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Bed Bath and Beyond is pretty awesome. The registry can be accessed online as well as in stores and they have a very wide range of items for your kitchen and home. They have registry incentives also, so if you register for $500 of Calphalon for example, you'll get a free santoku knife just for registering. I also hear they have a great return policy, which makes registering less stressful since you can change your mind later about brands/models/what have you. There are some checklists online for items to register for, and BBB gives you one if you decide to open a registry there but you don't need to follow it too closely. We're not registering for much in the way of fancy china or crystal for example. You can register online but I find it helpful to actually go to a store if there is one near you so I can actually look at the products. It's kind of overwhelming so I can really only do one section at a time (kitchen, dining, bedroom/home stuff). But the scanner gun is fun.
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Apr 21, 2009 07:17
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mayonegg posted:I also hear they have a great return policy This is the reason we went with BB&B. What we really wanted for the wedding was money but apparently its tacky to not register for actual gifts. We're in the process of building a house and we just found out the PMI companies are changing the minimum down payment rules out of the blue, so we now need TWICE the down payment for the house thats already being constructed.. Thanks Bankers! Anyway, BB&B is supposed to take anything back for cash (not store credit) that is on the registry.
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Apr 21, 2009 12:49
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We had a really good experience with the Crate and Barrel registry. I liked the face that they give you a 10% off coupon on any remaining registry items after the wedding, which you can also update after the wedding, so we were able to go and use gift cards and get a better price on stuff. The best part is having friends over after the fact and having matching place settings, and a tablecloth, and all those other things that were lower priority than the down payment on the house. 
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Apr 21, 2009 15:10
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Yeah, I'd definitely recommend BB&B or C&B over Target. Target's exchange policy is absolutely terrible. A friend of mine's sister just recently got married and they registered at Target. She's originally from here and both of their families were here, so they got married here, but they live out of state. So she and her fiance were flying in for the wedding, as well as things like showers, dress fittings, etc. At her shower she was given something from her registry, I believe a hamper or something, that was really large. She couldn't really take it on the plane with her and it would have cost a fortune to ship, so she tried to take it back to Target, get a gift card for it, and then purchase the same thing when she got home. They wouldn't do it. Since it had been a gift off of her registry the person giving her the gift didn't include a gift receipt and they wouldn't even give her store credit for it. She ended up leaving it at her parents' house and then after the wedding her and her new husband spent 3 days driving across the country with their wedding gifts in a rental van.
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Apr 21, 2009 15:38
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I did Boscovs because Target is pretty far from where we live, and I don't like anything at Walmart. We get 10% of whatever is purchased in a gift card, and also 10% off any remaining items we decide to purchase. That combined pretty much made it a good choice for us. On getting married in Vegas: It was amazing. I don't want to post pics of my husband, but if anyone has specific questions I'd be happy to respond to them here, or if you want to see the pictures send me a pm. Just for those who may have missed it: our ceremony was at the chapel at Paris, and they did a smashing job. Everything was exactly as I had asked for, the price was fair, and it was a blast.
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Apr 21, 2009 16:17
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I know Amazon.com has a wedding registry as well, so there's a wider selection of items than a store might have, but I doubt returns would be handled easily. Thanks for everyone who gave advice about the sandwiches for catering. I've started looking for caterers who do that sort of thing, and we've also decided (read: I said "why don't we" and he said "If that's what you want, dear") to do a picnic themed wedding. Outdoors in the beginning of summer with picnic-y foods, we can set up some tables for people who want tables and blankets for people who want blankets, with baskets full of local grown fruits for centerpieces/favors. Might be a bit tacky, but not nearly the level of some themed weddings we've seen pictures of...plus it gives me something to work with for graphic planning.
