Choosing your registry.

This is the fun part! However, when choosing to provide your guests with a registry list, you may feel overwhelmed. Do you feel like you are pushing your guests to buy you certain items or do you even feel rude assuming they would want to buy these for you? Don't! Friends and relatives will be looking to buy wedding gifts as soon as they hear about your engagement. Really! Take the guesswork out of gift buying by making sure they know what you really want.

Firstly, to decide what you need, take inventory of the things you already have and see where the gaps are. Talk about the style of home you'd both like, and what would fit in with your lifestyle (Do you need a stand mixer? You never bake!). One thing to consider is local shops vs online mega stores. If you are a Target shopper, you may feel comfortable choosing to register there. Target has thousands of options and is accessible to every guest, both in location and in price points. If you have a favorite local shop, go in and ask the owner if they have a gift registry option. You may be pleasantly surprised! Even smaller online shops have them now! It may be a bit more work but will be worth it in the long run, and you could be happily supporting a small business!

Another incentive to look for is discounts from vendors. When S and I were registering, I noticed companies like All-Clad and Le Creuset offer free merchandise when registering for a certain amount of their products.

And don't forget about Etsy! Contact vendors for special registry requests!

A final idea is either a honeymoon fund or having a list of fun things your guests could contribute to for your honeymoon, such as a snorkeling day trip or a couples massage. Contact your hotel or resort to find out about setting up such a registry!

You may also be wondering if you should include your information on your invite. We also pondered over this for quite some time but in the end, decided to add it since it was just easier than having everyone ask us or our parents. Some say it's a big no-no but we just thought it would make the process simpler for everyone!

Good luck!!