3 Tips for Buying Out Your Wedding Registry!

So... your wedding is over and you still don't have everything from your registry? I had this same problem about a year and a half ago when I got married. John and I had both been living with our parents up until the wedding so that meant we didn't have things like dishes, pots and pans or even towels! We needed all of these things and then some for our new apartment. We spent hours (many, many hours) in Bed Bath and Beyond scanning everything we could ever want. We had about 5 different kinds of glasses, 2 pairs of very fancy bed sheets, new furniture, art, ect. I had two bridal showers and that is where we received the bulk of our gifts. After the wedding, there were still so many necessities left on our registry. Thousands of dollars worth of stuff, it costs a lot to start a home from scratch! I know a lot of other people have this same problem and they either live without the things they didn't get or they spend the money and buy it all off the registry. We were somewhere in the middle. So without further ado... Here are my tips to getting everything you need form your registry and save some money.

1. Re-evaluate and take inventory!

It is highly likely that over the course of your bridal showers and your wedding you received more than one of the same gift. Sometimes people buy you stuff from stores where you are not registered (why? I don't know) and this leads to you having two toasters! So take a quick inventory of what you already have and return anything that you have multiples of. I also recommend re-evaluating what is left on your registry. You will need to spend your own money on whatever is left, so choose wisely. Ask yourself, do I really need this $500 bedding or this gravy boat that will only get used once a year? Your answer may be yes to those questions and that is totally fine! But really think about what is the most important to you and what you need the most.

2.Wait!

After moving in to your new home you will realize that there are things your forgot to register for or didn't know you would need. You will also notice that you got things you probably didn't need and now you don't have any room left. I would recommend waiting a month or two after moving in before you go out and purchase what is left. This way you can have time to evaluate what you do and don't need. Of course, things like towels and dishes you will need right away. But things like decorations and even some kitchen appliances can wait a few months. Take time to go through each section of your house and deiced what you really need for those areas.Things like storage containers, organizational tools and decorations are easier to purchase after living in your home for a while so you can really get a feel for what you need in that space.

3. Don't buy from your registry!

I know this sounds crazy because the entire point is to get what is on your registry. Hear me out, places like Bed Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel and so on, are great options for when you are creating a registry. It makes it easy for guests to buy exactly what you want. However, places like that are usually very overpriced, and when the wedding is over it is all on you to buy the rest. So go over your list of things that are remaining and shop around! Things like glasses, kitchen utensils, decorations, storage and organizational things can all be bought elsewhere for a much lower price! It may require that you shop around a bit, but it will save you so much money! Look for the things you need at places like Ross, TJMaxx, Ikea even Walmart! You can find everything you need for a much lower price if you just shop around a little bit. However, there are some things that you may want to spend a little bit more money on to have a higher quality product. Things like bed sheets, towels, pots and pans and anything with a motor I would recommend buying good quality so you don't need to re purchase them in six months (this happened to us with bed sheets, $25 was too good to be true!)

In the end it is really up to you and your spouse to decide what to spend money on and what you can live without. You may purchase some necessitates right after the wedding and then slowly buy the rest over the next several months. Or you may want to take all of the money people gave you at the wedding and buy everything at once. I hope this posts was helpful to some of you newly married or soon to be married people! If you would like to see more posts like please let me know! I'd love to keep sharing my tips and tricks with you all!