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Apr 21, 2009 16:50
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Sneaky Monkey posted:I know Amazon.com has a wedding registry as well, so there's a wider selection of items than a store might have, but I doubt returns would be handled easily. Getting people to buy things online for a registry is like pulling teeth, as far as I can tell. If anyone has any good suggestions for places to register in Canada, do share. It's too late for us, but someone might benefit. Home Outfitters was pretty blah. Their selection is okay, their return policy is okay, their completion policy is kinda lame and their online interface is not so good. But I can't think of anywhere that would be better.
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Apr 21, 2009 19:09
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LittleCat posted:Getting people to buy things online for a registry is like pulling teeth, as far as I can tell. Canada Tire and Tim Hortons! (Sorry)
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Apr 21, 2009 20:13
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Nione posted:Yeah, I'd definitely recommend BB&B or C&B over Target. Target's exchange policy is absolutely terrible. A friend of mine's sister just recently got married and they registered at Target. She's originally from here and both of their families were here, so they got married here, but they live out of state. So she and her fiance were flying in for the wedding, as well as things like showers, dress fittings, etc. At her shower she was given something from her registry, I believe a hamper or something, that was really large. She couldn't really take it on the plane with her and it would have cost a fortune to ship, so she tried to take it back to Target, get a gift card for it, and then purchase the same thing when she got home. They wouldn't do it. Since it had been a gift off of her registry the person giving her the gift didn't include a gift receipt and they wouldn't even give her store credit for it. She ended up leaving it at her parents' house and then after the wedding her and her new husband spent 3 days driving across the country with their wedding gifts in a rental van. There was a period of like 7 months a few years ago when Target's return policy was atrocious, but they changed it to this. Edit: not that I'm in love with Target; I'm engaged and not even sure we'll register there, but the return policy for registered people isn't bad!
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Apr 21, 2009 20:46
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Yeah, I returned a ton of stuff from our Target registry without problems. And they also offer 10% off everything that's left. We actually didn't know about the 10% discount until we'd already purchased the remaining items and they even let us bring in the receipt and get the difference back in cash.
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Apr 21, 2009 20:48
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Emilar posted:The nasty public bathrooms (even if we clean them ourselves, anyone in the park can still use them) is another huge downside. Oh man, I didn't even think about that. We'll definitely take that into consideration too! Thanks! Sneaky Monkey posted:[...]we can set up some tables for people who want tables and blankets for people who want blankets, with baskets full of local grown fruits for centerpieces/favors. Might be a bit tacky, but not nearly the level of some themed weddings we've seen pictures of... Thats not tacky at all, its totally awesome! If we end up doing a park wedding, we'll probably be stealing the fruit in a basket idea.
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Apr 21, 2009 21:29
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Ben Davis posted:Just so people know,I actually work at a Target and she could have returned it. All she needed to do was print off the Gift Purchase Log at the registry kiosk and she could return not just things on her registry, but even things that weren't on it. She can do that up to 3 months after her wedding. I do not work at Target so you know better than I do, but this was in October of 2008, about 6 months ago. And I do know that if you go to Target's website and look at their "Gift Registry Exchange Policy" it says you can show them your registry list, and then underneath it says you MUST have a gift receipt. This may be a case of different stores doing different things, it may be an uninformed employee at the store she went to, or I may be missing a part of the story. BUT, if I were going to use Target for my registry I would definitely go in and get a written copy of their exchange policy before I registered for anything, just to make sure. I think we're going to register at Macy's. They've got pretty much everything in the way of linens/towels/kitchen appliances/dishes, etc. that we want and I have a couple of friends who've had positive experiences with them. I'd love to do Crate & Barrel, but none of my relatives live anywhere near one and I'm unsure about their willingness to order things online. Plus I hate making people pay extra for shipping.
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Apr 21, 2009 22:26
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On the gift registry front....Most people (at least people I know) register at a couple of places. This makes it easier for your guests to find a place convenient to them. Target has a wide variety, but their product lineup changes so often that you have to really watch your registry to make sure the things you want haven't disappeared from the store. Macy's or any other department store are great choices. Grandparents & older relatives really like shopping at department stores for some reason & they have a huge selection of home goods. Crate & Barrel...I had a fantastic time putting together my registry there. I don't know how much I'll actually get from it, but at least I can get 10% off anything I really really want after the wedding.
