The psychology of the slotted spoon… sorta.

Ahhh, registering.  There’s so much to learn about a person based on their approach to the process, the ENTIRE process.

If you’re single, first of all let me explain that shopping for a wedding registry is one of the best ways to gauge how compatible you are to your partner.  I’m not saying that this should make or break your decision to marry them necessarily; but it IS a useful experience to highlight potential conflicts that you might have in the future.

For instance, when Brian and I registered for our wedding, we could not have had more opposite approaches.  He just wanted to get it over with and scan every single item  that Target was selling while I was perfectly content to ponder the difference between two slotted spoons for a good fifteen minutes.

Suffice it to say, we wanted to kill each other.

I’m sure that my face looked twitchy (one eye squinting, the other bulging in disbelief that I was being rushed) as I sputtered, “If you don’t go outside and smoke RIGHT NOW…!”  In fact, I’m pretty sure that when we registered, it was the first and only time that I insisted on Brian lighting up.

Over time, we’ve grown in capability.  This November, we’ll have been married for eight years.  In spite of the refining process of growing in relationship maturity, we have a baby on the way and believe that it’s important to maintain an adoring fondness of each other.  Wise husband that he is, Brian graciously bowed out of the registering duties this time and allowed me to be my maniacal self in peace and quiet.

But the reason I’m mentioning registering today (because you’re already familiar with some of this) is to pat myself on the back for the part that nobody ever talks about.

Once your registering is complete, you, the registrant, have the opportunity to revisit your list online as many times as you want.  While this is useful for the sake of editing, adjusting and changing your mind, the downside is that you also have the opportunity to see if items have already been purchased off of your registry.  In fact, some establishments will even tell you who placed the order!

I personally think that this takes the fun out of it for all parties involved.

So, for the record, I just wanted to say that I’m avoiding spoiling any surprises at all costs.  Sometimes the temptation is strong, but I refuse to cave!  (It’s true; I have witnesses.)