Sunday morning, we headed out early for some bagels at Bruegger's. Then, we drove up to the Crate & Barrel for one of their "Wedding Parties". It was an opportunity to spend two hours in the store, registering for our wedding gifts, while the store wasn't open.
In one word, brilliant!
We arrived to find some treats laid out (coffee, tea, OJ, water, mini cannoli, mini fruit tarts and chocolate covered cheesecake bites... yum). We both grabbed some beverages and chatted while we waited for all the other couples to arrive. (We were, as is usual for us, the first ones there.) I think there ended up being about six or seven total couples, with wedding dates ranging from April to November.
The woman in charge of the registry at that location got everyone started. After a quick talk about Crate & Barrel, their registry program and how to use the scanners, we were ready to go. We wandered around for awhile, picking stuff up, debating and not doing much scanning.
It was tricky to register in some ways because we are already pretty established. We have no real need for cookware/bakeware/small appliances. What we could use, is a matching set of pretty much anything else. Our silverware drawer is a ridiculous sight, with at least five different styles. And, our plates and bowls selection is skimpy at best (also made up of varying makes and models).
So, those were two areas I really wanted to focus on. Our stop at the wall of "everyday china" led to a discussion like this:
Me: I really like all white. And, if not white, I definitely don't want patterns where my food goes. (I like my food to be the star of any dinner show.)
FI: I like these ones, but I'd want a mix of the colors.
Here's what he was talking about:
From Crate & Barel - Marin in Green, Yellow and Blue; Hayes in Blue
We hope to get a mix of the three colors for our place settings and the dark blue Hayes set for serving pieces. This should give us with an ecclectic look on our dining table and leave us room in the future for pieces that don't "match" exactly.
We also registered for some silverware:
From Crate & Barrel - Fusion Flatware Collection
I lean towards matte finish silverware, so this set was right up my alley. Plus, its sturdy as all get out.
There were also a bunch of glasses, gadgets and cheese serving stuff (board and several knives). And, a few entertaining pieces like a chip & dip. These items are more of a nice to have, definitely things we'd probably never get around to purchasing but would get a lot of use out of.
Plus, it's good to know that we'll have six months following the wedding to "complete" our list - couples get 10% off of anything (even if it wasn't on the registry). That will be a great way for us to purchase any leftover items and maybe a few pieces of furniture.
Overall, it was a lot of fun, wandering around the store and thinking about what items we might use in our married life. Plus, somehow, it made things seem even more real and a bit closer... It seems like every item off the checklist has that effect.
Next, we'll be heading back to Target again to finish our registry there (last time we stopped, their scanners weren't working). Hopefully, that will be it for registry tasks because, although it was fun, it was also kind of exhausting.
Did you register at more than one store? Was it a fun experience? Or, excruciating? Did you feel at all guilty about registering?
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