Registries?

Hey folks!

My fiance and I (technically "wife" but still to be married in a church) are probably getting married in the UK or in my home country, Ireland. we are moving to London for the US in May.

In the US, the bride and groom normally establish registires for wedding gifts. Do these exist in the UK? We both have a lot of friends and (her) family in the US and are a bit confused about the whole wedding present situation.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

MQ

Most department stores have registries (Debenhams, BHS, M&S) as do places like Argos.  We registered at Debenhams in the UK and Bed Bath and Beyond in the US.

Debenham's is good because your registry is online, so people from the US can access it there and have the stuff sent to you in the UK. 

It's not as common here as it is in the US, but I think it's becoming more and more popular. We're getting married in June and have chosen not to register.

Debenham's is good because your registry is online, so people from the US can access it there and have the stuff sent to you in the UK. 

Same with John Lewis, and the shipping is free!

we registered on amazon.co.uk and were very happy with the service!

It's not as common here as it is in the US, but I think it's becoming more and more popular. We're getting married in June and have chosen not to register.

I thought it was pretty common; in Britain they are often called "wedding lists", my daughter had hers at Debenhams and that was in 1995 and I don't recall it being unusual.

I thought it was pretty common; in Britain they are often called "wedding lists", my daughter had hers at Debenhams and that was in 1995 and I don't recall it being unusual.

I think most people have heard of them here, but it's not assumed that you'll have one. In the US it's sort of unusual not to have one.

It's not as common here as it is in the US, but I think it's becoming more and more popular. We're getting married in June and have chosen not to register.

Same here!  We, and several of our friends, have about 5 weddings to go to this year, and with the economy the way is is we thought it would be a little presumptuous.  But I think most people in the UK have lists now, and we have already had confused comments by not having one.

Vicky

We did Debenham's.  We registered before the wedding and they sent us a letter the week after outlining how we would get our gifts.  So that is one letter of evidence addressed to both of us from my first month here. 

I thought it was pretty common; in Britain they are often called "wedding lists", my daughter had hers at Debenhams and that was in 1995 and I don't recall it being unusual.

Same here!  We, and several of our friends, have about 5 weddings to go to this year, and with the economy the way is is we thought it would be a little presumptuous.  But I think most people in the UK have lists now, and we have already had confused comments by not having one.

My experience getting married here in the UK - nearly five years ago (has it really been that long?!) was that people did assume us to have registered somewhere.  Initially, we weren't going to register at all, but most of the people who were going to be attending, and even some who weren't going to be present (mostly on DH's side, but some from the US as well) persisted in asking us where we were registered or going to be registered, that we ended up doing so (with Debenhams).  At least from our guests, it seemed to be something the guests appreciated having - a registry to go to & buy from, taking out the guesswork & hassle of gift selection - and not something they saw as presumptuous at all.  We didn't pick extravagant & expensive things, however, just the everyday stuff we needed (everyday dishes, kitchenware, bed linen, etc).  Steve had been living the bachelor life before (two place settings of cutlery, two or three pots & pans, you get the idea  ) and I didn't move my whole household over here - just clothes & keepsakes.  So we needed household stuff!

taking out the guesswork & hassle of gift selection

We don't want gifts. We just want our guests to come and have a great time! 

We don't want gifts. We just want our guests to come and have a great time! 

Which is great!  But it's something that can be confusing at the same time, because of the social convention that people expect and want to honour the bride & groom with wedding pressies. 

Which is great!  But it's something that can be confusing at the same time, because of the social convention that people expect and want to honour the bride & groom with wedding pressies. 

And some people have asked what we'd like (but nobody in the UK has asked if we have a wedding list), which is when we tell them not to give us anything. At our age we have all we need. It's not as though we're in our early 20s setting up house for the first time.

I guess I'm biased. I absolutely hate wedding lists and never buy from them either! 

If you can have an online one, it also helps people in the US who can't come to the wedding.  They don't have to worry about shipping overseas, and they don't have to worry about plugs and currents if they want to give you electronics.