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Table Settings & Decor For Everyday Moments

Simple decorating setting for any special moment.


Registry Items for the Cohabiting Couple

Wise words of wisdom by our client’s Lisa & Steven.

A wedding registry is the best way to get what you need for your new home together, if your home together is new.  More couples are living together prior to getting hitched and even engaged.  If you have been living together for some time you probably have all the necessities limiting your Registry to those typical items like silverware and coffee cups.  

Here are some ideas:

Some resorts will create a registry for your honeymoon.  Guests can purchase massages, resort credits, restaurant credits, excursions, etc.  It’s a gift that keeps giving after the wedding is over. 

Luggage is another great registry item.  You can always use new luggage or travel items especially for your honeymoon. 

It is also perfectly okay to put a personal item on the registry.  My favorite was a nice light up vanity mirror. 

You can also put items that you already have.  When we moved into our first place we didn’t have much money to spend on all the extras.  A lot of items were either hand me downs or the cheapest we could find.  Now that you are going to be a married couple you want to have appliances that are more suitable and not just to get you by. 

I’ve noticed that since the time we have been living together we have accumulated a lot.  Not only housewares but clothing, shoes, blankets and everything else that takes up space.  Think about ways you can store your stuff and maybe you can figure out a way to conserve space with some closet organizers. 

You don’t have to get a full set of fine china.  Most places that you will register at will put it on the top of the suggestion list.  I didn’t even bother adding it since it will sit in a closet and will never be used.  A nice set of everyday china is the best bet.

Websites are a good registry source.  You can register on amazon.com which will expand the selection of items you have to choose from.  You can order anything and everything, even an Ipad!

Don’t feel obligated to have a registry that just consists of items for the home.  Times are changing and it is more common for a couple to be living together before marriage.  Your guests will be happy to get you what you really want than what you feel like you have to include.


The whole is equal to the sum of its parts

There are so many large and small things that go into a wedding.  While the large stuff is easy to keep track of, the small stuff can become overwhelming if not properly recorded. 

It is completely natural to feel a loss of control as you get closer to your wedding date.  It becomes crunch time and you are being constantly reminded of what you need to do.  Most of which are the details.  Remember when you asked your middle school math teacher when you will ever use that stuff again and her response was all throughout your life?  I hate to admit it but that was true and believe it or not there is a lot of math, probability and logistics that goes into a wedding.  For instance, The whole is equal to the sum of all parts and guess what?, There are A LOT of parts! 

 

Probability

Your goal is for 100% probability for your wedding to be all that you expected and more.  It is very important that you determine the probability of each guest attending prior to ordering everything.  Your RSVP’s go out very close to the wedding so all of your planning needs to be based around the probable count.  Typically 60-70% of the people respond that they will attend.  However you have to think about the variables.  Guests that are out of state or country are a variable to consider. 

Geometry

You have this great big room and a bunch of tables and possibly even some lounge furniture(which is becoming more and more common).  You need to figure out the actually size of the room against how many tables you are going to have and the size of the tables.  The bride and groom are the center of attention so you want to make sure you situate the tables so that everyone can see you. 

General Math

The obvious is the budgeting.  Keep a record of anticipated costs for each item and the actual costs for each item.  What seems like an extra hundred or two over on one thing and hundred or two over on another can add up quickly.  Keep in mind that more guests equals more centerpieces, favors, wedding programs, chair covers and invitations. 

It doesn’t take an A+ math student to get through these tasks.  Being a problem solver is important.  Even more important than that is to foresee the problems before they become problems.  If you have a good strategy and able to think things through you can avoid any wedding miscalculation.