Hello my brides-to-be! I know you all are extremely excited for your big day coming up, but don’t forget to plan for married life… Once the planning, schedule’s full of wedding appointments, and anticipation cease, there are a few things that will come in handy when regular day-to-day life begins to creep back into existence. But no need to worry, that’s why you have guests come to your wedding and give you presents! Just kidding; but if we’re being real, your guests are there to celebrate with you and they’re probably going to bring gifts to show their love and desire to help you. Might as well guide them in the correct direction, am I right? Well, that’s what a wedding registry is for!

This is a place where all your needs and wants for your future home will be organized. The registry is an orderly place where guests can visit and quickly know what things you are looking for and/or will be the most helpful to give you. Okay, so you are starting to get the picture of “why” you need to create a registry, but now begs the question of “how?” Where do you even begin?! I’m glad you asked.

Creating a wedding registry is simple; all you have to do is think through every room of your (current or soon-to-be) house and ask yourself what is still needed. Do you need pots and pans for the kitchen? Okay, great, add it to the list! How about some cute wall decorations or maybe even a TV? Shy of outdoor patio furniture? Throw it on! My biggest tip for creating a registry is to not be shy about what you add. You never know how generous Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary might be, but they want to know what you need. However, along with that, make sure you have a great variety. Don’t just add the most expensive items you can, be sure to put some smaller things on there as well. Leave options for your guests to choose what best suits them.

Let’s break this down. Here are 4 simple steps to creating your perfect wedding registry.

Prepare

Ask yourself questions – begin preparing yourself by answering questions like these: “Are you moving into a new home? Do you need to start completely fresh? Are you looking for a different style? Are there items you already own? Do you need specific appliances to outfit your home? Or are you more in need of saving money to buy bulkier items such as furniture?”

Talk to your partner! – Don’t go at it alone, include your partner in the decision-making. Ask him what he would like to own. Can’t bear to go without a good coffee maker? Add it to the list!

Choose a style – When talking to your partner, make sure you decide on a style that you would like your future house to hold. Once you have chosen that style, make sure the items you add to your registry follow suit.

Create

Enough talk, let’s start creating! But first, you need to choose a platform where all of this will be organized. A few great options are wedding-specific websites such as The Knot and WeddingWire. These places are great for all kinds of wedding planning such as searching for vendors like myself who are advertised on there or creating a registry. Once you create an account, hit “create registry” and let your imagination run wild as you add all of the things you could ever want. These platforms have many features like adding a “cash fund” to allow guests to simply give money into savings for whatever items you did not receive.

OR! You could make this a date night! In this time of chaos, you can use any excuse to go on a date with just you and him, right? Even if you are still wedding planning and surrounded by a bunch of shoppers, it’s the thought that counts. All I’m saying is that it’s extremely fun to run around a store with one of their scanners choosing every item (even the ones you might never have thought of until you ran into (maybe literally) at the store) you would like to be gifted. Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, and Target are great options for this kind of registry.

Add!

Now comes the fun part, adding items! Once you choose which platform you would like to work with, it’s time to begin filling up the cart. Like I said before, don’t be shy with what you ask for, but make sure to give a variety. It makes people more comfortable when they have a wider assortment to choose from and more control over what they might be giving.

Since you already talked through all of those aforementioned questions with your partner beforehand, you have a style chosen and have a good idea of what will be missing in your future home. Start with the necessities and work your way down from there. 

Some examples of what to add: Household appliances, kitchen necessities (don’t be scared to list random or odd-ball things… if you will need a can opener add it to the list), small furniture items like dining chairs or a nightstand, you can even have some fun and throw on a few board games you would love to own while hosting a party! Get creative, add whatever you think you will use.

Most importantly, only add an item to the list if you will absolutely love it and use it. Don’t allow for an awkward moment when Cousin Bill gave you fancy wine glasses when you actually don’t drink. Have fun and go all out, but be realistic when it comes to making final decisions.

Share

Congrats! You’ve successfully created your wedding registry. Now the last step is just to share it with everyone so they know what you need! Make sure to start your registry early enough so that you can get it out to your guests with enough time for them to shop around your personalized store and buy their gift ahead of time. It’s pretty simple to share, and there are a few ways. You can either directly send out the link in an email, letting your guests know the registry is live, spread by word of mouth directing people there, or even adding a section to your wedding website (if you have one) and linking your registry there. The Knot and other websites make this simple! 

There you have it! Now you’re all ready for not only your big day but the life that comes after it. What are some tips that you have learned that best help in creating a wedding registry? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Or check out more inspiration on the blog HERE!