Linens, Crystal, China Oh My!

The Save the Dates are about to go out. They are printed, addressed, and stamped. They also have our wedding website on them which in turn has our gift registry on it AND being the A.R. person that I am, that means our registry has to actually have have stuff on it... So needless to say, O and I spent today, scanner in hand wandering around Macy's and BB&B registering for our fictional 2 bedroom 2 bath house that we may or may not have post nuptials. 

A few months ago, we registered at Crate and Barrel at one of their Wedding party events which I highly recommend as your first registering experience. You have to get up fairly early on a Sunday, (like 10am, but you know you'd be getting up to get ready for brunch anyway!) but there are mimosas, scones, and a personal shopper involved so in my opinion, totally worth the couple less hours of shut eye! Just a word to the wise though, save the mimosas until after you're done registering because you don't need bubbly clouding your judgment of which stemware to choose!  

So, without further ado I will share some lessons learned today while gift registering. 

Do:

• Print out and take with you Real Simple's Wedding registry checklist. Its is well organized, to the point, and the best one I've seen so far. Every store you register at will give you a copy of their "recommended registry items" and I found every one to be excessive and have many things that O and I will NEVER use. 
• Wear appropriate footwear- take it from the girl who hobbled out of BB&B today with blistered feet and a fiance complaining of sore knees 
• Give your fiance a kiss and tell him/her thank you for being there and being supportive of you while you're facing the all important decision of whether to scan the cream or ivory bath mat
• Take ample food and water breaks. You'll be surprised how many calories all this decision making burns.
• Have a cold beer or glass of sauv blanc waiting for you when you get home.

Don't: 

• Let pushy sales people try to tell you what you HAVE to have. If you and your fiance will never use crystal candlesticks or the all-in-one toast and egg breakfast maker then don't feel pressured to register for it! 
• Have plans with anyone  or anything except your couch after your finished. Your head will be spinning with spatulas, thread counts, and china patterns and a little down time will be necessary.
•  Get frustrated or overwhelmed when you can't make a decision right away. That's the beauty of online registries! Scan both, decided later.
• Forget to ask about the store's return policies. Some will give you store credit and some will even give you cash but none of them will tell you unless you ask!

So there ya have it. Just a few lil' tips I learned today. To all the Brides out there, do you have any do's and don'ts to minimize wedding registry stress??

Ciao!

Claire