Hello, friends! For the last few months we’ve discussed all things reception, so today, I wanted to share with you a little bit about another part of our wedding planning adventure: our registry!
Setting up our registry was something John and I did way earlier than necessary – back in August, about a month after we got engaged, and 13 months out from our wedding. Why so early, you ask? Well, for some reason, I got the idea in my head that a few of the guests at our engagement party might want to buy us something off our registry. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t, probably because it never would have occurred to most of them that we had already set one up!
Though most of our picks from our first scanning trips have remained favorites, we’ve definitely gone back and tweaked our selections several times over the last few months. I do anticipate a few more tweaks before my bridal shower in June (and then probably a few more before the wedding!), but I feel like I’ve learned enough to offer a few dos and don’ts from my experience thus far.
Do register for fine china, if it makes your heart happy. Once upon a time, it was considered sacrilege not to register for fine china. Now, I feel like the pendulum has swung in the other direction, and couples sometimes feel guilty about registering for porcelain. Some worry it’s too expensive, or that their peers will think they’re old-fashioned, stuffy, or impractical. I say just because your friends can’t figure out when you’ll use your china shouldn’t stop you from asking for it! They’ll figure it out when they arrive at your next dinner party :)
We chose the route of registering for a mix of every day china and fine china. We also chose to mix and match between patterns, and only register for the pieces we think we’ll most use and enjoy. (And yes, I plan to use these pretties! My morning muffin will look darling on those dotted bread and butter plates, don’t you think?) I had some fun playing around with the different pieces on my blog here, if you’re curious to see how everything will fit together!
Do register for your now, and for your later. When I first suggested registering for 12 place settings, John looked at me like I had 12 heads. We both come from large families, though, and Christmas and Easter dinners usually include a minimum of ten relatives. We might not be hosting said dinners now, but we very well might be in a few years.
Don’t feel you have to register for a full set of everything. We didn’t register for a complete set of glassware, since we already have everyday drinking glasses that we love, but we did opt to mix in a few new pieces, like champagne flutes and chardonnay glasses, since we currently own just four wine glasses (and they are very sad-looking, indeed).
Do test things out in person. I adore the flatware we chose. Something that was important to me with flatware was the heft – we wanted something slim and lightweight but with classic styling – and so testing different sets out in person was important to us, and something I’d highly recommend making time for.
Don’t agonize over expensive items. As long as you have a good mix of high and low price points, including a few pricier items is perfectly fine. In fact, I’d say it’s actually a good thing to do, because some guests might like to go in together on a single item. I would note here that it is important to think about the demographics of your guests, because what’s considered a high price point for one guest list could fall into the low price point bracket for another one. Finally, your store’s completion program could provide an incentive to register for more expensive items, even if you don’t expect to receive them as gifts.
For us, this meant registering for a few Le Creuset pieces, even though the prices can be a bit hard to swallow. Since we already own one piece, though, I know how amazing they are to cook with (and clean!!), and the lifetime warranty can’t be beat. I love the idea of receiving wedding gifts that will be a part of our life for years and years, and I think our Le Creuset pieces fall into that category.
Do register at a few different places. We registered at two chains with great websites and locations nationwide, and we also chose to register at Amazon. We like that this combination lets us choose from small and independent retailers, too.
Don’t be afraid to register for non-traditional items. Though I would say the majority of our registry falls into the “traditional” category, we’ve used Amazon’s universal registry feature to ask for some unique items, like a Brahms Mount throw, an insulated picnic basket, fun pillows, seagrass baskets, and even a piece of art. We’re considering adding some camping supplies, too!
There you have it, friends! Our registry in a nutshell. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! And I’d love to hear if you have any dos and don’ts of your own that you’d add to my list!
In case you missed a post…
The main characters
Where we’re getting married
I go dress shopping
We choose a photographer
I ponder bridesmaid style
Mini food!
The music
We’re renting a tent!
