Bride-to-be Blogger Carly: Let the Registering Begin: Bed, Bath and Beyond (yond-yond-yond)

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So, being pretty clueless about the when-to’s of wedding planning, I am very reliant on the checklist that our wedsite (weddingwire.com) provides me. While in the midst of planning our engagement party, the checklist advised that Sean and I begin on our registry. After talking with a few of my recently wedded friends, we decided the best place to start would be the big ole’ Bed, Bath and Beyond. They have everything, I thought, how hard can it be? And, on the upside, I heard that it may even provide for a “pretty nice little Saturday.”

Sean and I decided on making the trip to BB&B on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago. I had been advised by my married friends that registering is not to be done on an empty stomach, especially if you want the groom’s full attention. So I made sure we each had a healthy, filling breakfast before we hit the road.

Once there, we sat down with our wedding consultant, Carol, and Sean was instructed on how to use the “gun.” Carol also handed us a long list of items that BB&B thought we might want, and instructed us to select about 300 items in the store. She finished by asking if we wanted her to accompany us or if we’d like to take some time on our own. While Carol couldn’t have been nicer, Sean and I decided that it was best if we started on our own, so she sent us on our way.

First stop: pots and pans. Now, I am no gourmet chef, but I definitely enjoy cooking, so I thought this would be a breeze. In fact, I was really excited about the prospect of new cookware! That is, until we stepped into that section of the store. Did we want stainless steel or non-stick; high-end All-clad or a less expensive set? Which brand? What color? Whose endorsement do I trust more, Emeril or Rachel Ray? I looked at Sean, who immediately recognized how overwhelmed this made his bride-to-be and suggested we go back for Carol. Thank goodness! Without being the least bit pushy, Carol led us through the vast galaxy of cook wear, bedding, appliances, and stuff, while explaining the pros and cons of each product in the various categories. And the best part: when Carol started to see us fading, she excused herself only to appear minutes later with bottles of water and assorted chocolate-covered pretzels!

Three hours after we’d walked through the front door, Sean and I decided it was time to call it quits. We chose 65 items (I don’t think we’ll ever find 300!) and managed to keep genuine smiles on our faces the entire time. But, we were exhausted—each of those 65 items represents a decision (sometimes a pretty tough decision) we had to make! To reward ourselves for the hard work, we stopped for some delicious burgers at Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace on the way home (I recommend the Santa Fe burger, if you’re asking). I’d like to say I slept like a baby that night—and I think Sean did—but for the next three nights I had nightmares involving frying pans and flatware and food processors … Oh my!

Since our initial registry trip we haven’t thought much about it. A nice feature of registering for a big store like BB&B is that you can manage your registry online, so if we change our mind about something we can easily add/remove whenever we want. I’m glad we got the process underway and that we have plenty of time before the list needs to be final. I still need to pick my dishes, and will probably register at another store to do so, but that can wait a while. I’ve also been playing around with a website called myregistry.com, where you can have all of your registries synced together on one site, making it easier on the guests. They also have the option to create a cash fund through PayPal, so that guests can help pay for the honeymoon, rather than just give cash.

All-in-all, I think that the registry process is kind of fun. It’s sort of like a grown-up version of the wishlist you might send to Santa as a kid. I have no expectations of getting all of the gifts we listed on our registry, but choosing items together that will one-day fill the drawers and cupboards of our future home together has a really special feeling to it.

Did you find registering overwhelming, or kind of fun? Any tips for those of us still going through it?

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