Dear readers: Today we are pleased to host guest blogger, Allyson Thompson. A little about this maven of savin’: After quitting her job as a television news reporter in South Dakota, Allyson high tailed it to Hollywood to try to make it big. She moved without a job and incurred thousands of dollars in debt while paying the bills with a coffee shop barista salary. Allyson finally got a job producing television and started to pay off her debt, thus Broke Chick was born! She clipped coupons, scoured for bargains and learned to live a pretty good life on a budget. She is happily credit card debt free, has a phenomenal FICO score and started the Facebook page “The Broke Chick’s Guide to Saving a Buck”, where she teaches all of her fans how to be frugal and fabulous! And now, she gets to explain to all brides and grooms-to-be the best tricks for maximizing savings from your wedding registries. Glad to have you here, Allyson!
TO SCAN OR NOT TO SCAN…THAT IS THE QUESTION
After getting my engagement rock, registering for gifts was the wedding task I couldn’t wait to do. Was it wrong to grab the scanning gun before we even set a date? Registering is the ultimate shopping spree, but with so many options, how do you know where to go? My fiancé and I lived together for quite awhile, so we already had a lot of necessity items, but I took registering as the opportunity to upgrade. You know, get rid of those raggedy towels I’ve had since high school graduation…and the plates I got off the clearance shelf at Target. As Broke Chick, I’m not used to shopping at fancy places like Bloomingdales and Williams-Sonoma, and didn’t expect my guests to, either. Besides, I wouldn’t even know how to act with a Kate Spade New York Gardner Street rose bowl for $100. So my fiancé and I (I’m just being nice, Emmery couldn’t have cared less what we did) chose Bed Bath & Beyond and Crate & Barrel, so I’ll start with those stores first.
Ready - aim - FIRE!
BED BATH & BEYOND
We had a wonderful experience registering at Bed Bath & Beyond. There is a registry consultant who sits down with you and explains how everything works. We happened to have Dustin, who was super cute and funny. A real bonus when you’re spending hours with the person, yes HOURS. (Side note: I later found out that my friend also had Dustin help her find a gift for us, and she was equally smitten with him. We still semi-stalk him to this day.) Anyway, he showed us all of the china option that were available and ran down the list of prices. I decided against registering for anything fancy because honestly, in my opinion, you don’t need nice china. I ended up getting a simple / classic white plate from Crate & Barrel (more on that later).
The nice thing about this store is we picked out one set of towels, and Dustin registered us for the typical amount, so we didn’t have to scan 30 towels. He also just said there was a list of kitchen utensils that people registered for and automatically added them to the list, without us having to scan every item. He also encouraged us to register for items where we would receive free gifts. For example, all we had to do was put $500 in Calphalon products on our registry and we got a free knife. Just don’t forget to fill out the paperwork! Other bonuses for BB&B: 10% off when purchasing items off your registry after the wedding; the 20% off coupons for you and your guests; and the no-hassle returns policy. I realized I got some stuff I would never use…some had receipts, some didn’t. I actually was handed $250 cash, no questions asked, after I brought the merch in. I was amazed. I also just recently had an issue with my Soda Stream (if you drink sparkling water, this is a MUST for your registry) and the sales clerk said, just bring it in and we’ll give you another one, we have a very lenient return policy. The registry is, of course, online, and you could make additions or changes as you saw fit. Guests also have the opportunity to get the gifts they purchases wrapped for free.
CRATE & BARREL
Crate & Barrel’s merchandise is modern, yet affordable. I decided to register online since my fiancé was totally over the whole thing and frankly, sometimes it’s just easier not to leave the comfort of your couch. This is where I registered for the Aspen white dinnerware collection. It is a set that they will hopefully always have, so if a plate or bowl breaks, there won’t be a problem getting another one. I’ve heard too many stories about things being discontinued and not being able to get another one to complete the set. If you ever watch the Food Network, you will see that the majority of chefs only put food on white plates…because it really showcases the food. Besides, you can always dress up the table wear with different colors of chargers.
Dear Crate and Barrel: We love you.
You also save 10% on items purchased for six months and they have Wedding Party Events where you can scope out the merch, talk to registry experts and watch product demos. I also returned / exchanged items without receipts and again, didn’t have any problems. I don’t think my registry is available anymore, but my genius cousin kept buying me stuff from there for every birthday and Christmas afterwards!
In Part Two, Broke Chick breaks down five more fabulous options for filling your registry with savings. Tune in tomorrow…