We discuss bouquets + boutonnieres
We send out our save the dates
I gather hair and makeup inspiration
We talk cake and sweets
I introduce you to our videographer
I just met with my florist last week and we are planning on incorporating lots of this Southern element into our floral arrangements and boutonnieres! I became interested in Floral Cotton and their beautiful bolls a few weeks back after seeing their connection with Southern Weddings through twitter. As we face a tight budget, I would be overjoyed to received 50 free cotton bolls to use for our special day! Thanks Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton!
I have liked both Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton on Facebook! With our winter wedding we are hoping to create some Southern warmth with the cozy feel of arrangements using Floral Cotton!
I liked Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton on Facebook because I do like you guys! In fact, I love you:) I am a floral designer and just dying for a chance to design a wedding with floral cotton. There are so many cool ideas in ways that it can be used! If you choose me as a winner I will design items specifically for Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton to feature. I would be happy to provide high res pics as well!! Pick Me!!!!!! :)
I love the idea of using cotton in a floral arrangement–especially for a simple but elegant look for a spring wedding.
Tweeted, f-booked, and loved all around! I so happy to know they exist, been wanting to incorporate cotton into some of my New Orleans weddings and photoshoots. This is perfect! Thanks for sharing…
Oh, I almost forgot! I’m DIYing cotton boutonnieres (thank you Hello Lucky and their Handmade Weddings book) for my wedding in June!
Julia: Get in touch with us if we can help!
Wow! How perfect is this? I was already planning on using lots (!) of cotton in the wedding…for sprucing up centerpieces, to bouts, to accenting the cake…to..gosh, the possibilities are endless! Also, my venue is a civil war era cotton plantation. They don’t grow it anymore…but I sure would like to take my guests back through history with lots of cotton bolls!!
I liked both of y’all on facebook!
I am getting married at the Cotton Dock at Boone Hall in Charleston! I’d love to incorporate the cotton on the mantle of the fireplace and on the gift table! Additionally, I think they’d make great boutonierres for the groomsmen! It would be a perfect accent to the venue!
Brianna
And…I tweeted. @taykatelyn this is such a great giveaway!
Hi ya’ll OF COURSE I like (love) you all on Facebook!
I “liked” Floral Cotton on Facebook too! So glad to hear about them and add them to my browsing list!
I am so excited about this giveaway because I am already planning on cotton boutonnieres for the groomsmen at my wedding! My fiance requested “no flowers”, so I think cotton is a beautiful solution for all!
Just tweeted about you all! Such a great giveaway! @sstone716
also liked both of the pages!
I LOVE Floral Cotton, Southern Weddings, and thankful for my friend Luke who posted this contest on his Facebook,There is SO much I could do with it! I am helping my Little Sister with her wedding which is very Vintage, Lace and Rustic. I have been ogling over a cotton wreath I have been wanting to make but have no idea how or where about to get Floral Cotton. I hope I or my sister wins so that we can use it to make two wreaths for the ceremony doors and incorporate into our bouquets and we would be forever grateful <3
Oh goodness, I would love to win this! I’m planning on using cotton bolls to make bouts and add to my bouquet for our fall wedding.
I liked Floral Cotton on facebook and I’m already a fan of Southern Weddings (of course!)
I am helping my daughter plan her dream wedding and she has just fallen in love with the idea of Floral Cotton being an accent in her bouquet, the boutonnieres, and floral arrangements for the wedding and the reception. We are from the midwest and I have to say that I have never seen this element before in a wedding. My daughter attends a university in the south and has seen it done in the most elegant fashion. After showing me many, many pictures from Southern Weddings, I have to admit it fits her perfectly! I would love to win this for her because I cannot think of anyone more deserving! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
I would use cotton for the ring close-up pics, on the guest book table, hanging from the escort card lattice, and probably in my bouquet! Hey, I’ve already got the magnolias, so why not go all the way?! I have an obsession with this fluffy white beauty and would love to have it share in the celebration at my wedding. I owe so much to my Southern roots, and pay homage to them as much as I can… and what better place to show it off than a wedding? My soul belongs to God, but my heart belongs to Dixie.
