Tips on Building your Wedding List

Organising a wedding can seem such a stressful experience, but creating your wedding list should be the most enjoyable part of all those pre-wedding jobs! With our free service here at Gifts I’d Love this particular task has now become so much easier. No longer are you tied to one department store, you don’t have to find time for you and your partner to head to the shop and meet a salesperson, and most importantly you aren’t going to face any charges at all.

Other websites only allow you to pick products from a handful of shops to ensure they get their commission, and some even charge you a fee on top of that. Everyone wants their wedding day to be perfect, and here at Gifts Id Love we want to ensure that  your wedding list is precisely as you want it, and without having to add anything to those mounting costs you are facing!

Starting your wedding gift list

Firstly, and most importantly sign up for your free wedding list at Gifts I’d Love, then enter the details of your wedding day.

You should give yourself plenty of time to create your list, let’s face it there is an entire world of gifts out there for you to choose from, and wading through them can take some time. We suggest starting your list about two months before you send out your invitations. Don’t worry if you don’t have that amount of time, and remember you can always amend your wish list at any point, right up to the big day itself. Your list will also remain open for at least ten days after your wedding.

Ok, now for one and only boring bit… jot down some notes of the main items that you are really hoping for. These main items often get forgotten about when the wdding couple get carried away adding items from all their favourite shops!

Items you may want to include on that “vital gifts list” are the more traditional wedding list gifts such as the dinner set, which we suggest adding to your list in broken down smaller quantities so that you have a range of gift values.

Keep these notes short and use them to guide you when you start your window shopping frenzy! When you add the relevant gifts to your on-line gift registry cross them off your notes so you know where you stand.

and now… let the fun begin!

Choosing the gifts to add

Nobody can and should tell you what to put on your wedding list, only you and your partner knows that. What you need to do is think about your lifestyle, think about presents that will really help you, as a couple. And think about gifts that you will be able to treasure for a long time to remind you of your special day. Your list should reflect the type of people you are as a couple. When your guests read through the list they should be able to see how perfect the list is for you.

Do you want a theme for your wedding list? Green wedding lists are proving very popular, as are locally manufactured items produced here in the UK.

The next suggested step is to take a walk through your house, look in every room and don’t forget the garden and garage. If you are yet to move in then still use this method, but take that walk in your head! Look around, and decide what you need and what you want. Remember to add the things you “need” to the high priority list!

Remember to keep in mind at all times that these are special presents, treat yourselves, don’t hold back. You should add things that are special to you and that you maybe wouldn’t treat yourself to generally.

Vera Wang Dinner set from Debenhams

Popular types of wedding gift

Probably the most popular “item” on a wedding list, as we mentioned earlier, is the dinner set. Dinner sets are ideal additions to your wish list as you can enter the items individually or in small sets (such as “Eight side plates” or “One terrine”) this allows you to add  a greater variety of prices. It is also a good idea to decide if you want two dinner sets, one for “best” and one for every day. Almost as popular (and for the same reasons) is the cutlery set!

Household items normally feature prominently. Let’s face it most of us would much rather spend our money on something more fun than a coffee machine, or an iron, so use this opportunity to have it bought for you!

Don’t be scared about adding expensive items, people will not think you are greedy, and you will be surprised at the amount some people spend. Also it is quite common for people to group together to buy gifts as most people coming to a wedding know other guests.

With your wedding list it definitely is not a case of “less is more!” The bigger the list the better! Provide your guests with a big choice. Not only do you get all the fun of window shopping, but your guests get to have the fun and the choice too.

Gifts to think twice about adding

Ok so we’ve told you that the list is entirely your choice, so why is there a section with this title?

• Check that the present isn’t already going to be bought by someone else…

For example, traditionally bed linen is bought for the couple by the bride’s parents, this tradition has all but died out now, but it is definitely worth checking to make sure. You wouldn’t want to tread on somebody’s toes!

• Is the gift suitable?

Your wedding guests want to know that they have got something that will be special, some will want something that suits their own character, and most importantly, most guests will want to buy something for you as a couple that will stand the test of time just like your marriage/civil partnership. With the “present for the couple” in mind, therefore, it is often advisable to avoid items that would be personal to just one of you (such as jewellery). Also, gifts that will be out of fashion or out of date in a short amount of time aren’t always popular choices.

If you do want items that fall into these categories then do add them to your list, but make sure that you have plenty of other choices too!

There are a full range of suggested retailers on the right of this page, we particularly recommend visiting our Gift Suggestions page for some fresh inspiring gift ideas. And take a look through the offers from the retailers below for some lovely ideas of gifts to add to your wedding list.