For us, it was 72 Oxo containers. You know, the single moment during 15 months of preparation where you look and your fiancΓ© and wonder if it’s a wedding you’re planning, or a circus.
We wanted one Oxo container. The scanner heard 72. And before you knew it, we were THAT COUPLE arguing in the middle of Boston Store β the couple people walk past and whisper, “Oh my, should they really be getting married?”
Yes, passersby. We’re actually pretty great together. But wedding registries are a bit stressful. Especially when you’re forced to look for 482 items Martha Stewart says you simply must have.
With wedding season quickly approaching, I wanted to start a new category on the love, katie photography blog called, “Wedding Tips.” This is meant to be a planning and preparation resource for future brides and grooms. It’s also meant to act as a place for past brides and grooms to leave pieces of advice in the comment section. Anyone is welcome to join the conversation β the more people share, the better. π
I decided to start the series with a painfully common question: What are we supposed to put on our wedding registry? Six months into our marriage, the gifts Tommy and I received for our wedding have had some time to “soak in.” Certain items were really great ideas. So, I decided to make a list and share it with all of you!
Please note, the following list is based solely upon a conversation Tommy and I have on a near-weekly basis …
Katie: I’m so happy we registered for this.
Tommy: I’m so happy I thought to put it on the registry.
Katie: I think I thought of it.
Tommy: No, I thought of it.
Katie: I’m pretty sure I did.
Tommy: No, I did.
Katie: Fine.
Tommy: Love you.
Katie: Love you too.
So again, no scientific research here. If you agree, great. If you disagree, even better β I’d love to hear why. π
Here goes …
A quality coffee maker. Does this item really need an explanation? Nope. Everyone loves good coffee. And if you don’t love it yet, the Law of Coffee says you will eventually. Click here to see the one Tommy and I received.
A large garbage can. Yes, I said it, a large garbage can. I hate taking out the trash. I will fit everything I possibly can into the trash can before I’ll take the old bag outside and replace it with a new one. (I’m talking about getting down to the very last Kleenex.) And really, who actually buys a BIG garbage can? Tommy and I were getting by on the standard 13-gallon garbage can for our kitchen. But that meant emptying the garbage can every two or three days. Um, NO. So we (actually, he) registered for a 21-gallon garbage can from Sear’s. And it’s AWESOME. It still fits inside our kitchen pantry (I have a thing about not making a trash can the centerpiece of the kitchen), and we empty it once, maybe twice, a week. Problem solved.
Pretty bedding, with lots and lots of pillows. Let’s face it β we’re grown-ups now. The hodgepodge of blankets from your college bookstore and Mom’s closet really don’t mesh well with adulthood. Plus, it’s hard to justify 10 decorative bed pillows on a post-wedding budget. Register for them now, and you’ll be able to re-decorate your bedroom after the honeymoon!
Dishes and silverware. I know, boring, right? I’ll be the first to admit β it’s stressful standing in the middle of Crate & Barrel with 128 different options to choose from. But you’ll be happy you registered for them after the wedding. It’s so nice to have a full set (meaning, 12 plates, 12 glasses, 12 bowls, 12 everything …) for your new kitchen. Tommy and I stuck with a fairly modern and simple theme for our dishes and silverware. If you’d like to see what we choose, click here and here.
A stand mixer. Your quality of life actually improves when you get your first stand mixer. I wrote about ours here.
A dust buster. Our miniature vacuum is my best buddy. It comes in handy when you have pets. It’s also perfect for little spills, dirt spots and hard-to-reach corners. And, it works great for vacuuming out your car!
An iron. Eventually, you’ll get to the point where your husband comes home from work and says, “My coworker said my shirt was too wrinkly today.” (If your husband works with mostly men, this is definitely an issue. Men don’t notice those kinds of things … unless it’s really wrinkly.) I guess wrinkle-free shirts do not remain wrinkle-free if you leave them in the dryer for three days. So, buck up and get out your brand new iron. It actually works pretty well when you put it to use. π
Wall art. When you’re married, it’s sort of expected that you start decorating. People come over and stuff. They want to see what you’ve done with the house. And blank walls are kind of boring to look at. Tommy and I registered for a couple different pieces β Crate & Barrel has some great options. But I’m not all about making our house look like everyone else’s, so we also decided to use some of the money we received from our wedding toward three big canvases, which became the centerpieces of our family room. (We used three photos from our San Francisco honeymoon.)
Last but not least: Once you’ve registered for your essential wants and needs, register for nothing more. Sounds a bit counterproductive, right? Let me explain. If you go wedding-crazy with that cool little scanner they give you in every store, you’ll end up with a bunch of things you really don’t want, or need. Of course the store’s wedding consultant is going to tell you to register for 10 times more than what you think is normal, because that’s their job β to get your guests to spend a lot of money at their store. But before you go crazy, think about where you’ll put all of your gifts. Consider how you’ll actually use them. Point being, when guests go to your registry a week or two before your wedding and realize most of the items have already been purchased, they’re going to give you money instead. MONEY. (It’s a good thing when you’re newlyweds.) If you have any remaining bills from your big day, you can use the extra cash to start your marriage debt-free (or close to it).
I’ll leave you with a photo of Mya’s favorite wedding gift β our new bedding. She’s not allowed in every room of our house (I’m allergic to dog hair), but she just looooooves to sneak into our bedroom and curl up underneath the bed. It’s so darn adorable. (And yes, I probably should have used our new iron to take the wrinkles out of our new bed skirt. However, that sounds extremely ambitious. And I’m not 70 years old.)
That’s all for now, friends! Don’t forget to leave a comment with your favorite wedding registry item, or ideas for future Wedding Tips editions. π
To view past wedding photos, please click here.
Comments