I don’t have a FB so I couldn’t complete this part of the giveaway but believe me, if I could I would have whether I had to or not! :)
I tweeted the tweet, y’all :)
We’re actually planning to incorporate cotton bolls in a few different ways. All the bouts except for my fiance’s will be cotton bolls (Thanks SW for the idea!) and we’re also have cotton bolls with names attached for our escort “cards.” Can’t wait! :)
Liked Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton on Facebook!
Following both of y’all on twitter too!
I saw boutonnieres made of cotton bolls on Pinterest and was just smitten! So cute!
We’re getting married in Nashville in October and we’re using cotton everywhere. Centerpieces, boutonnieres, and all the bouquets. We’re having a farm wedding and I want cotton and burlap everywhere. Hopefully i’ll win or I’ll be picking my own cotton.
I think it would wonderful to put the cotton into my table arrangements and bouquets with a few peach and pink ranunculus flowers and maybe a few succulents.
As soon as I booked The Cotton Room, a renovated historic cotton mill in downtown Durham, I knew I wanted to incorporate cotton into many elements of my wedding. We will be incorporating cotton into all of the bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces and will even be tucking a cotton boll into each guest’s napkin. Mason jars + Cotton + Cotton Mill Wedding….does it get more southern????
I liked y’all and Floral Cotton on Facebook!
I just tweeted “I just entered the @floralcotton giveaway on @iloveswmag!!”
Liked floral cotton & southern weddings on Facebook! I live in south GA, where we use cotton in decorating. Love your ideas!
My fiancé and I are having a natural winter wedding on my great grandparent’s wedding anniversary, January 5th. Since my great grandparents were farmers we saw it only fitting that everything look nature with the “down home” southern elegance. Our decor will be burlap, greenery, christmas plaid, natural wood, and, instead of flowers, cotton! We think there is nothing more beautiful than what nature gives us!
We have liked both Floral Cotton and Southern Weddings on Facebook, thank you!
We tweeted from @laurenashleykee, thank you!
I am completely smitten with the idea of incorporating cotton bolls into our Southern wedding! I think they make dashing bouts and I am loving the idea of pairing them with milk glass vases and white, fluffy blooms for our centerpieces. Naturally, I can’t resist the idea of incorporating them into my bouquet, as well!
This is such a lovely giveaway! Thanks, ladies.
I’m positive my wedding planner would know just what to do with these to add to my Southern wedding!! I’m thinking we could use them to add little special decorating details!!
I plan on using cotton balls in the boutonnieres and my bouquet. With enough of them, it would be so perfectly southern to string them like garland all around the altar! Since he is from Georgia, this would be a perfect gift to win! Thanks for an awesome giveaway!
I follow FC and Swmag on facebook! Thanks again!
I just inventoried all the mason jars I’ve been collecting for centerpieces since I got engaged. I have 100! I am planning on filling them with dried flowers of the white and brown variety and now it is clear that I MUST have cotton as well!
He is from Minnesota. She is from Tennessee. Naturally, they are getting married in….Georgia. It only makes sense that they add a little cotton into the wedding. They have been searching for something to go with all the burlap, and cotton is it! DUH…why didn’t they see this before! The cotton will be amazing lining the aisle on those plain brown chairs….THANK YOU for a wonderful inspiration!
I would love to use the cotton on a kraft paper backer for our escort cards!
Oh! Almost forgot! Check out our PINTEREST page and start pinning!~ We love it!
http://pinterest.com/floralcotton/pins/
Thanks!
I would use it as table decorations. By the way, I think they are the best choice for winter weddings – such a warm, soft accent!
I am a wedding planner, designer, and florist in Birmingham, AL. Southern style weddings are a huge trend right and none would be complete without the soft, romantic addition of cotton. I have used cotton bolls in so many centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, and wreaths. I am predicting many more with my upcoming weddings and I have the perfect styled shoot in mind!
Love!! I’ve been wanting to use some bolls to decorate our new home, actually!
Like SW and Floral Cotton on FB!
scheduled a tweet, too. Thanks for this great giveaway and the insight into a terrific source!
I’d love these for table accents!
We are definitely incorporating cotton into the boutonnieres for our wedding, so I am very excited to have found Floral Cotton!
