What to look for in online wedding gift registries
Whether you, your sister, best friend or daughter is getting married for the first time, one of the many tasks involved with organising your wedding is setting up the gift registry.
In the Olden Days, you'd just troop off to your local department store where you'd set off to create a new world record in knowledge about dinner sets, thread counts and silverware patterns as you selected your bounty for your future home.
Now of course you can set it up online and save yourself many, many hours traipsing about with a price-checker (sorry, your husband-to-be).
What are some of the things to look for?
1. Prices Do they charge the bride and groom for setting up a registry? Or the guests? Or both? Is it a percentage per gift, or a flat fee no matter how much people spend?
2. Showroom Do they have a showroom displaying their goodies in case you need expert advice? Their consultants can let you know if a favourite (old) pattern is about to be discontinued and many cases can get you special deals if you order a sufficient quantity, and in some cases, a lifetime discount for purchasing homewares and appliances through them. If you live outside the capital cities, your next best chance to see products is at a regional bridal fair.
3. Gift-wrapping Do they offer it? They won't as there's no need to if it's a cash registry. If they're actual gifts, your guest may get charged a wrapping fee. But you might be surprised at the loss of ceremony and "occasion" in being unable to "unwrap" your gifts.
4. Real or "fake" gifts Are you selecting, for example 12 x Royal Doulton white china dinner plates that guests can buy per plate for your enjoyment? Or are you providing a picture as an example, but really intending to pocket the cash? Keep in mind that those guests will ask you seemingly ad nauseum about the gifts they thought they bought you - and may even want to see them.
5. Registry expiration Does your registry close the day of your wedding? A month later? When you've reached a cash target? 90 days later? The later it closes, the longer you may have to wait to receive your gifts.
6. Referral program Do they reward you for referring them to your friends? Wedding registries are worth big bucks.
7. Delivery Is there a charge for getting actual gifts delivered? Do they deliver all in one go or can you start receiving them slowly as the items get purchased. Can they hold them while you're on honeymoon or moving into your new house?
8. Testimonials Have your friends and family used them? Do they provide names and suburbs of those who have used them? You might want to Google them first to see what comes up if you haven't heard of them before - don't forget, they will potentially receive thousands of dollars of your guests' money and you need to be sure they're above-board.
Broadly, online wedding registries break into three types of categories:
* cash only (this is the type of registry when you want no gifts but cash because you want to splurge on your honeymoon, pay off your wedding, obtain a deposit for your first home or even pay for renovations) * cash + gifts (this lets guests choose which they'd rather give you and often straddles experiences such a hot air ballooning) * gifts only - which are the more traditional type of wedding gift registry your mother used, requesting things like homewares, appliances and furnishings.
I've compiled the features and potential costs of 7 Australian online wedding registries - it's worth doing your homework before you sign up as your gift registry could be worth thousands of dollars worth of gifts and/or cash!
Elizabeth Ball writes a regular gift news blog at http://gifts-by-the-stars-online.com. Since 2005, she has delighted hundreds of couples and parents with her in-depth, luxury hardcover relationship and children’s astrology reports at http://www.itsinthstarsonline.comfor anniversaries, babies, birthdays, christenings, Christmas, engagements, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and weddings.
