Registering for your wedding can be like your birthday and Christmas combined but how do you make sure you really stick to the essentials?

Registering for your wedding is one of the most fun parts of wedding planning! It’s like going on a major shopping spree, the likes of which you might never have been able to afford before. It can also be a major source of guilt and conflict as you have to make sure your registry is packed with items of various prices and purposes so that all of your guests feel comfortable shopping from there. Your registry has to toe the line between being a list of friendly and helpful suggestions to being your snap happy wishlist. So before you start wielding the scanner gun like a power-crazed maniac consider what you want and how much you need it.

Usually wedding gifts are housewares because wedding registries are based on giving the new couple the supplies they will need to start a life together. Times have changed since the wedding gift became a tradition though and many couples already have a life together before they are married. In fact, for many brides they feel they have to live with someone for a certain amount of time before they could marry that person. By living with someone before marriage a couple might already have the basics making their registry full of frivolities or expensive gadgets that you might never buy yourself. To avoid being an overly needy bride try to use your registry instead to update the things you already have. If you want to update a large outdated item in your kitchen such as a fridge you could ask for everyone to contribute monetary amounts towards it or register in a way that lets people give together.

The best rule for a wedding registry is always the golden rule. Imagine it is one of your friends or a member of your family who is placing this item on the registry and ask yourself if you would feel happy or comfortable giving it as a gift? Of course, you don’t have to play fair all the time, it’s alright to throw one or two dream items on the list. We won’t tell!

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