Just liked both Floral Cotton and Southern Weddings on FB! These would be amazing in the floral bouquets for our lakeside wedding, can’t wait!
these would look amazing in the arrangements! southern and sweet :)
This would be perfect for the bouquet. I’ve seen so many gorgeous bouquets with cotton in them, and I think that’s the route I’m heading. So southern: simple and beautiful. Thanks for the giveaway!
I just tweeted the giveaway! @jarslikejam
I “like” Floral Cotton on Facebook.
I “like” Southern Weddings on Facebook.
I think Floral Cotton would look great in bouquets, centerpieces, or as a corsage for bridesmaids.
I would love to use the cotton balls with my place cards!!
I liked Southern Weddings on Facebook ages ago ; )
My fiance and I intend to incorporate cotton in a big way — I hope to put it in my bouquet, incorporate it into the groom’s and groomsmens’ boutonnieres, and also in the table settings.
I also just liked Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton on FB! :)
I liked Southern Weddings and Floral Cotton! But I would like cotton at my wedding even more:)
I would love to be inspired by the organic and natural element of this ‘oh so simple’ flower. I can see this in an all white bouquet, hand tied with a vintage taupe or blush velvet ribbon. A matching boutonnière of a single cotton ‘bud’ will complete the bride’s bouquet. thanks Floral Cotton and Southern Weddings!!!
Chris Cornwell: We have many pretty examples on http://www.pinterest.com/floralcotton
I love the look and I would love to incorporate the cotton bolls in the grooms boutonniers as well as table center pieces, wreaths and/or decorate around the 1830’s antellbellum farm house that we are having our wedding at in July!
Sweet cotons.
I would like to swim in a sea of cottons.
I like cottons.
We use Floral Cotton all the time! Love them. Just did a baby shower with their cotton in January and have a wedding coming up in October that will incorporate tons of floral cotton! I have tweeted and liked both on Facebook!
Trish: Thanks! We love Karma Flowers!
I tweeted that “I just entered the @FloralCotton giveaway on @iloveswmag!”
I would totally add cotton into my wedding in every possible way! All bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, and centerpieces will be made of TONS of cotton! In fact, they guys’ boutonnieres would be 100% cotton! My family has a rich history in cotton farming and cotton mill working, so I cannot wait to use this in my big day!
I liked both of you wonderful companies on Facebook!!
I just tweeted: I just entered the @FloralCotton giveaway on @iloveswmag! :)
I want a large, end of the isle flower arrangement staring cotton bolls, magnolia blooms, and magnolia leaves. Cotton boll wreaths on the doors to the plantation property where our wedding is going to be would be the perfect accent touch and would set the mood for our Virginia / Georgia wedding from the moment guests arrive!
Just liked Floral Cotton on Facebook – and already liked SW on Facebook!
Just tweeted: I just entered the @FloralCotton giveaway on @iloveswmag!
Liked both floral cotton and southern weddings sites and just love the idea of cotton bolts for decorations!
We are looking to get married in October of 2013 at Boone Hall Plantation. They were known for growing cotton and transporting it via the cotton dock (where we would have our reception). All the groomsmen would have a cotton boutonniere and my fiance would have 1 cala lilly and cotton in his boutonniere. I would have a bouquet of cotton and cala lillies and my bridesmaids would carry 1 cala lilly each. The aisle would have cotton around a metal rod that has mason jars hanging with cala lillies in them beside each row of pews. Did I mention this will be under a large oak tree?
I would absolutely love to incorporate cotton into my wedding!! In fact, I’m from Mississippi, and I want to use cotton and magnolias as my main wedding flowers. Cotton is just so elegant yet simple. Plus, it doesn’t get more southern than that!
I would love to have cotton bolls in my wedding. I would use them for bouqets, boutinierre’s, and accent pieces. please:)))))
I was so happy to find your web site. Although I am not planning a wedding I am planning a wonderful Southern event. An anniversary party for a United Daughters of the Confederacy! This is just what our president wants for decorations. I hope I win so I can make her happy!