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Apr 22, 2009 00:08
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GoreJess posted:On the gift registry front....Most people (at least people I know) register at a couple of places. This makes it easier for your guests to find a place convenient to them. Yep, most people I know do this as well. Williams Sonoma does the 10% off things leftover on your registry (and also things not on your registry). It can be pricier but not always (their KitchenAid Stand Mixer is the same price as Target for example) but if there's anything you've been eyeing from there, might as well sign up along with other less expensive stores, and then take your ten percent discount even if no one chooses to buy things from there. They also have a Registry guide with cookware comparisons and stuff so you can use what you learn from signing up on your other registries and they'll keep track of everything for you to make thank you cards easy if anyone does decide to buy anything from there. KarmaCandy fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Apr 22, 2009 |
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Apr 22, 2009 01:05
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There's also a lot of places that I think most people don't think about. For example, a friend of mine and her husband are doing home renovation and they registered at Lowe's for a lot of tools and things that they needed, as well as a barbecue grill, a closet organization system, and patio furniture. Most people chose to get them Lowe's gift cards (because nobody wants to try and wrap a ladder and bring it to a wedding) but it really helped them out and they were able to get stuff they actually needed since they had most of the typical registry items already.
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Apr 22, 2009 14:52
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Confirm with your reception location multiple times, have a written contract, and always ask for references We are currently scuttling because our venue canceled FOUR DAYS before our reception. Almost 10 months ago, I confirmed. In February, my Dad confirmed. While we were in Vegas last week, my Dad confirmed. He went to talk key times last night, and the guy claimed they were doing 'construction' and had to cancel. My Dad went to see the construction, and of course there was nothing to be seen, so he took photos with his camera phone. He then had the nerve to try and say my Dad couldn't have the deposit. My Dad almost beat the crap out of the guy before getting it back. The place never called us, had he not went there, we would have found out that morning. We were able to secure a new location, but calling people, dealing with moving from an indoor/outdoor to entirely outdoor has caused a lot of kinks to be worked out, and without much time to do so. We are managing with the help of our wonderful friends and family to pull through, but it is extremely stressful. Many, many, many places were booked because it was such short notice, and others were far out of budget. If we weren't doing the food ourselves, we would be royally hosed. The reason I say to double, triple, and written contract confirm is because when this is all done we will be going after the original venue for the costs involved. They apparently have done this to two other couples, neither of which told us anything until I posted on facebook about the situation. Had I maybe done so before this, they might have mentioned it and I wouldn't have went with them. So it might be in your interest to just post a status message like "Did anyone have good/bad experiences with (place)? We're considering it for a reception." Thank God I only have to do this once (hopefully).
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Apr 22, 2009 19:50
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Oh lord. I'm amazed at your composure - I'd be in a full-blown panic attack if I got that news right about now. So far the venue and vendors all seem to be on track for Sunday, although our marriage commissioner temporarily forgot about our rehearsal. Good on you for getting everything sorted out. I'm sure everything will be beautiful, and this'll give you a great story in the long run... but for now I'm sure you're super stressed so try to get some time for yourself before the big day. If you don't manage to get anything else from them, do consider telling your story in a few key places. A lot of people keep quiet about their problems with wedding vendors, and clearly that's how places like that end up with repeat business.
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Apr 22, 2009 21:16
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Oh god, I think I would lose my drat mind if that happened to me, good on you for keeping cool and getting things taken care of on such short notice. Hopefully you'll be able to get some of your money back, especially if the other two couples have records saying this guy pulled the same thing on them. Definitely spread the story around so no one else gets screwed over by them.
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Apr 22, 2009 21:39
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Review them on Yelp, ASAP!
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Apr 22, 2009 23:40
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Oh my god you guys, I'm getting married this weekend. Maybe I shouldn't have planned to get everything to other people by tonight - now I have two days to get nervous instead of keeping busy.
