How Many Gifts to Register for Your Wedding: The Ultimate Guide

It’s no wonder why the question of how many gifts to register for a wedding is so popular among newly engaged couples. You’ve likely gotten several different answers to this question already.

Perhaps your future mother-in-law told you that you need to be conservative with your gift requests, but your Aunt Tracy told you to ask for everything you've ever wanted. And maybe your wedding coordinator is in your ear with some crazy math equation about needing to ask for 25% more gifts than there are people invited. It all seems like too much hassle for some new flatware!

So, if you’ve been wondering, “How many gifts should I register for?”, you are not alone. Zola is here to help, and we can tell you right off the bat, there is no magic number of gifts to put on your registry. When it comes down to how many gifts you should register for, the size of the event, your needs, and your wedding guests, will all play a part in deciding how many gifts you should put on your wedding registry.

Sky's The Limit

There’s no limit to how many gifts you can add to your Zola wedding registry. Our super-easy-to-use wedding registry lets you fully customize, categorize, and control every aspect of your wedding registry.

For every couple, there are one or two items that seem unattainable, but there’s no harm in adding them to your registry anyway. You never know who will surprise you with a grand gesture, so don't be shy about adding your dream items!

Try and consider the big-ticket items on your registry as a bonus. It’s far better for someone's generosity to exceed your expectations, rather than to be disappointed.

Photo Credit // Zola

Know Your Audience

Yes, we did just get done telling you the sky's the limit, but we also advise you to know your audience for your wedding day. How many registry items you include can be anywhere from five to 500 depending on the size of your wedding. The real differentiator when determining how many gifts to ask for depends on the types of gifts that you are requesting.

The extravagance of your wedding registry is equally as important as the number of gifts. Every couple will have certain higher-end items that they hope someone will spring for; believe it or not, this is an encouraged practice. But try not to set your entire registry, or at least the majority of your wish list,above the price range of your wedding guests.

You don't want to offend your friends and family by asking for too much, and worse, you don't want to make them feel bad if they can't afford anything on your registry. Your guests want to get you a wedding gift, and they want it to be something that you will use and enjoy.

This is one of the many reasons why we makes it so easy for you to categorize your registry items. With curated categories set up by you and your SO, your friends and family gain a better understanding of what gifts you desire most. And don't worry, if your guests end up being big spenders, you can always add some more big-ticket items to your registry. Remember you can update, curate, and flat out change any part of your registry at any time!

Asking for Multiples

The answer to this question is entirely dependent on the type of gift. Some items warrant asking for multiples like a set of bowls, or new bathroom linens. We always tell newly engaged couples to register for one of each item as it creates a broader diversity within the ecosystem of your wedding registry.

There are going to be items that you may want multiples of. For example, you may want to use your wedding registry as a way to upgrade to some new pots and pans. For items like these, we recommend registering for multiple types and brands.

Some couples want to avoid multiples, which is why Zola always flags an item as purchased on your registry. As soon as someone purchases a gift you’ve registered for, Zola is there to make sure that the rest of your guests know this item is now off limits!

Sets can be a great way to get one of everything without any repeats, but they also tend to be too much for just one person to handle financially. To ensure you get everything you want in a set, try breaking the pieces up into individual gifts and categorizing them using Zola's categories. This method works great for things like knife sets, bedding, and expensive cookware like pots and pans.

Additionally, breaking up sets allows you to exclude any pieces of a set you might not be interested in. Say you’re interested in a set of cast iron cookware, but you only like two or three pieces, break up the set into multiple gifts! Using this method, you and your fiance can register for multiple pieces of new cookware, but you’ll only take home the gifts you love.

Do your best to avoid registering for multiples of the same gift, especially at first. There are so many gifts to choose from when creating your registry, so Zola recommends starting with one of each. Remember, you can easily edit your registry whenever you want to add an item.

Strength In Numbers

Sets are the most common gift items that you’ll want to add in multiples. For example, many sets of wine glasses come in even numbers. Let's say you are registered for a beautiful set of wine glasses that you would use for entertaining, and they come in sets of four. In this case, you’ll want to add multiple items to match your dinnerware and flatware sets that tend to come in sets of eight or 12.

Typically eight to 12 good wine glasses is considered standard for new couples as you will likely not be having more than ten people over at a time. Here's a good equation for establishing your ideal number of things like plates, bowls, glasses, and more: Take the maximum number of people you have had over in the past year for a casual get together. Think movie nights and impromptu pot lucksrather than holiday celebrations like Thanksgiving. Take the number of guests at those casual events, add two (for friends you haven't met yet), and add another two for you and your fiance. That’s your magic number.

Photo Credit // Zola

The Final Count

The size, cost, and location of your wedding will all play a part in the quantity and quality of gifts you add to your registry. If you’re having a large wedding, your gift count will need to be higher to account for the number of guests in attendance. Similarly, if you are having a destination wedding, you should expect your gift count to be a little lower, considering people have to pay for travel.

There is a standard baseline that Zola recommends for the number of gifts to add to your wedding registry: Zola suggests that you start with one gift for every household that you intend to invite to your wedding. A household is any couple or family that will be going in on a gift together. This does not exclude others from pitching in for one big gift as a group. It merely gives you and your SO a better idea for what to expect from each guest you invite.

For example, your best friend and his girlfriend count as a household, as they will most likely go in on a gift as a couple. But three of your best friends who are also roommates are not a household.

Keep in mind your wedding registry will be used for any wedding showers, engagements parties, and other pre-wedding events where people might bring gifts. Feel free to add or subtract gifts as you need, and remember that Zola's customer support is always available to answer your questions. Your wedding registry powered by Zola will change with every gift you add, and every present purchased., so a Zola wedding registry sets the tone for a unique and totally personalized big day.