Wedding gifts are not quite like other sorts of gifts. When it is your birthday, you can hint at what you want, but you are probably usually surprised by many of the presents you receive. Gift giving has always been a part of the wedding celebration -- from the very earliest gifts of bread and honey cakes -- which means that plenty of traditions have grown up around wedding day gift giving.What you lose in happy surprises when you set up a wedding registry, you and your guests gain in peace of mind. Loved ones don't have to guess at what you want because it's all right there in front of them. You don't have to worry about how to thank your great aunt for the lovely tie dye duvet cover. Creating your gift registry should simply be a part of the wedding planning process, albeit one that is a lot more fun than scouring the yellow pages for local caterers.
Try to abide by the following guidelines when creating your own bridal registry, and you will be amazed at the great gifts you'll be getting on your wedding day.
1. Pick a store that offers a wide selection of a variety of things at different price points. Popular and large nationally-dispersed stores are sure to have thousands of gift ideas.
2. Make sure your wedding guests are aware of your registry, but never include registry cards with save-the-dates or invitations. Tell your parents and your attendants to spread the word a few months before the wedding. Hint: You can also include registry info on your wedding web site...just don't make it too overt.
3. Make sure you include both lower priced and higher priced items on your registry. If your registry is full of nothing but splurges, you may inadvertently price out those guests who are on tight budgets or are spending a lot of money to travel to your wedding.
4. Try to choose a store that allows you to create an online registry or features your in-store registry on their web site. That way, guests from out of town don't have to bring their gifts to the wedding...instead, gifts will arrive on your doorstep before and after the wedding, giving you plenty of time to write your thank you cards.
5. Because some guests may know you or your fiance, but not your fiance or you, make sure both of your names are on your gift registry in case any attendees want to personalize their gifts.
7. Registering for gifts isn't greedy, though you may feel that way when choosing presents to add to your registry. Check out this article on wedding gifts that keep on giving to learn more about charitable gift options.
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