Registry

Originally I was against having a gift registry. We have no space for things in our apartment, and we really need to move out of this tiny place more than we need stuff. After much convincing, I agreed to do a limited registry. After all, while we don't have the room to have a dinner party and use fine china, we likely will in a year or so, and I do fancy myself quite the southern hostess. Besides, josh wants a Kitchenaid mixer and an espresso machine.

So we began our search for fine china, silver, and crystal; the kinds of things that people only buy you for your wedding, the kinds of things that we will have for the rest of our lives. Honestly, the experience of searching for the right patterns and quality has taught us about each other. We work well as a team. Mostly we have the same ideas and like the same things, and when we don't, we have worked through it pretty peaceful. Who knew that choosing gifts for a wedding registry would confirm why we want to get married in the first place.

More after the jump...

One Friday afternoon we set off for Macy's. We walked through the floor a bit and pointed out some things we liked or hated. The registry area was empty of customers, and we sat down with Barbara, a very nice helpful lady. After she explained all about how Macy's does registries, she showed us around the floor then set us loose with the scanner. Josh scanned a number of things we might like then we headed back to Barbara. A number of things I had wanted to see on line they didn't have on the floor, so I asked about them and she informed us that they didn't stock everything they had online, but sometimes they have a sample or 2 in the back. We were coming back on Monday and I figured we could look into it then.

On Monday, we arrived early and picked up our scanner. I left the information about the dishes I wanted to see, if they had samples that weren't on the floor, and the lady (Barbara was with another customer) seemed put off by that. We wandered around the store some more, added a few items, then went to check on the dishes I had wanted to see. They didn't have any in the store. Well as you can imagine, we didn't want to chooses dishes we couldn't touch or hold or see in person. I asked if they would be getting any in stock anytime soon. No. Can you order a sample for us to see? No, you can buy a sample and if you don't like it, return it (with attitude). No, we aren't going to do that, is there any way you can help us with this? No. Ok, here is your scanner, we are off to work.

Am I wrong in wanting to see the dishes I am committing to for the rest of my life?

So the next Friday, off to Bloomingdale's we went. Strolled around the registry floor then went in to meet with Beverly, our consultant. Mostly the basic things were the same, the selection on the floor was much wider, and she said that they probably had more things in the store that they had online. Well I was sold. Oh! and free coffee! We took our scanner and headed out. Beverly checked in with us often to see if we had questions. She told us about the things we were looking at, suggested things that might pair well, showed us all around, and was very attentive. Im not real high maintenance, but I expect that kind of service when im looking to buy pricey dishes and silver. Needless to say, when we got home we deleted our Macy's registry.

So our gift registry is at Bloomingdale's. We have chosen our formal china, have a good idea about our silver and barware, and are choosing between several crystal stemware collections. Josh got his mixer and espresso machine

Im in love with the china we picked. Check it out.