Confession: I have been avoiding creating a bridal shower registry. Like it’s some kind of wedding plague.
Here I’ve been racking my brain, trying to think of suitable solution — and quick, because this shower is now a mere month away. I just wasn’t feeling the department store registries, and Etsy still has yet to build a registry function.* So I dithered and dallied and dallied and dithered and maybe started to get just a wee bit panicky because oh hello, crippling indecision! Would you like to stay in my spare room for a while? Here is a clean towel. You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen except the vodka.**
But then, the other day, I wrote at great length about the shower deal, and in the comments we got to talking a little about registries. Nina mentioned a fantastic idea: A “book shower” where everyone gifts you with a new or used book. And Sarah of My San Francisco Budget Wedding chimed in with her own plan for her wedding registry: Donations to one of her favorite charities.
Well, I must say you ladies inspired me. Some of your good idea juju rubbed off on me. Because suddenly, last night, while eating peanut butter and jelly on toasted pita bread,*** IT CAME TO ME.
Vases. Yes!
Should my shower guests inquire with my brigadier about gifts, I’m going to have her tell them to bring a vase, bottle, or jar of their choosing. We’re picking up our own flowers from a local farmer the day before the wedding, and my plan all along has been to collect a variety of different old containers to arrange the flowers in for the centerpieces. Why not let my friends and family chip in?
I love that my shower guests will be able to contribute something that will end up being a part of our wedding. And I love that a little of their individual personality and flair will be injected into the reception.
And I really love that I finally got that issue crossed off my list.
What was your answer to the shower/wedding registry question?
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* Yes, I am one of those Etsy whores. Mock me as you wish.
** DO NOT TOUCH MAMA’S VODKA.
*** We don’t tend to keep bread around, for lo, I WILL EAT IT. MUCHLY. Yet we do keep pitas around, because every Sunday we make little pita pizzas for dinner. Also: The beau is the official cook of the family. When he is traveling for work, as he is this week, I eat only what can be baked in the toaster oven or eaten straight out of the container.
we will be registering for “stuff”. mainly because fiance and i are young and poor. between the two of us we own a destroyed 30-year-old bachelor couch, a king size mattress and box spring (no bed frame) and our clothes…no plates no silverware. nada.
i wish cost plus world market had a registry. THAT is my happy place.
You could set up a Wishpot list for any store that has an online website: http://www.wishpot.com/
Not sure if Costplus does or not, hopefully they do. We put Ikea stuff on our Wishpot list ’cause they did not have a registry. The Wishpot list lets you choose things you like from any online stores you want and list it all in the same place. Worked great for us. 🙂
Whoa! That’s the first I’ve heard of Wishpot! What a cool thing, Jenny. And Jessie, I hear you. We have managed to accumulate some stuff so far, but we don’t have room to collect much else.
Brilliant!
What a fantastic idea! Then everyone will feel more a part of your wedding.
I also like the idea of sites which let you choose things you want unrelated to a store. i.e., you want blue glass dessert plates, but you don’t care if they are from Target or Bloomingdales, so people just check off what they are getting. (like freegiftregistry.com) My cousin did that for a baby registry and it worked out really well.
Great idea! If you’re still trying to come up with a wedding registry you’d like, I’ll second what Wifey up there said. I have an Amazon registry with a bunch of Amazon stuff, plus things I’ve added with the Universal Registry Button from Etsy, William-Sonoma, L.L. Bean, REI, etc.
@Rachel and @Wifey Wiferson — Nice tips! Universal Registry butteon FTW. I think I’ll want to do something very similar for the wedding registry, now. Hmmm.
What a great idea! It will also a be a nice way to get guests to mingle. Your guests will feel really good putting a piece of themselves into your day. Now I really need to talk to my mom about a shower… I’ll put “300 mason jars” on my “registry”. Done and done!
Now back to your post, can I just say I love the way you personified your crippling indecision? I had to laugh out loud (well, not that loud b/c I’m at work) because it’s exactly the same type of anxiety I feel in all of this planning, too. And yes, hands off the vodka. Mommy no like.
Perfect! I wouldn’t let the shower guests know what you’re planning to do with the vases. That way, they’ll have a nice surprise when they show up at the wedding to discover tht their gifts are part of the decor. They’ll all have fun wandering around the tables looking for their contribution. One caveat: make sure you find a way to use every vase you get lest there be petty grievances and perceived sleights.
Oh, and I’m with you on the cooking. The Man is going out with friends tonight. Kids and I are eating out. Mama don’t cook.
Oh, good points. It would be cool to make it a surprise… hmmm. You got my gears turning. Fortunately, I won’t have a problem using all the vases the guests bring. I think we’re gonna need a LOT.
Mmm. Eating out….
LOL @ “DO NOT TOUCH MAMA’S VODKA”
That’s a fantastic idea for your shower! If you’re going to be showered in gifts, it should be gifts that make you feel good, and bonus – make everyone else happy too!
And good thing I like the book idea because (perfect timing) the sisters-in-law-to-be called me last night and asked for some potential dates for the bridal shower they are hosting for me. Oh. I guess I should’ve known I wasn’t going to get out of this so easily. (now to practice my blissed-out-bride smile and saying “oh yes, I’m SO excited for the wedding!” I mean I am excited, I just don’t like gushing about it)
now should I actually make some sort of list of books I like or maybe suggest everyone bring one of their favourite fiction books? (I’m just trying to avoid getting a stack of Marriage books) hmm…..
Nina, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to make a list — maybe on Amazon? Well, that’s provided you have enough titles in mind to actually be specific. Otherwise, I’d go with the “fav fiction books” suggestion — that’s cool, too, because people feel like they’re sharing a bit more personally with you. Also, I wouldn’t want to end up with a pile of marriage books, either!
Brilliant. Both the second paragraph, and the solution.
effing brillant.
Okay, so I may just steal this idea wholesale from you. I also own, like, one vase, so it would be a really fun way to get a whole bunch of different shapes, sizes, and styles of vases in one go…and show everyone you’re using them at the reception!
…although I also love the idea of the book shower.
My mom is all about having a shower a few months before the wedding, and I fear it will turn into what your shower has turned into, i.e. a tiny slice of the wedding madness that I’ve been trying to avoid this whole time. Maybe a non-registry registry would help avoid that.
i’m an etsy whore too. i almost made a wishpot registry but nixed it because Boy thought that it was too complicated.
my registry? i let the boy deal with it. done and done!