Updated Aug. 01, 2024
Before the wedding bells comes the wedding registry! Find the best place to register for wedding gifts and all of your wish list items.
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Planning a wedding is hard, even if you have help. And while getting your registry squared away can seem like just one more thing you have to do—along with the dress, decor, what food to serve… the list goes on and on—it’s definitely going to help you out in the long run. It will ensure your friends, family and other loved ones know not just where to get you their wedding gifts but also what kinds of gifts you’re interested in. That way, on your big day, you don’t have to worry about finding out that weird aunt got you a novelty fruitcake maker instead of something you really needed.
But it doesn’t all have to be difficult. We’ve done the painstaking research to find the best wedding registry sites and stores to take some of that stress away. Check them out below.
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If you need essentials delivered straight to your door, Amazon is always the way to go. Why not use the same trusted source for go-to products on your wedding registry? Amazon lets you add registry picks from their site, as well as all of the other wedding and engagement gifts you want from around the web. There’s group gifting for those higher-priced items, gift card funds and super quick (and free!) shipping for Prime members on orders over $25. Qualified registrants even get 20% off after the wedding to grab the rest of what’s left on your list. Other bonuses? You can prioritize your gifts from high to low, and you might even get a free gift added in, depending on which registry items your guests purchase! And if you need to return wedding gifts, you have 180 days to do so.
Top pick: If you’ve always wanted an Instant Pot, now’s the time. Add the 8-quart Instant Pot Duo with nine appliance settings to your registry and get ready to dive in on a whole new world of pressure cooker recipes.
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We already know Target has everything we need (and everything we probably don’t need but really want), so go ahead and use your go-to favorite store for your wedding registry. The upsides? You can sign up in minutes and add all of the items from your favorite Target collections like Threshold, Hearth & Hand and Project 62. Plus, there’s gift tracking to keep your thank you cards in order, and you have one year to return gifts, if necessary. And if you didn’t get everything you asked for, a 15% off discount is offered to snag the rest! Check out these wedding thank you gifts for after your big day.
Top pick:Â A Vitamix (with 10 variable speeds and tamper!) is a big-ticket item that makes mornings smoother. Turn on group gifting to allow multiple guests to contribute!
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Want to be sure you’re set up for success with everyday essentials as a newlywed? You can use the Walmart app or go online to do just that. It’s simple to create your registry, add items and then share your list with family and friends through email or social media. As you add to your registry, Walmart will recommend popular wedding registry ideas, but of course, you can still browse online or in the store to add your must-haves.
Top pick: Love to make a meal using the set and forget method? With a quick-seal and spill-resistant lid, three heat settings and removable stoneware for easy cleanup, The Pioneer Woman 7-quart slow cooker is the perfect fit. Plus, thanks to how pretty the floral design is, you can leave it on the counter full time.
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If handmade goods, unique wedding gifts and shopping from small businesses is your bread and butter, say hello to the Etsy wedding registry. Whether you’re looking for one-of-a-kind home decor or personal goodies that are as unique as your love, an Etsy wedding registry offers it all. We love Etsy as one of the best places to register for wedding registries because of the customizations behind each gift. You can shop items with the couple’s likeness, last name, wedding date and other special details. Get started by adding our picks for personalized wedding gifts.
Top pick: Here’s a wedding gift to cherish your special day, everyday. This personalized last name sign is perfect for the entryway or bedroom.
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From barware and dinnerware sets to cozy bedding and honeymoon luggage, Macy’s has just about everything you could want to add to your wedding registry. You can set it up for free, and then browse online or head in-store to add items to your registry in real-time. As with many other registries, Macy’s offers an extra 10-25% off to snag other items from your list after the big day. Plus, they add extra perks for using their registry, surprising you with discounts on shoes, clothes and even jewelry to get all of your shopping done in one place. Have you seen these bridal shower favor ideas?
Top pick: Jet-setters? A new luggage set is certainly in order, especially if you’re heading out on your honeymoon right after tying the knot! With spinning wheels and a lightweight hard case, the Samsonite suitcase collection has you prepped and ready to take flight.
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If high quality home and kitchen goods that last a lifetime sound right up your alley, you’re in luck with a Pottery Barn wedding registry. Add goods from sister stores Williams Sonoma, West Elm and Rejuvenation, and get tips on everything to include with Pottery Barn’s registry checklist. And if there’s something on your registry you didn’t receive, Pottery Barn offers 10% off up to six months after your big day. After all, your wedding is the best time to stock up on everything from dinnerware to table linens and entertaining goods you’ll never have to replace. Now, it’s time to pick out the wedding cake topper!
Top pick: Take this as your sign to upgrade your bath towels and add this organic Turkish cotton set to the list. The hardest part is choosing your favorite color!
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Sure, traditional wedding gifts like a KitchenAid stand mixer earn rightful spots on your registry, but beyond that, it’s important to look for the bold and bright items that encapsulate your style. With an Anthropologie wedding registry, your options are anything but boring. Looking for funky barware to deck out the bar cart? How about playful linens to brighten up the kitchen? You’ll get it all and then some. Bonus: You’ll earn a 15% completion discount after your special day.
Top pick: There’s a lot of fun vase options beyond crystal. We love this Ferrara vase perfect for displaying one bud or an arrangement. Choose from three sizes—or add them all to your list for endless decorating.
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While household items are always welcome on a wedding registry, sometimes it’s a better fit to ask for honeymoon funds or to put money toward buying your first house together. After all, those items aren’t exactly found in stores! A wedding registry from The Knot offers a wedding registry for cash funds. Or, add any item from any store, including Anthropologie, Sur La Table, Target and more. The registry keeps everything organized in one place for you, including the option to create a free wedding website to go along with it. It’s wedding planning made easy!
