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5 Online Wedding Registries to Help Guide Family and Friends in Finding the Perfect Wedding Gift

Think about it for a minute.

About it being your dress, where you want to have your wedding, what kind of cake you want, what will be your first dance wedding song…a wedding can at times seem to be, well, all about you.

OK, let’s be real—it really IS all about you. Or is it now? Wait! It’s the gifts! It’s all about the wedding gifts!

Let’s talk about online wedding registries and how they can help your friends and family select the perfect wedding gift for you.

Why do wedding registries matter?

I’m going to start this off by trying to define what a wedding registry is. Look, I was kidding earlier when I said a wedding was all about the gifts (but getting gifts sure is cool, am I right?).

Wedding couples like to get gifts on their wedding day that show who they are as a team and things that help them celebrate their lives together.

If they’re planning a honeymoon, they might want cash that will help them reach their honeymoon destination.

If they’re not planning on going on a honeymoon but are instead looking to buy or rent their first home together, they might need money to help towards their mortgage or rent or need things like furniture or kitchen and bath items.

The list is endless, and sometimes guests are left in the dark as to what gift they should get.

What is a wedding registry?

A wedding registry is a ‘wish list’ of sorts the couples set up so guests won’t have to guess what type of wedding gift to get.

The process is made easier for the gift givers and the happy couple (and I know this might sound selfish) the Bride and Groom usually end up getting exactly what they need/want.

A win-win all around.

Can you do your wedding registry online?

Yes, you absolutely do your wedding registry online! Gone are the days of setting up an appointment at a department store and sitting down for an excruciating hour with someone who would always try to push items on you that you really didn’t want (yes, I have firsthand experience with that).

These days it’s super easy—hop online, pick your stuff, pick options to offer like giftwrap, etc. Then all you have to do is let people know how to see the registry and then sit back and see who has gotten what.

How cool is that?

How do You Find Someone’s Online Wedding Registry?

There are a number of ways you could find a couple’s online wedding registry.

If it’s a small wedding they might simply tell you themselves. For coworkers, they could post something in the office lounge with the link (that’s what I did with my wedding invitation, it saved me a ton of time!).

If it’s a larger wedding or guests will be coming in from all over, the couple may post a link to their wedding registry on their wedding website. Or, the online registry they choose could offer the notification process as part of their service.

“One store with gifts, gift cards, and cash funds. Smart ways to personalize their registry to delight guests. Flexible (and free) shipping and so much more.”

Why we love Zola

Wedding couples everywhere are flocking to Zola for their wedding planning and online wedding gift registry needs and with good reason.

Zola offers the most complete wedding package when compared to other online wedding registries. They will help easily bring together everything from managing your guest list to creating a beautiful wedding website, designing matching invitations and more.

Let’s take a closer look at Zola and see why it’s our pick for the best wedding registry site.

Perks of this wedding registry/quick tip:

Using Zola is free, and the service offers a generous 20% discount for up to 6 months after your wedding.

The number of times this discount can be used within the 6 months is unlimited, and to qualify for this discount you only have to meet a small number of requirements.

This means you’ll be able to cross more items off your list and you’ll score to gift-giver a nice discount.

Besides a happy wedding couple, the words ‘free’ and ‘discount’ together are a beautiful sight.

Benefits of Zola

Drawbacks of Zola

“Build your new life together from the world’s largest selection— from tents to teapots, board games to bath towels, canoes to champagne glasses—we have everything your heart desires.”

Why we love Amazon Registry

Let’s face it—Amazon is flipping HUGE and just about everybody uses it already.

Well, maybe everyone except for my mother.

Those are the two big reasons that put the Amazon online wedding registry service so high on our list. Read on to learn more about Amazon and why its online wedding registry is our #2 pick.

Amazon Wedding Registry Perks:

The Amazon online wedding registry service also offers a 20% completion discount, but the terms of the discount are a little more restrictive than you’ll find with Zola.

Be sure to check the Amazon wedding registry site for full details. 

Benefits of Amazon Registry

Drawbacks of Amazon Registry

“Walmart.com gives you the tools to set up your wedding registry and begin to fill it so your family and friends can get started celebrating your new life.”

Why we love Walmart Registry

Retail giant Walmart also allows wedding couples to create their wedding registry online for free.

Like its buddy, Amazon, Walmart’s selection of wedding gifts is massive. And while to some, a gift from Walmart may not seem like the fanciest thing in the world, their product offerings are good, basic things that any couple can use for setting up their first home without straining a gift-giver’s budget.

Let’s see what the Walmart online wedding is made of.

Walmart Wedding Registry Perks:

One perk we particularly like with the Walmart registry service is that they create these little cards to send along with your wedding invitations to help gift-givers find your registry.

That’s one less thing for you to worry about, you’ve got enough on your plate at this point.

Benefits of Walmart Registry

Drawbacks of Walmart Registry

“Your friends and family can shop your list online and pick up their gift at a store near them for free. Visit any store to browse or return gifts. And no matter where your friends and family live, chances are there’s a Target store nearby.”

Why we love Target Registry

You can create your wedding registry at Target either online or at the store. It’s always nice to have options, right?

And with Target, you’ll enjoy a big selection of items for your wedding day wish list. So, you’re covered for pretty much anything you could possibly want.

Target Wedding Registry Perks:

If you’re solidly on Team Target it makes sense that you’d want to use them for putting together your wedding registry.

The big perk we see to this online wedding registry is that it’s super easy to use, and only Target carries some of our favorite clothing brands and products that are perfect for a new home, or couple starting their life together.

That’s important knowing all the other wedding related things you’re dealing with right now.

Benefits of Target Registry

Drawbacks of Target Registry

“Blueprint is a David’s Bridal company allowing nearlyweds to create a beautiful, free wedding website, build your registry with gifts from any retailer, and streamline everything from RSVPs to your honeymoon fund.”

Why we love Blueprint Registry

Finally, at #5 on our list of best online wedding registries we have Blueprint Registry.

Blueprint is similar to its cousin Zola in that you can add products to your list for either on or off the platform, so it’s very convenient.

Let’s examine some reasons why we’ve ranked Blueprint so highly.

Blueprint Registry Perks:

One really cool perk or thing we especially like about Blueprint is their slick ‘view it in your room’ feature.

You can digitally place an item in your space to see how it’ll look—and if you’re looking to score some furniture pieces ‘view it in your room’ is a HUGE plus!

Benefits of Blueprint Registry

Drawbacks of Blueprint Registry

Are you ready to register for your wedding gifts online?

While it isn’t as large as say Amazon or Walmart or even Target, we like Zola when it comes to the best online wedding registry service.

They offer a nice selection of wedding gifts and include other helpful services like syncing your guest list with your registry and they include a way for you to create a lovely wedding website.

All for free.

And we are big fans of free here at Weddings to the Wire! Time to start making that list of yours!