It is finally Wednesday again, meaning time for a new post! So as part of the bridal shower series, I am writing about different places to register. Deciding where to have our wedding registries was so much fun and also figuring out how many places and how many items! Just like wedding planning, who knew there were so many things to consider. We are planning on having about 150 guests at our wedding so we opted to having 3 registries! We registered at Target, Crate&Barrel and Williams-Sonoma.

Target

Pros:

• Target is literally everywhere.
• They have almost everything you need for your home at such a good variety of price points.
• There is a Target registry app that lets you manage your registry at any time of day, and if you happen to be at the store and find something you love, it even has a scanner so that you can instantly add your item
• Completion discount. So after your Wedding you will receive a 15% coupon to use one time towards any items remaining on your registry.

Cons:

• My biggest con would have to be the turnaround of how long items last in stock. We decided to start our registries around the 1 year mark from our wedding and so many items went out of stock or were no longer carried, so we had to go back and do some updates. The most shocking items were simple things like bed sheets. I would think those would be pretty constant but I think it has to do with a lot of the Target rebranding.

Crate&Barrel

Pros:

• Crate&Barrel offers Private Registry events! I loved this, we were able to attend an event on a Sunday morning before the store was open to the public and have the store to ourselves with about 10-15 other couples registering. They even had a breakfast spread and at the end provided us a “Congrats” gift, that consisted of 2 stemless wine glasses in a cute linen embroidered bag!
• They also have an app that allows you to add things or remove items as you wish.
• There is a thank you manager through their online portal that allows you to track who sent what and if you have sent them a thank you card.
• Their items remained in stock! This was huge for me. About 95% of the items that we picked last november are still in store today.
• I loved that Crate&Barrel had such a huge variety of items to choose from, even furniture! Their kitchen items selection was amazing and had so many price points that we loved.
• The style of items here much more modern, sleek looking and that is totally right up our alley!
• Completion discount:10% discount towards registry items. The discount is good for 6 months after the wedding.

Cons:

• The one con that I had with Crate is that they are not as accessible! I believe there is only one location in Houston and then nearest one from there is in Austin. Since we travel to Houston so often it wasn’t so much of a big deal but on our guests end, it may have not been as convenient.

Williams-Sonoma

Pros:

• We actually decided to register at Williams-Sonoma at the last minute. Originally we had decided to go with Sur La Table since they have locations in both Houston and San Antonio where most of our guests are at. But then we happened to walk by the Williams-Sonoma nearby and saw that they were having registry events that whole month. We decided to sign up for a wednesday evening session and it was so nice! The store was not too crazy (like a saturday) and at the end they gave us a Le Creuset baking set valued at around $90!
• We love that it is just kitchen focused! It was so nice to be able to focus on just kitchen items and pick nice quality items that should last us for years to come.
• An app also exists, this one isn’t as flexible but it did allow to pull up a scanner to scan in store for items.
• Multiple locations
• Completion discount:10% discount towards registry items. The discount is good for 6 months after the wedding.

Cons:

• A lot of backordered items. I noticed about 5 things constantly were backordered so I can see how that would be inconvenient.

Other Registry Options:

• Bed, Bath & Beyond: Obvious, but just like Target, there are multiple locations, so many options at different price points and their completion program includes receiving 10% for 3 months after the wedding.
• Pottery Barn: Pottery barn has such a good selection of home essentials and decor. A lot of their items have that classic element that you will love 5 years from now. Just like Williams-Sonoma, it is very specific, so I would recommend registering at 1 more place to offer your guests variety.
• Sur La Table: I would compare Sur La Table with Williams-Sonoma. A huge variety of kitchen essentials and electronics. I would say that with Sur La Table some items are a little more affordable but what I did notice was that they didn’t have as many gift sets as Williams-Sonoma.
• Amazon: Everyone pretty much uses Amazon nowadays so I think this is an awesome and unconventional way of registering for wedding gifts! Especially when it comes to wanting to pick items that any of the above stores wouldn’t carry.
• Zola: Comparative to Amazon, this makes it so easy on the couples end to add items from everywhere but also on the guests side, it’s an easy click to purchase.
• Department Stores (Macy’s, Dillards): With several different brands and items to choose from, the department store route may be perfect if you are starting from scratch! Department stores also offer completion discounts.

Take into consideration what are both you and your fiance’s style. My fiance and I typically go for more of a modern, sleek look, so I knew Crate&Barrel was a no brainer. We have lived together for a while and had so many kitchen items that needed nice upgrades, so I figured Williams-Sonoma would offer the most durable kitchen items in styles we loved. Then Target fell in as the catch all for everything else in between. So whether you decide to pick 1 place or 3, make it an enjoyable and fun experience! Til next time!