6 months from now W and I will hopefully be curled up with a bottle of wine in our honeymoon suite in the Dominican enjoying life as husband and wife. Only 6 months!! We are now closer to our wedding than the day we got engaged. It seems so unreal most days, and I feel highly unorganized usually always. With that being said let’s get to the purpose of this post!
This blog is really not about me. It’s about all of you who read, subscribe, and contribute. I might have written this post, but all of you contributed your thoughts one way or another, and I am truly grateful for that. The idea behind this was not only to help Walter and me, but to also help future brides down the road. There is no magic book on how to plan a wedding, but I am honestly so proud of myself. In 4 months he and I planned our entire wedding except for the flowers, cake, and dress. I wanted us to put this behind us so we could focus on Walter’s health, and it was honestly the best thing to happen, because everyone is now rescheduling because of quarantine. My heart literally breaks for all of those brides; I cried reading their posts thinking about how much work and money Walter and I have already poured into our own wedding day. With that being said, let’s discuss the daunting task that is the wedding registry.
Wedding Registry: A fun, awesome, time where you and your future spouse peruse the aisles of department stores and use the little scanners to scan the items you just have to have to start your new life together in holy matrimony. Is it a new set of fine china? A complete set of silverware?
Let’s be honest, ours looks a little different, due to quarantine. I’m not going to lie; we have a ton of stuff already from when we both started out on our own. I was a little lost when it came to registering, simply because I didn’t even know where to begin. Walter and I really want cash the most for our honeymoon. It is important to us to take a trip where we will have memories for the rest of our lives. With that being said, I also know that lots of people just cannot come to a wedding or a shower without a physical gift in hand. So I decided to create a registry with items, and for all of my fellow brides following along, I am going to outline how I did this, why I registered for certain things you would never think of, and how I stayed organized. I managed to get this done in 5 hours, and I am really proud of myself. I felt like this was a much better option for us than physically going into a store.
First thing is first, where. The number one most recommended places on my Instagram and Facebook feeds were Bed, Bath, and Beyond tying with Amazon. Second retail options went to Crate & Barrel and Target, and trailing behind were Macy’s, Lowe’s, Pottery Barn, and Zola. I chose to use Amazon and Zola. After a lot of investigating and thinking of how I proceed when I shop registries, I decided that a centralized location was the best fit for us. Zola and Amazon are huge platforms, and it was very simple for me to add our Amazon registry right into Zola. I also had one item I wanted from Wiliams Sonomoa, but did not want to create a Williams Sonoma registry. Zola made it very easy for me to add that single item right into the registry on Zola! I also was able to add the items from Crate & Barrel I wanted without creating an entirely different registry. It was also really simple for me to put our Zola link on TheKnot so that guests can view it on our wedding website. Zola also allows for gift cards and a centralized way to manage a honeymoon fund directly linked to your bank account, which is what Walter and I were really trying to accomplish. I definitely recommend making any item over $150 into a “group gift”; this allows multiple people to contribute to an expensive gift without going all in on their own. Another thing both Amazon and Zola do is offer you 20% off any gifts that don’t get purchased. So adding a few expensive items was a great idea, even if folks don’t buy it… automatic 20% off later!
The Basics that most brides told me they cannot live without:
- Amazing Towels, tons of them, buckets and buckets of towels.
- Pots and Pans, bakeware, casserole dishes
- Glassware
- Silverware and Dishes
- Good Vacuum, most recommended Dyson and Roomba. We have a SharkPro that I cannot live without.
- Expensive Sheets
- Small appliances like a toaster oven, air fryer, dehydrator, foodsaver, instapot, KITCHEN AID MIXER, griddle,etc. (A lot of the ninja stuff!)
- Cast Iron anything
- Patio Set and fire pit
- Fireproof safe (We already have one, but I HIGHLY recommend!)
- Chick Fil A Ice Maker
- Table Cloths and Table Linens
- Bissell Crosswave
- Cutco Knife Set
- Le Creuset Pots, pans, casserole dishes, Dutch oven, anything Le Creuset basically because it lasts forever.
- Crate & Barrel Serving Items (Trays, Ice Bucket, Cheese Board, etc.)
Things I was told not to register for, because people will buy them anyway:
-Cutting Boards
- Plastic Storage Containers
-Serving Boards/Trays
-Waffle Maker (Takes up a lot of space to be used for one sole purpose. Eggos for life.)
I added a lot of these to my list, but since we have a brand new set of silverware, dishes, and mixing bowls we received for Christmas; I skipped those. No use in duplicating. I have created a checklist (because I honestly wish someone would have done this for me!) to walk you through. If you don’t need it; you can cross it off.
#1 Honeymoon Fund! J
Bath Sheets (The Jumbo ones. I put 30 on my registry I think?), wash cloths, hand towels, etc.
(I Did not add this, but I have seen people add new shower curtains and bathroom accessories. Great idea!)
Beach Towels
Satin Sheet set or high thread count sheets
Weighted Blanket and Duvet Cover
Facial Steamer
Ninja IQ 5 in 1 system **this and all of the accessories are my #1 requested item. If you don’t know what this is, look it up. **
Ninja Foodie
Meat thermometer
Buffet Crock Pot cooker for dips
Electric carving knife
Amazon Silicone Baking Mats
Roasting pan with rack and lid
Foodsaver kit and Bags (Momma Haleigh Schoon recommends this, have to have it.)
Knife Set
Clip on strainer
3 in 1 Avocado Slicer
Marble Rolling Pin
Nice set of Tongs
Nice set of Spatulas
Over the cabinet door organizers
Muffin tins and bread pans- Multiple
Le Creuset everything (Kettle, iron skillet, pie pans, all the pans. Need I say more?)
Pots and Pans – Nice ones
Pots and Pans organizer
Pyrex glass storage set… lasts forever.
Williams Sonoma Limited edition Kitchen Aid Mixer (My Dream Mixer…)
InstaPot
Cuisinart 4 Slice Toaster
KitchenAid Immersion Blender
Calphalon Pizza Pan 16” (Girls said this was a MUST, so I registered for 2, because W loves pizza!)
Silicone Kitchen Utensil Set
Crate & Barrel Wine glasses
Crate & Barrel over the sink colander
Crate & Barrel cooling rack
Crate & Barrel 11 Bottle wine rack
Hamilton Beach Flex Brew
Cordless Vacuum
Handheld Bissell Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner
Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
Wet/Dry Bissell Car Vacuum Kit
Shark Steam Mop and Pads
Scale with Bluetooth
Bissell Air Purifier- 2 sizes
Outdoor items are what we truly need:
Grill and grill accessories
Leaf Blower
Power Drill Set
Hedge Trimmer
Weed Eater
Power Washer
Camping Chairs
Fire Table
Tailgating Tent
Tailgating grill and grill table
Tailgating tables (4ft, 6ft, 8ft and corresponding spandex stretch table cloths) Shout out to Erica Crouch for the table idea. Literally a must have for tailgating and livestock shows!
Yeti Tundra Haul Cooler
Shop Vac
Blue Driver Diagnostic Tool for your vehicles
Kayak
Blow up Beer Pong for the pool
Lowe’s gift cards
Delta gift cards for future trips
Paper Shredder
I linked both registries here for you guys to review.
As always, thank you for tagging along on this little journey of mine. I haven’t had much time to write, but I am learning to make time for the things that I love. Your support means the world.
Xo,
-Macy
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