With our wedding less than four months away, the time for the really exciting and stressful aspects of planning a wedding has arrived. The one wedding preparation my fiancé and I have been eagerly awaiting since the night he proposed is registering for our wedding gifts. We have jokingly said many times over the past year that we are only doing this for the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and although that’s not true, we were still uncomfortably delighted to be choosing the model and colour of our soon-to-be new stand mixer.

All dream small kitchen appliances aside, actually filling out your bridal registry is approximately one hundred times harder than you imaged it would be all those times you floated around the store with your boyfriend pointing out the things you would register for if you two ended up getting married some day. Going into your bridal registry appointment prepared, with realistic expectations is the best way to help diminish the crushing frustrations, irritations and disappointments that come with toddler meltdown inducing department store layouts, a hungry fiancé and shelves that are dismally sparse when compared to the perfect store you have been picturing in your head for months.

Do:

• Register for the things you’ve always wanted but can’t conceive affording anytime soon.
• Choose things that share a similar style and will complement each other well.
• Register for things that will match the style of the items you already own.
• Register for 50% more gifts than the number of guests you will be inviting to both the wedding and the bridal shower because even procrastinators like to have choices.
• Register for gifts in an appropriate price range for your guests.
• Make the majority of items on your registry those that fall into the average, $40 to $80 price range, the second largest portion of your registry smaller, $40 and under priced items, the third largest portion items in the $80 to $200 price range and the smallest portion of your registry in the $200 plus range.
• Consider selecting less expensive versions of items to increase the likelihood of receiving those items as gifts. Choosing simpler china will improve your odds of receiving the complete set.
• Take an inventory of the things you already have to see what you need and needs to be replaced.
• Prepare a registry wish list before you start shopping.
• Research the items you want before you go to help you with decision making.
• Organize your registry wish list by room.
• Complete your registry one room at a time.
• Plan for the future.
• Make an appointment if you have the option to.
• Expect the process to take several hours.

Do not:

• Register for seasonal or holiday items.
• Register for clearance or discontinued items, as they will be gone before your guests start shopping.
• Register for things you will never use, for example, don’t register for a fondue pot if you don’t like fondue or a sewing machine if you don’t sew.