I've been thinking about this topic quite a bit lately, and realized I'd never written about our experience...
Back in May or June of 2005, my maid-of-honour, Alyssa, encouraged Jeff and I to register. She and my other bridesmaid, Lesley, were throwing us an
engagement party in early July and wanted us to register for a few gifts "just in case." Neither Jeff nor I were terribly comfortable with the whole registry idea, but after chatting with a few co-workers, some friends, my mom, and my bridesmaids again we finally agreed.
Now, most of the other couples I'd talked to had said registering was a blast -- it was like "going on a shopping spree without having to spend a cent!" Not being a shopper to begin with, I wasn't entirely convinced, but I figured "hey, how bad could it be?" In one word: horrible!
Jeff and I made an appointment at the Bay, got a brief introduction from the registry lady, and were then handed a scan gun with which to "go wild" and register to our hearts content. Three hours later, a very miserable Jeff and I put down our gun and left the store with a whopping 4 items on our list.
I called my mom in a panick -- I mean, registering was supposed to be easy right? So why were we having such a hard time? Thankfully she agreed to come down and the next day my mom, Jeff, and I made a trip to
Home Outfitters with much better results. Apparently 2 extremely pratical, minimalist people -- one of whom hates shopping and the other who just never buys anything -- make for terrible registrants. However, with my mom around to point us in the right direction and convince us that, "yes, you should register for these things" (and those things, and that thing over there) we managed to leave the store much happier and with many more items on our list. Unfortunately, everytime I've returned to the store I've managed to delete something off the list... but thankfully I've added a few things, too (thanks for talking me into the stand-mixer Tina!)
However there was one major item still missing from our list... everyday China, aka nice dishes if you live the regular, non-wedding world. My boss talked me into this one, but she had a good point -- my Ikea dishes are chipped to hell, and a good set of China really will last a lifetime. So after several failed attempts to find something decent at the Bay or Home Outfitters, I finally decided to make a trip to
Household China & Gifts... And what do you know? I found a pattern I love --
China by Denby --and it's one of the few lines that has the wide-rimmed soup/pasta bowls I've been wishing for for years! (Yeah, I know I'm a geek... but we've already established that.)
Finally, a registry experience I could enjoy... and it only took 2 hours for the sales lady to convince me to "Stop worrying about the price dear, china is worth the investment. And if need be, you can collect a few pieces at a time. Besides, I can already tell you're going to be very happy with those bowls." ;-)
