But, before you plan your big day, there’s a long laundry list of items to check off, including your wedding registry.

In case you’re already not familiar with it, a wedding registry is a list of gifts and services that your guests can donate to support your life as a newly married couple.

It can be pretty tricky to come up with a wedding registry, so we put together a blog post about the five things to consider when creating a wedding registry.

Complete your registry before sending your save the dates

We know that putting together your wedding registry can often feel like a task to save for last after booking the venue, finding a dress, and booking your vendors — but we highly recommend making it one of your priority planning to-dos.

In fact, we recommend completing your wedding registry before sending out your save-the-date wedding invites. This is because it’ll give guests a chance to plan in the ways they need to! Whether it’s simply because they love to stay ahead of schedule or something they want to gift you will take a long time to ship, it’s best to give your guests ample time.

Plus, when you send out your wedding invites, chances are your website link or registry link will be on it. You’ll want to make sure it’s already set up with the information you want to include so that you don’t have to scramble to send out updates to everyone when you add something new to the site.

And the cherry on top? You won’t have to worry about your wedding registry as you move along in the planning process because it’ll already be taken care of!

Pick three shops for your wedding registry

Picking three shops for your guests to choose from on your wedding registry is a good rule of thumb. This number offers just enough variety without being overwhelming for people. And while we love the convenience of online stores, we also recommend including at least one physical store just in case a guest needs to grab a last-minute gift.

Pro-tip: For your physical store, choose a large brand where your guests can easily find one in their hometown or the city where your wedding is taking place.

Include a variety of high-end items and low-budget items

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but we wanted to include it still because it’s still important to iterate! Including a variety of high-end items and low-budget items on your wedding registry ensures your guests with different budgets can gift you with something within their price range.

Don’t be afraid to over-register

This is one facet that our couples have difficulty with — stressing out over the number of items they should put on their wedding registry. To that worry we say, you are completely allowed to over register and have a wide variety of items for your guests to select from!

The goal of your wedding registry isn’t necessarily to obtain all the items listed on your registry but rather to help your guests choose a gift for you that fits within their budget, their location, and their time constraints. By having many different items to choose from, you’ll make it easier and more comfortable for them to choose.

Mark your must-have items

To go off of tip number four, to help your guests prioritize which items to gift you, you can mark your must-have items. Most wedding registries will have a favorites button of some sort that will flag your most desired items. Your guests will have an easier time sifting through the registry because they’ll be able to prioritize.

Pro-tip: Make sure to take tip three into consideration for this particular tip and favorite a mix of high-budget and low-budget items so they’re accessible to everyone!

Now you’re ready to create your wedding registry!

We hope this cleared up any questions you had about creating a wedding registry! For more planning tips, head to the Blush Blog where we post new blog posts every Friday to inspire you to create the wedding of your dreams!