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Apr 24, 2009 04:35
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Go get yourself a massage or a pedicure or something to relax. I fully intend on having everything taken care of a month before my wedding so I can spend that month making myself look good and relaxing. I am going to spend that month ripping my hair out and wondering what I didn't do, I know, but I can pretend, right?
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Apr 24, 2009 04:47
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Nione posted:There's also a lot of places that I think most people don't think about. For example, a friend of mine and her husband are doing home renovation and they registered at Lowe's for a lot of tools and things that they needed, as well as a barbecue grill, a closet organization system, and patio furniture. Most people chose to get them Lowe's gift cards (because nobody wants to try and wrap a ladder and bring it to a wedding) but it really helped them out and they were able to get stuff they actually needed since they had most of the typical registry items already. my gf and i are still more than a year out from the wedding, but I will not forget this advice.
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Apr 24, 2009 13:32
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Is there any room in this thread for a discussion of the ethics of the diamond industry or will that step on too many toes? I think the ethical ramifications of choosing diamonds can be a very important issue for someone thinking about proposing, but I also see that this is pretty much a feel-good thread and hearing about the atrocities being committed by DeBeers & Co. is a sure fire way to ruin your day.
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Apr 24, 2009 19:52
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How are u posted:Is there any room in this thread for a discussion of the ethics of the diamond industry or will that step on too many toes? I think the ethical ramifications of choosing diamonds can be a very important issue for someone thinking about proposing, but I also see that this is pretty much a feel-good thread and hearing about the atrocities being committed by DeBeers & Co. is a sure fire way to ruin your day. I am pretty sure this has already been discussed multiple times in the thread already. I could use some outside opinions on an idea I had for our wedding reception. Both me and the fiancee hate dancing, we are terrible at it, it's awkward and we don't want it at our reception. We want to have something to keep our guests busy though. Our reception venue has the option to rent a giant blow up projection screen from them and we were thinking it might be fun to hook rock band up to it. I know all of our friends who would be there would love it, but I'm not so sure about our families. Does this just sound like a terrible idea all together, or do you think we could make it work?
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Apr 24, 2009 20:19
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I think the topic has been covered ad nauseum on the forums, so I'd leave it out. I've provided several links to diamond alternatives in the OP so people can decide for themselves what kind of ring they want.
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Apr 24, 2009 20:24
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Kitten Kisses posted:I am pretty sure this has already been discussed multiple times in the thread already.
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Apr 24, 2009 20:25
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It's not a bad idea, but you really need something for the older folks and families to do. Why don't you set up board game or card game stations?
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Apr 24, 2009 20:45
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maso posted:For me personally I think that sounds like a kinda lousy idea. You may not like dancing yourself but would you be that bothered if your friends and family wanted to dance? I mean I'm not you and I have no idea about your guests, but I know if I did something like that, my younger friends would have fun but my family and the older crowd would probably be left feeling out of place and a tad awkward. Plus it's your wedding, a time to socialize and celebrate your marriage, do you really want people just standing around playing video games? For the dancing thing, I should probably also add that none of my friends are into dancing and every wedding I have been to that my family was also attending had dancing available but nobody ever danced and it was a little awkward and dull. If I thought dancing would be something anyone was interested in I'd leave it in for them, but everyone seems pretty meh on the idea. As for the rockband thing, we would likely not have it available for the entire reception. I imagine we'd just leave normal background music playing during dinner/drinks and then do the whole cake and speeches thing, replace the first dance with a first 'rock out' and then open it up for everyone. In theory that would give us the chance to do the whole socialize bit during the first part and then fun party time afterwards. Really, I think most of my close family would be totally cool with the idea and would join in on the fun. There's only a handful of extended family members who may have issue with it, but pretty much anything outside of quietly sipping cocktails and conversing amongst themselves would feel tacky to them. So I'm not sure exactly how much of the reception needs to be planned around their tastes vs. what everyone else would enjoy. My hope was that by keeping the first half more traditional and classy and the second half more young and fun we could keep everyone happy. I just don't know if I am setting myself up for failure on this one, yet. Gravitee - We were thinking about having decks of cards as our favors, actually!
