Tradition Seems Dated to A New Generation

It wasn't until today when I dragged my soon-to-be hubby out to a few stores to register for our upcoming wedding that I realized that no one registers anymore. Apparently it is expected that the soon to be married couple already live together and have acquired all the living supplies they need to run a household.

This is true, to some extent, with us. We have been living together for over two years, have almost everything we need, but we lack some household items. With our wedding four months away, we thought it was about time to figure out what we would like. A water cooler, so we can stop buying bottled water, a lovely stand mixer so I can spend my days happily in the kitchen, a nice set of causal dishes to replace the hodgepodge we currently use, and of course a nice set of entertaining dishes.

We venture off to one of our favourite staple stores, Wal-Mart. They have everything and at not so bad prices, plus with family from all over Ontario, it's almost certain there will be a Wal-Mart within driving distance for everyone. We walk in excited about the patio furniture we see, and as we approach customer service we notice the registry until is not set up. Nothing, no hand-held scanner to be seen. Upon asking the customer service representative, who couldn't have cared less about our intent to register within the store, she send us looking for another registration stand, in a corner she thought, maybe in the house wares department.

Up and down a few aisles we go, looking and thinking that the Corel dishes might just be perfect for everyday use. Glory day we found the other registry, but again no scanner and it seems to have an errors message on the screen. I go for a wander and ask an associate; I am informed that Wal-Mart no longer does bridal or baby registries. Shocked, my mouth hit the floor. Upon spending the day out and about it's not just Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire has also discontinued registry. Royal Doulton has temporarily discontinued registry until the latter half of 2009 for retooling, whether it reopens or not who knows, but another strike against us for today.

IKEA doesn't even offer a registry. That blows my mind. The product turnover is not crazy fast and despite what the hubby-to-be thinks, I think IKEA would be fantastic. His concern is he doesn't want to spend the weeks following the wedding surrounded be Allen keys and coffee tables, I agree to a point but am still saddened. Sears still offers a registry but trying to find an associate to help you is a task of its own. Not to mention the three times we have entered a Sears, the registry system is down. I know I can register online, but I like to see the product first hand, take measurements and make sure it's functional, not just pretty in a picture.

Home Outfitters and The Bay still offer a registry as well but due to lacking enthusiasm they have had to cut back on the hours of the person working the registry and you have to book an appointment. The hours to meet with a consultant are not the greatest either; we are meeting with her on a Friday night at 5:30 in the evening. Other option was a Saturday morning during their peak business hours. I do not feel like battling crowds and other brides over scanning a coffee maker, so Friday night it is.

It seems that the registry is dying, it's harder to find them and even harder to make one. Is it a given the bride and groom expect cash from their guests? Cash is fantastic, but for the people who prefer to give a gift vs. an envelope the registry is a fantastic tool.

What about the bridal shower? Are we to expect cash or are we to expect our bridal parties to tell each person what we would like? Neither option seem viable to me. So we will continue to hunt for another store other than Home Outfitters and Sears as they are too much alike to register at both. Maybe on our wedding website I will just make a wish list with the stores you can purchase that item from, noting to all to keep the receipt in case I need to exchange. We need a few things for the house that we wouldn't normally treat ourselves to but three toasters and six waffle makers might be too much.

By Michelle Laing