Sunday, August 23, 2009

Registering for Gifts

Yesterday David and I took the day off in order to go downtown to the Bay and start our Gift Registry. It's a bit early, but as we'll be leaving the country soon we thought it would be better to do it now and then authorize David's mum to make any necessary changes (due to discontinued items) closer to the date. Besides, I look at the registry as more of a guide of style, type, and things we need than something that has to be followed to the letter.

We had a wonderful time, although I think David enjoyed himself slightly more than me. The Bay in downtown Toronto is very ritzy—9 floors high with a posh cafeteria, a couple of gourmet restaurants, and very helpful staff.

What made me feel uncomfortable about the whole thing was the whole WIC (wedding industrial complex) propaganda that runs through the consultant meeting and printed packages that they hand out. Statements like "now is the time to get everything you could ever want" and attitudes like that really bother me. Marriage is not about material gain! But once we got away from the consultant and her materials it was ok, and I could just focus on US.

I had a really great time choosing items with David, discussing the pros and cons of certain things, and figuring out what special items we need for furnishing our house o' dreams. We mostly focused on linens, glassware & crystal, and non-electrical kitchen gadgets because with no idea of what country we will settle in there seemed to be little point in asking for electrical gadgets that won't work across the water! David and I are both really sentimental, and prefer registering for things that will last through the years, which definitely motivated a lot of our choices. My favourite part of the day was choosing bed linens and a duvet set, because it was the first time we've ever actually had to find a compromise on personal styles! It was a lovely day, and filled us both with a soppy couple-happiness. Unfortunately some of the items didn't scan properly, and when they did them by hand they entered the wrong ones, so I'm going to go back on Friday to straighten it out and add some more things to the registry to round it out (we only had 2 hours and I would like to have a second run-through!).

After our time with the scanner was up we went downstairs where they were having a luggage sale and I got a giant black suitcase. I should be able to take most of my wardrobe to England, which makes me happy. Bulky things like sweaters are going to pose the biggest problem! After The Bay we went exploring in the Kensington Market area. We grabbed lunch at a delicious and inexpensive authentic Mexican restaurant—we had tamarind juice, guacamole & homemade tortilla chips, a quesadilla with corn truffles (mushrooms that grow in the corn stalks. Very unique tasting and delicious!), tacos with pork & pineapple, and churros. Then we went to the Lillian H. Smith branch of the Toronto Public Library to see the special Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Children's Lit. Collections. Following that we killed time by having coffee together, and then went out to Madeleine's for a delightful evening of food and fun.

All in all a delightful day! And now that David has gotten off the phone I can add that we have all the members of our bridal party confirmed!

Best Man: Jesse // Best Maid: Madeleine

Groomsmen: Nigel, Steve, John // Bridesladies: Tara, Julia, Sarah.

Hurrah!

***

We're not registering for dishes because we already have them. This is our everyday pattern--"Cotswold".

*

This is our china pattern--"Yellow Tea Rose". I love it!
*
Outside the library. David made a friend!
*
I also made a friend!

4 comments:

  1. We were so overwhelmed when we registered. I'm glad you had fun. Jon's favorite part was the gun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is very overwhelming, and they don't give you enough time. Fortunately we already knew what we had and what we wanted, which helped a little.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay, wedding party confirmed! That's awesome. I'm still overwhelmed planning mine!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so glad everything seems to be falling into place for you guys. So awesome. And I love the china. It's very you! :)

    ReplyDelete