Registering for a wedding is overwhelming and weird.
There.
I said it.
You stand in a store and say "HM WHAT CAN I MAKE PPL BUY ME 2DAY?!".
I didn't grow up making holiday or birthday wish lists- you would get what you were given and you'd be appreciative...so making a list of things (some expensive) was kind of awkward!
Then there's the rules of it all. Thanks to wedding websites I now know that I am evidently supposed to own enough teaspoons to serve a small army and 50 sets of matching towels. The problem is Michael and I currently live in an apartment, so we don't have a ton of space to store 50 sets of matching towels... unless we get rid of our bed and just sleep on towels.
Wait. Actually that sounds cozy. Hmm...
I digress.
Here's a little window into what it's like to register- the good, the bad, and the super awesome.
Let's start on a good note, shall we?
REGISTRY PLACE #1: TARGET
We registered for Target both in store AND online, because it was so dang easy.
If you go into the store, you can either use one of the scanners from Guest Services, or the Target App on your phone. We did both- the first time we used the scanner, and the second time we used our phone- and both were disgustingly easy and user friendly.
The scanner tells you when you've successfully scanned something so you don't have to worry about whether or not you'd added the item. Then it gives you the option to increase the quantity, so you don't have to scan the same item (like 50 towel sets) over and over again. You can also easily delete the item if you decide you like something better! At any time you can scroll through the full registry to edit or delete things in one click.
Don't mind the glare on the phone...but the Target App is just like using Target Cartwheel! Just use the photo scanner to scan the bar code on the shelf or the product and then add/delete/change just like you would on a typical scanner!
As for registering online at Target- my favorite part is the checklist part. It groups different kinds of products together, and checks them off once you've added something to your registry that fills that bucket. Of course, you probably don't need everything on the list, but it's a good gut check!
REGISTRY PLACE #2: KOHL'S (spoiler; we deleted this one)
Whoa Kohl's was the woooooorst. Oh man. We were told to register there or Macy's and man, nope nope nope.
When we arrived, we stood in line for about 10 minutes waiting to check out a scanner and the one person working was taking forever - so we decided not to wait for the other few people in front of us- we'd just download the app and go on our own. It started out fine b/c we had Starbucks, but kind of went downhill from there:
Like the Target app, you use a photo scanner over a barcode- but unlike the Target app, if you want more than one item you have to scan it over and over again to get multiple quantities. In addition to that anytime we would try to delete an item, the app would freeze- and wouldn't delete the item!
The biggest downfall was that about half the items we tried to scan wouldn't register! We would get an error message saying "We're sorry, this product couldn't be found".
Um. What?!
If it happened once I wouldn't have thought twice- but it happened about 8 times until we just gave up and left. When we got home we tried to delete the registry - but every time we would try to delete it, the site would freeze, kick us out, and make us sign back in...to find that the registry wasn't deleted! It took tweeting, facebook messaging, and emailing to get it deleted...total nightmare. Needless to say we are NOT registering there, and will not be recommending it to anyone!
REGISTRY PLACE #3: BED, BATH, & BEYOND
I feel like Bed, Bath, & Beyond is one of the quintessential wedding registry places. We walked in and there was a whole registry section, with someone to greet us and walk us step by step through the process. We chose to use a scanner in store, and while the thing looked like it was from 1990, it was easy to use!
Just like the Target App, it was easy to add/change/delete items!
The best part about BB&B is the fact you can take stuff out and hold it. Picking out silverware is kiiiind of hard to do if you can't tell how heavy/awkward it is :)
We also added a few items online- which was also crazy easy! Every item has the option of "Add to Registry" just like "Add to Cart" - so you don't have to constantly be going through the actual Registry site!
Oh, and let the record show we didn't register for this Grill Pan - but someday I will own ALL the Le Creuset items on earth. #fact.
REGISTRY PLACE #4: ZOLA.COM
So here's the thing about registering when you live in an apartment, and have been together for 6.5 years: You have lots of stuff and not lots of space.
However, asking people to just write you a check is about as tacky as it comes, so that's where Zola helped us out. We ended up choosing it because our friends who got married last year used it and liked it, so we totally copied them. #noshame
Zola is a way to show people what you intend to do with your wedding money. Plain as that. Since we are planning on getting married during our 2 week trip to Italy & Greece, we decided to "register" for experiences while we were there!
We chose to register in ranges from $25-$150, so that people with all budgets would feel comfortable finding something in their price range. We made a list of things we want to do while we're abroad, and put them into amounts- like wine tasting ($25) up to 1 night hotel stay in Santorini ($150).
You can register for items at Zola just like at Target if you want, but we chose to use it as a venue for experiences over items!
WHEW!
Another marathon wedding post in the books...if you missed the last ones, you can find them
HERE.
Where did you register for your wedding?
Any good horror stories or great experiences?
xo, lp
*pssst: are we instagram friends yet? we should be. for sure. find me: @lpodlich*
*pssssssst: do you like snapchat more? find me: lpod216
