Sarah & Chris

I learned about SimpleRegistry from a good friend of mine who had used them for her registry. She had nothing but good things to say about her experience so I looked them up online, checked the details, and decided this was definitely the registry for my future husband and me. There were multiple reasons why we decided to go with SimpleRegistry, but in an effort to keep this review shorter then a college term paper, I will limit myself to the top three reasons.

When my husband proposed to me we were also in the process of searching for a house. When we set our wedding date a couple weeks later, we were still house hunting. A month later when I was setting up the registry, we were still searching. Due to this, we felt that we could not put many specifics on the registry. We were going to be moving from my two-bedroom condo into at least a three-bedroom house, but we had no idea what the house would look like. We definitely knew we were going to need more decor and furniture, but also knew that what kind would depend on the house we ended up buying.

SimpleRegistry allowed us to create general categories like “Decor” and “Dining Room Set” without having to commit to a specific style or product which took a lot of stress off my shoulders. We also all know that once you own your own home something always needs to be fixed within the first few months. SimpleRegistry allowed us to also create less tangible categories like “Hire a Contractor” where family and friends could contribute to the expense of us hiring a contractor when the time came, which for us was about two weeks after moving in! Another reason we decided on SimpleRegistry was because we were moving to be closer to my husband’s job and renting our condo out by a specific date. If we didn’t find a house in time, we were going to move into a one-bedroom apartment. Thankfully, that did not happen, but at the time the registry was being set up it was a big possibility. There was no way we could have fit a bunch of stuff that was meant to fill a house into a tiny one-bedroom apartment while we continued house hunting. We would've had to get a storage unit which we did not want to waste money on. We were saving everything we had for our wedding and our house. SimpleRegistry allowed our friends and relatives to purchase gifts for us that took up no physical space and sat comfortably in our bank account until we were ready to start using them - which was awesome!

Perhaps the most important reason we decided on SimpleRegistry was because it allowed us to shop local and support local businesses where we live.

Shopping local has always been important to us, but because of the move. I had to quit my ful- time job since the commute would be too long. This was, however, a blessing in disguise because I am now fulfilling a dream of starting my own business where I create and sell my art. Needless to say, I now know firsthand how important supporting your local community is and how every purchase, even a small one, does make a difference.

Usually only large chain stores do online registries and in these large stores the majority of the products are typically made from China or other countries. My husband and I did not want to support this. With SimpleRegistry, we've been able to take the gifts received from our friends and family who live all over the world and take them to our local main street and support local businesses, many of which carry products from local artisans and furniture makers. We still have a ways to go in getting our house settled, but SimpleRegistry gave us the chance to ask for what we wanted so that our house can become our very own special and unique home.

We have had nothing but great experiences with SimpleRegistry. It was very easy and quick to transfer the money from the registry to our bank account. Many of our friends and family also commented on what a great idea the registry was and how easy it was to use. I wouldn’t hesitate one bit recommending SimpleRegistry to a friend or anyone else!