NZ Wedding Registries: the Ultimate Guide
— By Raashka Mannie

Wedding registries are to be treated with care. Sure, you've checked in about gifts before, on your birthday or for the holidays, but it's a little different when it comes to weddings. Wedding registries are elegant and direct all at once; they're a collection of the things that matter to you and your partner, awarding your loved ones with the chance to be a part of that.

There are plenty of places to sign up for wedding registries, but it's all about picking the right place. It should be somewhere easy to use, given that not everyone is tech-savvy, but still pleasing to the eye. It should allow you to personalise your wedding registry in straightforward ways without letting anything get too complicated. It should allow as much privacy and security as you need to feel safe and sound when sharing your wedding registry with guests and loved ones. The wedding registry sites that go the extra mile also let you send heartfelt messages of gratitude to everyone that contributes. Plenty of articles offer insight for a wedding registry checklist, but do any offer a checklist about the wedding registry itself?

We've done the due diligence when it comes to choosing the perfect wedding registry. Designed for the modern bride, Hitchd brings everyone the seamless experience they've been looking for. Customise your registry, fund whatever you please, send messages of love and more - it's got everything you need and then some.

Image by Wild Souls Photo + Video

"What should wedding registries be like?"

1/ Customisable

It should come as no surprise that you need to make your wedding registry your own. No, this doesn't just mean adding you and your partner's name to the page and calling it a day. Adding photos, editing layouts, font options, having welcome messages and a personalised hashtag - these all matter. Your wedding registry is a reflecting pool of you and your partner's little wishes. When your guests visit, you want them to smile and think, "That's so them."

2/ Flexible

Before we delve into the details of what you can put on your wedding registry, make sure that your wedding registry lets you extend beyond the confines of kitchenware. Maybe you and your partner want to fund an expedition across Peru, or maybe you're both looking to save up for a cruise around the Bahamas. For all we know, you want to head to South Korea and write the names of every guest on tiny padlocks at Seoul Tower. Whatever your wish is for your wedding registry, it should let you extend this to your guests. Versatile wedding registries like Hitchd allow you to register for anything that matters to you in one place, meaning you have to sign up for and manage less.

3/ Safe

Controlling your security is a basic need when it comes to wedding registries. Your URL should be secure, your account should be password-protected, and you should have the option to make your wedding registry as public or as private as you prefer. It's an added bonus when wedding registries let you add in that extra layer of protection with a password-protected site for guest login.

4/ Easy to use for you

And we mean that in every sense of the term. Sharing with guests should be a piece of cake. Personalising it should be no big thing. Setting up the account and understanding all the functions should be done with a nod as you listen to your favourite song. The great wedding registries let you have a unique URL that you can share with your guests through social media, email and invites. Not only do these tiny aspects add to the luxurious feeling of it, but also the user experience for you and your guests.

5/ Easy to use for others

So that means not going through ten different sketchy websites just to contribute to a wedding registry. Guests should be able to securely and quickly contribute to your wedding registry through the website using their credit or debit cards. If it's not simple, it doesn't really incentivise guests to give, unfortunately. No one wants a wedding registry that encourages that.

6/ Be a place to share your gratitude

It's a cherry on top when your wedding registry notifies you of any and all contributions, then allows you to send a message to the contributor immediately. You can send photos along with your gratitude, sharing the love all around. It's never been simpler! When wedding registries have corresponding apps, it allows you to send your thank you notes from your honeymoon or holiday - one your guests could have contributed to - alongside cute photos of you and your partner having the time of your lives. It's extra personal, so it makes everything extra special.

Image by Kouki Photography

So now that you have your checklist for wedding registries themselves, you know what choosing the right one entails. Sure, it seems like a lot of work, but that's why we've done the research on your behalf.

With all of the above in mind, there's also wedding registry etiquette to keep an eye on. When you consider what items you might want, whether money might be more useful (if you're comfortable asking for it), and the thousand other questions that come along with putting together your wedding registry, it seems like you need another checklist. Don't worry - we've also got that covered.

"What is and isn't allowed when curating my wedding registry?"

1/ Multiple registries

This is something we don't recommend due to the natural confusion it causes. Websites that are flexible when it comes to asking for gifts and contributions, such as Hitchd, make it so much simpler for you and your guests. You can include your personalised URL on your invite, around social media and so on without worrying about how much space multiple may take up or having to think about how to share several different sites for several different purposes.

2/ How much to share

Varying from place to place, some people share their registry just about everywhere, while others limit themselves to specific spots, such as their wedding website. Our advice is to do what feels comfortable for you. If you want to keep your registry as private as possible, include it in invitations to your guest and nowhere else. If you don't mind how public it is, use your custom hashtag all over social media. Hitchd allows you to password-protect your wedding registry as needed so that you can rest easy.

3/ What to ask for

In modern times, it's perfectly acceptable to ask for money rather than gifts. Hitchd is a wedding registry that allows you to do just this, with indicators of your final goal, recent contributors and more. Recently, wedding registries have been the go-to option for couples to fund their honeymoons, which is precisely what Hitchd specialises in. Asking for funding is a fun way for your loved ones to feel even closer to you on your special day. If you're more into registering for physical gifts, you can still do so without being locked into the vendors' products and prices. Flexibility on what you want and why matters when it comes to your wedding registry.

4/ Cost vs. demand

When determining your wedding registry, you should absolutely be aware of how much you're asking from your guests. You should be giving your guests gift options that they're comfortable with. Everyone has their own budget, and it's important you keep this in mind. Some guests might pool their funds to get you something together; others will want to splurge on you. Just remember that it's alright to add to your registry and give them more choices. In the end, it's the thought that counts.

5/ Can vs. can't

Most wedding experts will tell you that you can pretty much register for anything you're after when it comes down to it - and they'd be right. Wedding registries like Hitchd that award you with endless freedom bolster this claim. In general, what you ask for should feel balanced between you and your partner. If you're asking for something together, like contributions to your honeymoon, it's easier to find that balance. If you've got items on your wedding registry instead, be sure that you have some things of roughly the same value, so it ends up evening out. You don't want your guests to feel too uncertain about any price disparities, and you want to concentrate on what makes you happy.

Image by Valo Photo & Cinema

"When do I start my wedding registry?"

It's a good rule of thumb to begin planning your wedding registry four to six months before your big day. You can go ahead and register with Hitchd before you've actually decided on what you're asking for and why. If you're having an engagement party, that should be your deadline for when you set everything up by; if not, your bridal shower or related event can be the indicator.

The reason you should endeavour to set up your wedding registry in advance is because your guests will be looking to make their own plans concerning your special day. It's courteous to give them time to plan, budget and discuss what they'll get you and why. It also keeps anyone from springing sudden gifts on you that you're not quite sure you want to accept. Wedding registries are your guests' guide to how to make your wedding even more spectacular, so it's essential you remember it's as beneficial to them as it is to you.

Image by Bayly and Moore

"But what do I register for?"

We could give you the usual spiel - the seemingly endless collection of "necessities" you'll find on every wedding registry checklist online - but we'd rather do you one better: register for what you want.

Talk it out with your partner, make a list of pros and cons, create vision boards together and whatever else gets you going. You can use the humdrum wedding registry checklists everywhere as a baseboard for what you might want, but don't let them limit you. Hitchd is a space for bringing memories to life, for starting adventures together credit to the loved ones in your life, so you can dream big and set out on the journey of a lifetime.

Image by Proshot Photo + Video