A guide to wedding registries

CNN and MyHomeIdeas had a great article with seven things to avoid when registering for wedding gifts. Picking out items for your married life can easily become overwhelming and stressful for a potential bride and groom. Keep these tips in mind to make the process easy.

Check out the seven registry don'ts from the article below, with my additional advice to make registering for gifts a breeze:

1. "Don't overthink the process." And don't feel like you have to make every decision on your first visit to the store. You can always take things off and add things on a future visit, or make changes online (which most stores will let you do). It's also a good idea to revisit the registry after your bridal shower to make any additions or changes before the big day.
   
   
2. "Don't forget about the groom." This one's different for every couple. Some grooms (like my husband) want to be there picking things out too, and others won't give you their opinion if you drag it out of them. At least be sure to ask you fiance to participate in selection, and if he doesn't want to, try to keep his tastes in mind when you pick things out.
   
   
3. "But...don't go it alone." This is a great tip. If your fiance does not want to come, bring along a relative or friend who does. You'll be holding a scanner, a checklist, your purse, etc. while navigating a potentially crowded store. It can get tiring, plus it's helpful to have someone to share opinions about your choices.
   
   
4. "Don't register at every store under the sun." Personally, I think two or three registries are a good number. If you have guests around the country, try to make at least one of those choices a national chain (or at least one that has an online shopping option). If you want to include something like a honeymoon registry, consider also registering at a traditional store for at least a few items for your more traditional guests.
   
   
5. "Don't be afraid to work the system." Many stores offer up front benefits for registering, but they may not tell you about all of the possible deals out there (like registering for a certain set of pans and getting a free saucepan). Don't be afraid to ask!
   
   
6. "Don't keep the gifts you really don't want or need." My advice here is "don't register for them." If your mom is insisting that you need to register for 12 place settings of fine china, and you know you won't use it, then don't put it on your registry. Of course, you may change your mind about things, so feel free to edit the registry or return gifts. Plus, you may get some things you didn't register for...if you don't want it, you should definitely return it!
   
   
7. "Don't return gifts one at a time." First, be sure to find out the return policies of stores where you register. Some places will take items on your registry back without a receipt, others may require a gift receipt and/or a return within a certain number of days. Definitely try to consolidate your trips to make returns, but make sure you're within any required timeframes.
   

Three great online invite sites: Evite

Paper invitations may still be the most popular route (as well as the most traditional and formal) for weddings, but with all of the other wedding-related events, electronic invites can play a part: for engagement parties, save-the-dates, bridal showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinners, post-wedding brunches and more. Plus, more and more couples are using online invites for the big day, because they want a more casual wedding, want to be a little more green or just want to save some money.

Web sites offering free online invitations have existed for years now, but the features they offer continue to improve. In my next three posts, I'll take a look at three of my favorites.

Evite
This online invitation Web site has been around since 1998, which has given the company a lot of time to perfect its product. Evite offers a large amount of deigns to choose from within each theme, and you can even create a custom invitation by uploading your own images and choosing your colors. Some of the special features available for the invitation include:

Potluck, Supplies and Cash: Add a list of items you would like guests to bring to the event, and as guests check items off, the invite automatically updates what is still needed. You can also request payment from guests to contribute to the party fund.

Polls and Suggestions: Get input from your guests by adding a poll (e.g. Where should we go first for drinks?) or by asking them to suggest a date or time.

Registry Information: Integrated with Gifts.com, you can choose to add links directly to your wedding registries. Or, add a link to Gifts.com's search tool and let guests find it themselves.

Plus, Evite gives you more than just an invitation tool. The site also wants to help you plan your party. Poke around on Evite and you will find:

• Theme ideas
• Planning checklists
• Budget and drink calculators
• Recipes
• eCards

Evite's newest feature offers mobile phone integration with its online invitations. You can now send text message invites, forward invite details to your own phone and more.

Don't miss my reviews of two other online invitation sites: Pingg and My Punchbowl.

Favorite Wedding Movie Moments

Over at IDoSugar, BuzzSugar posted her top five wedding moments from the big screen last week, including Princess Bride, Coming to America, Sixteen Candles, Father of the Bride and this great scene from Love Actually:



Take a look at her list and tell me, what other movies feature your favorite wedding scenes? Personally, I am a fan of Sweet Home Alabama, with its super fancy botched ceremony ending in a punch followed by the down home reception at the bar. . .and the happy couple arriving in handcuffs.

Comment below and share your favorites!

Advice for young flower girls

CNN.com has a great article on how to avoid flower girl meltdown. Check it out for some tips on dealing with the youngest members of your bridal party.
My advice when it comes to young flower girls and ring bearers is to not have any expectations, especially with little ones under the age of five. Be prepared for the fact that they may not make it down the aisle or may have a fit of shyness or throw a temper tantrum. But no matter what they do, your guests will oooh and aaah at them for the cute and adorable kids that they are.

Young attendants do not always lead to issues, just the possibility of them. I recently coordinated a wedding with three flower girls and one ring bearer, all under the age of five (plus an eight-year-old ring bearer). The youngest flower girl was not even two yet, and for the couple of hours before the ceremony, was very fussy and crying, especially after her dress was on. The bride had pretty much decided that this little one wouldn't be making the walk down the aisle, but when the ceremony started, all five children made it down the aisle (and back), to the cheers of all of the guests.

New poll: What silhouette is your wedding dress?

Vote in the poll on the left sidebar and tell me, what silhouette is your wedding dress?

• A-line
• Ball Gown
• Sheath
• Mermaid
• Princess
• Other

Be sure to check back soon for results!

Poll results: Who chose your engagement ring?

The results of our latest poll are in, and it looks like while the majority of your fiances went the traditional route by surprising you with a ring, 40 percent of you played a role in selecting your own engagement ring.

Brides, who chose your engagement ring?

• He did: 60 percent
• I did: 10 percent
• We did, before the proposal: 18 percent
• We did, after the proposal: 12 percent

Thanks for voting and check back soon for a new poll!