Senior Shopping Editor, Katie Bandurski, is using The Knot registry for her big day. “I love how intuitive adding gifts is, and that you can sync up with other store registries. Plus, it’s easy to add directly to your wedding website. Genius!”
Top pick: The celebration certainly doesn’t have to stop after your wedding day. Pop the bubbly and keep the party going with Kate Spade champagne flutes.
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Zola is a one-stop-shop for all things wedding planning, making it easy to create a wedding website, design save the dates and create a wedding registry all in one place. Couples get convenient free shipping and free returns, along with a 20% off post-wedding completion discount to grab all of the remaining must-haves on your list. Choose to register for gifts, cash funds or a mixture of both. Hands down one of the best features available is group gifting, which is ideal for those big ticket items (we’re looking at you, Le Creuset). And while setting up your registry, Zola asks a few helpful questions to produce a list of suggested items to kick things off, taking much of the guesswork out of the process.
Top pick: After the big party, it’ll be all about rest and rejuvenation. Be sure you’re cozy with Parachute’s Percale sheet set, featuring breathable, 100% Egyptian cotton for the ultimate rest.
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West Elm is known for its gorgeous home products, with stunning designs and fair trade items that support community artisans. Get inspiration from curated suggestions, then add them to your list. You can also add items from sister stores Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. Not sure where to start? West Elm’s design experts will help you curate your registry online or in-store. Fabulous!
Top pick: Get ready to host your first dinner party in style as a married couple. This gold-rimmed dinnerware set is absolutely gorgeous!
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For the couple who loves to cook, this is the best wedding registry. Whether you’re hoping to add new cookware, bakeware, tabletop decor or even a few clever items for kitchen storage and organization, Williams Sonoma is your one-stop shop. Create a registry and schedule a private tour of the store, including product demos and expert help, to choose the best items for your kitchen. You can add gifts at a variety of price points, monitor and manage your registry on the app and add items from Pottery Barn and West Elm to round things out. Couples get a 10% off completion discount, which is good for six months after you say “I do,” for any other must-have items on your list. Before you know it, you’ll be shopping for anniversary gifts.
Top pick: For the couple who loves a gourmet pizza at home, a pizza stone is a must-have. This durable Emile Henry pizza stone can withstand high heat, all while producing the perfect crust.
Unfortunately, picking the right registry isn’t as simple as just popping on over to your favorite retailer and calling it a day. There are other considerations you’ll want to make to get the most out of it. Here are some factors worth considering:
Remember that these gifts are meant to help you along with this next big chapter in your life. That means the gifts should apply to both yourself and your new spouse. But it also means you’ll want to have a wide variety for your guests. Your life isn’t one-dimensional; your registry gifts shouldn’t be either. Prioritize registries and retailers with numerous useful categories— home goods, kitchen devices, bedding, etc. But don’t be afraid to go outside the lines if your life suits it (outdoor gifts are appropriate for couples who frequently camp, for instance).
You should be able to easily find user testimony about registries online (and in person). This allows you to discern the overall quality of the registries and retailers, helping you to understand better if they’re all they’re cracked up to be. If you’re looking for user reviews for a registry service and they just don’t seem to be there at all, that’s a red flag. Sure, new businesses pop up all the time, but you’re (presumably) only having one wedding, so you want to make sure you can trust the registry and retailers.
Your guests shouldn’t have to jump through many hoops to buy something off your registry. Opt for systems that don’t require much extra work, as they’ll already have to thumb through your picks and enter personal information to make a purchase. If your registry requires many extra steps (even ones as seemingly simple as making an account), you may end up frustrating people and potentially even costing yourself some gifts.
This is less about the registry and the gift selections themselves. Make sure you’re offering a wide variety of price points. But you should also be sure to have more gift options than guests. That way, guests will have a greater ability to pick things for your wedding gift that fit their budget, style, etc. Sure, the gamble is that you may not receive some things you really want. Still, many registries also allow you to select priority items—this will let your guests know what you prioritize yourself (and it makes their job easier).
As shopping experts, we pride ourselves on finding products and retailers that offer the best to our readers. Luckily, many of the time-tested trustworthy retailers we often turn to also offer wedding registry services, so we didn’t have too much trouble putting together a wide range of solid options. However, we still consulted professional and user reviews to ensure we settled on a final list that represents the pinnacle options.
While Molly Allen has a decade of experience as a freelance shopping writer and photographer, her former life also included the title of event planner, so she has an abundance of experience that’s directly applicable to finding the best wedding registries.
Additional research was also contributed by Associate Shopping Editor (and Pioneer of Taste of Home’s social media shopping team), Madi Koetting, who has reviewed hundreds of products in the home space, including kitchen appliances, cooking gear, cleaning gadgets, furniture and home decor.
This will heavily depend on personal preference, which is probably obvious. However, it may be a good idea to prioritize places with a lot of variety, as your list of gifts you may want will probably encompass every category of home goods and beyond. Luckily, almost all of the picks on our above list have many options. Remember: you can also use a service that wrangles everything together under one umbrella, so you can have a single registry that covers multiple stores.
If you can help it, you should try to avoid putting personal items—like jewelry, clothing, etc.—on your registry. After all, the gifts you’re getting are meant to be a part of the celebration between yourself and your new spouse, so the gifts should reflect that bond and not just be for one person or the other.
While this will depend a lot on your and your guests’ socioeconomic status, the general consensus is that the majority of the gifts on your list should fall under a $200 price point. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with putting a few splurge items on there, too. Remember: there’s a chance those splurge items won’t make it to your wedding.
Having your registry set up four to six months before your wedding is best. This will give your guests enough time to browse and purchase well before the big event.
Originally Published: May 06, 2022
