Congrats, you’re getting married! Now you get to ask for gifts. Here’s all you need to know including the top 10 wedding registry gifts and tips for getting and giving wedding gifts.
Recently Brides.com determined the top sites for creating a wedding registry with Bed, Bath and Beyond being near the top along with sites like Zola, MyRegistry and NewlyWish that let you register for experiences and honeymoon funds.
According to sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire wedding guests across the country spend an average of $118 on wedding gifts and if you’re a bridesmaid you spend about $177 per event. If you live in Los Angeles, like me, the average is $150 on gifts or cash. I’ve lived in NYC and now LA and that’s usually my magic number unless I’m closer to the couple and then that number rises. I was chatting with friends recently and we all agreed that when we’re close to the bride, groom or both that we try to “cover” the cost of our meals at the wedding with our gifts. We know weddings are expensive. Everything at a wedding seems to receive an inflated price tag. Wedding Wire wrote that LA weddings cost about $5K more than the national average. So let’s get to the good stuff – the wedding registry.
Wedding Registry Tips
The first tip – don’t get overwhelmed or stressed. These are gifts to receive from friends and family. Gifts! We all love gifts so keep it fun.
Before you register for gifts make a list of all the items you think you’ll need as a couple to make life easier, that will last, that suit your lifestyle and that you’ll use regularly.
Now that you’re getting married you may be entertaining more. Family members may choose your house for Thanksgiving dinner next year so register for sets of dishes, cookware and more wine glasses than you think you need. Glasses break; you’ll be happy that you have extra.
Did you know the average couple in the U.S. registers for 130 items? So when you start choosing gifts make sure you choose items that range from $25 to over $150 so people can choose one big item or bundle a few smaller priced items.
A big NO, NO is putting your wedding registry on your wedding invite. It’s tacky. Instead list your registry on your wedding website which just about everyone makes these days to put all the helpful information guests need like directions, hotels, things to do in town, etc. And you know your parents will spread the word. The other place you can mention your registry is on your bridal shower or couple’s shower invite, but please keep it subtle.
Keep track of your gifts. A registry is helpful for letting you know what you got and from whom. If someone sends you a gift you registered for but from a different store or site be sure to mark it off your main registry so you don’t receive duplicate gifts.
Send thank you notes early. You received a gift, now send a thank you. Don’t let more than three months pass before you send a handwritten note. Get an early start and send some thank you’s before the big day. Yes, you can send thank you’s before you walk down the aisle.
Top 10 Wedding Registry Gifts
- iRobot Roomba – A vacuum that cleans on its own, leaving more time for relaxing together – could it be the secret to a happy marriage? It was the #1 registry item…
- Calphalon Contemporary Self-Sharpening 18-Piece Cutlery Set
- Calphalon Classic Non-Stick 14-Piece Cookware Set – Cooking together never gets old.
- KitchenAid Artisan 5 Qt. Stand Mixer in Aqua – People love a pop of color in the kitchen.
- Calphalon Contemporary Non-Stick 11-Piece Cookware Set
- Analon Advanced Bronzer 12-Piece Hard Anodized Non-Stick Cookware Set – bronze hue – Cook up great memories with pieces that will last for years to come.
- Ninja Kitchen System with Auto-IQ Boost for all those smoothies in the morning and frozen drinks on the weekends.
- Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum in purple because people love their pets.
- Calphalon Premier Space Saving Hard Anodized Non-Stick 10-Piece Cookware – Four cookware sets made it into the top ten.
- OXO Good Grips 10-Piece Food Storage Pop Container Set – With the push of a button, this stackable container set keeps everything from baking supplies to coffee beans fresh – not to mention pantries and countertops tidy. What’s not to love?
Bed, Bath and Beyond compiled all the research for the top 10 wedding registry gifts. Check out Bed, Bath and Beyond wedding registry to take care of everything on your lengthy list.
Wedding Gift Tips for Guests:
- Purchase the gift before the wedding day. You’ll have more choices and the couple can get a head start on thank you notes.
- You CANNOT wait an entire year to give a gift. You can’t wait six months either. That’s rude! Get the wedding couple a gift within two months of the big day. With the ease of online shopping there’s no excuse not to send a gift.
- Choose a gift from the registry. Unless you have spoken to the couple about different choices the gift is about them not what you prefer. You can however be a little more creative with your gift giving. Add a month of Blue Apron to a cookware set or bags of the couple’s favorite coffee to a set of stackable containers.
You can watch the TV segment I did on KTLA Los Angeles sharing more tips on wedding registry do’s and don’t’s.
Want more help finding and signing up for wedding registries? The Knot wedding registry helps too.
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Style Expert Alison Deyette is a TV + digital host and lifestyle expert. Named one of the top stylists in Los Angeles by Variety, WWD, Angeleno and Modern Luxury magazines Alison has helped kick-start the new look of hundreds of women and men and worked with people of all sizes and shapes. As a fashion & beauty director, Alison has styled and directed photo shoots all over the world with models, celebrities and real women for a variety of magazines, including Mode, Good Housekeeping, People Style Watch, Woman’s Day, Ocean Drive, Real Beauty and Fitness. And she’s styled Oprah’s Weight Watchers commercials. She appears regularly on Good Morning America, TODAY, Access Hollywood, Access Hollywood Live, Wendy Williams, The Real, The View, Steve Harvey and is the Style Expert for KTLA’s Morning News. Alison is the host of the AOL series The Savings Experiment. She is a contributing fashion editor for Real Simple, Life & Style, In Touch and Closer Weekly. She was the host of Pocket the Difference, a co-host of TLC’s 10 Years Younger and TBS’ Movie and a Makeover and the weekly Style Contributor on Hallmark Channel’s Marie. She’s conducted countless celebrity interviews including Ryan Gosling, Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson and Salma Hayek for TV and in print.