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Apr 24, 2009 21:16
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I think the only real "bad" side of a Rock Band reception is that, at most, you can only have 4 people participating. Sure people can sing along and a lot of people will just want to watch, but if your friends/family are really that into it a line will form quick and people might get impatient. It all depends on how much everyone enjoys watching other people play Rock Band. If people really want to dance, there are plenty of songs in the game that you can dance too. Personally, I'd really like it but most of my family would hate it. I think I'd be better off with a Wii reception. Go with your gut feeling!
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Apr 24, 2009 22:25
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I think it's a cool idea to do Rock Band instead of dancing. Just be sure to practice beforehand, nothing like Failing your first Rock Band song as a married couple! The important thing is to make sure everyone has something they can enjoy, which is seems like you've thought through pretty well. Instead of having people wait in a line, a sign-up sheet would be a good idea. That way your guests can mingle, watch, or whatever they want without there being yells of "I'm next!" or potential alcohol induced fights.
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Apr 24, 2009 22:59
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My one concern about Rock Band at a wedding is that at (smaller) parties I've been to, the rest of the party completely dies when Rock Band gets pulled out. People just sit around and stare at it. It's not a very social game, really. It'd be neat if you could mix it up a bit. Have a rock band area, and another with wii sports, and another with scene it or buzz or something... it would probably require some heavy borrowing, but it would give people some more things to do than just watch people play rock band.
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Apr 25, 2009 19:29
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Hey, I'm trying to figure out groomsmen gifts for a wedding in late June. Anyone have wicked or unique ideas beyond cufflinks, humidors, and flasks? I have a pretty large wedding party, including a groomswoman. Thanks for any ideas: most groom's sites offer pretty stock suggestions, but I figure someone on here would have some "holy poo poo that's awesome" ideas. Etsy suggestions welcome, although my searching for wedding/groom items was sort of a wash. Piquai Souban fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Apr 26, 2009 |
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Apr 26, 2009 03:50
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LittleCat posted:My one concern about Rock Band at a wedding is that at (smaller) parties I've been to, the rest of the party completely dies when Rock Band gets pulled out. People just sit around and stare at it. It's not a very social game, really. I mean, sure, we can still have the option of having dancing, but we'd like to mix it up a little and maybe have people to sign up for a Rock Band competition, or sign up to do some karaoke and kind of break up the monotony. I just don't want my guests to be BORED. On the down-side, I am very picky with our game systems, and I can't stand anyone touching them because they are expensive, so I'm honestly not sure how I'd feel about a bunch of drunks yucking it up with my 360.  Of course, Rich thinks we should just bring all the computers and set up a giant LAN party so he and his buddies from work can raid on WoW, but that's a definite NO.
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Apr 26, 2009 04:16
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Karaoke could work really well. The bride and groom get the first few songs, of course. The stress of wedding planning finally crashed on me yesterday. The ceremony is easy, but I have to navigate my Japanese family of 12 around Oahu (my in-laws) and still find time to see my US people, who I haven't seen in years. The US side are all broke as hell and waited for last-minute deals on hotels. That makes sense financially, but I haven't even had a final headcount until this weekend- we fly out on Thursday. At least I don't have to worry about groomsmen favors and DJs on top of rental cars and wheelchair-accessible dolphin tours.
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Apr 26, 2009 08:08
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SKULE123 posted:Hey, I'm trying to figure out groomsmen gifts for a wedding in late June. Anyone have wicked or unique ideas beyond cufflinks, humidors, and flasks? I have a pretty large wedding party, including a groomswoman. I'm getting my groomsmen some fancy pocketwatches. Dunno if you saw those yet, they're also fairly common.
