddings are full of rituals, and one that you may not have thought about too much is the ritual of walking through departments stores or specialty stores with a clipboard and pen checking away itemized lists of must haves as you create your gift registry! Some brides and grooms see this is a fun way to pick things out for their new home. Others, usually men, hate shopping and find this to be yet another annoying wedding chore. If you love shopping, give your fiancée a respite from this task and invite your mother, future mother-in-law, sisters or friends whose style and taste you trust. Bring someone whom you can have fun with, especially if that someone is married and knows the useful things to put on a registry.

Though most couples wait a few months prior to the wedding to set up their wedding gift registries, you must make sure that the items you are registering for will still be available when the time comes for your guests to purchase your gift. Guests usually start shopping a month before the date or when they actually receive the invitation. Try to create a large registry if you are expecting a lot of guests. Your guests will be disappointed if they try to buy something at the last minute and nothing is left. That said, it is not rude to have a lot of items in your registry. It is the practical way to go.

Finding the right wedding registry stores is also important and would depend on the gifts the couple would like to receive. The wiser and more popular choices would be department stores where the selection is wide and relatively unlimited. The key is to locate an efficient sales person to assist you so when the need to ask questions arises. That way, there will be one specific person who knows your registry list inside and out to prevent double (or even triple) purchases. These department stores sometimes have a guide to help make creating the registry easier. It is best not to get carried away and automatically register for everything on the guide. If you and your fiancée never drink wine and see that the list states that you should buy eight to twelve wine glasses. Register for things that are needed and wanted. If you’re not into formal dining and entertaining, there is no need to feel obligated to sign up for crystals and china. Register for a good set of everyday dishes instead. Besides, if you ever need china, chances are that you will purchase your own when the need arises or that someone you know has a set they never use that you can borrow.

Whatever happens, don’t be limited by “traditional’ choices or those picked out by your mother-in-law-to-be or those insisted on by your hipster friends. Register for whatever you like, will enjoy and actually use. After all, if an item doesn’t appear on the wedding registry, it doesn’t mean that a wedding attendee can’t surprise you and your other half with a unique gift of their own.

- Ana Javelosa-Gloria