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Apr 26, 2009 08:39
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Well, despite our reception venue canceling with 4 days notice, having to find a new one, and moving everything outside, it turned out AMAZING. I am so, so, so happy. What worked for us was keeping the tables and decor fancy, but then telling everyone summer-casual dress, and having lots of activities for after the dances and such. Some people played horseshoes or volleyball, the kids ran around the park, older folk sat around talking and eating hand-food (small baked goods, etc), and some people danced and sang karaoke (our DJ had the setup for it). It ended up being amazing, and my Dad's wife and best friend's mom did all of the food -- so everyone raved about how great it was. The comment we got most about the food was that "It was great knowing what we were eating!!" We had a huge spread, but lots of people helping, so even though organizing was really stressful, it all fell together quite nicely. Its possible to do it all yourself for 100+ people. We expected 100 via RSVP, but even with closer to 150 or so showing up we were fine. We also got a lot of comments about how much fun and how 'not-stuffy' it was, so if you're worried people will look down if you do it picnic style, etc, they won't, but have stuff for them to do. We were told by more than one person it was the most fun they had at a reception, and a lot of people stayed from start (2pm) until we had to leave the park (8pm). If anyone has any specific questions I'm more than happy to help.
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Apr 26, 2009 14:36
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I have this nice blue rock being sent my way. It's a .77 carat blue, natural Sapphire that's normally $720 or so but I got it for 10% off because of a Mother's Day sale TNSC did today. I have 5 days with it, it's being sent to my mom and pop jeweler so I can see it on top of the setting (18kt white gold three stone with two diamonds taken from 40 and 50 year Anniversary gifts her Grandfather received at his workplace) before a final "YES!". edit: Oh hey, a ton of whitespace and I can't remove the attachment. Sorry guys. Allistar fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Apr 28, 2009 |
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Apr 28, 2009 01:15
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ElanoreMcMantis posted:Well, despite our reception venue canceling with 4 days notice, having to find a new one, and moving everything outside, it turned out AMAZING. I am so, so, so happy. What kind of park was it? What kind of rules did the park have? I wanted a park too but my mom and my aunts are against using public restrooms, so I had to drop the issue Right now we're looking at splitting the 75 people into 3 groups--Chinese banquet for extended family, BBQ in the backyard for friends, and wine party for coworkers.
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Apr 28, 2009 02:28
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ElanoreMcMantis posted:Well, despite our reception venue canceling with 4 days notice, having to find a new one, and moving everything outside, it turned out AMAZING. I am so, so, so happy. I'm so happy that it all worked out for you! Ours went off without a hitch as well - it went so perfectly, in fact, that I'm still kind of in shock. We definitely had a more traditional wedding, but people seemed to have a lot of fun. The last unknown is the liquor bill - some of his cousins were heavily abusing the bar - so once we find that out tomorrow hopefully we'll have no more stress! I was so happy, though, that our fairly standard wedding turned out to be a whole lot of fun. Sorry if this is scattered, I'm still sort of processing yesterday. I'll post a proper mini recap once we get some photos.
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Apr 28, 2009 03:18
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jomiel posted:That's so great that it worked out! I'm so happy for you The park was private, owned by the town. I'm not sure what it cost, but it had its own bathrooms, kitchen, and pavilion. The only rules were that people couldn't park along the road (we had plenty of parking though, even with around 150 - 175 peak guests). Its a shame you have to split it up, but i know the feeling. My mom and that fam did Vegas, and then Dad's fam did reception at home. 75 really isn't that many though. As far as public bathrooms, the bathrooms at ours weren't great but they were clean, we put our own air freshener and soap in them. Also check with your local fire companies. I know people were saying many of them have their own hangouts. So do fish and game clubs, etc. etc. People think 'OMG ANIMALS ON THE WALLS', but some of them have amazing halls. Oh and we were allowed 5 massive bags of trash, and had to pay something like $2.50 apiece for each after. That was pretty much it. Lady googooGaGa fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Apr 28, 2009 |
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Apr 28, 2009 03:54
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