Which wedding registry platform suits your guests

Before you compare a single platform, look at your guest list. Your aunt who still prints her boarding passes needs a different registry from your university friends who pay for everything with their phone. Pick for the people who will actually buy the gifts, then worry about the rest.

Department stores work for guests who want a name they know

John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser have run wedding lists for decades. Older relatives know the routine: walk in, give the couple's name, pay at the till. Plenty of guests simply prefer buying from a shop they have used for thirty years.

The price you pay is range. Customer service is good and returns are easy, but you get that store's catalogue at that store's prices. If the Le Creuset casserole you want is £40 cheaper elsewhere, tough luck.

Our view is that a department store list is the right call when more than a third of your guests are over sixty. Otherwise it costs you more than it saves.

Universal registries take items from any shop

A universal registry lets you add anything from any website. The Vitamix from the manufacturer, the linen sheets from a small Portuguese brand, the Dyson from wherever has it on sale that week. You are no longer limited to one catalogue.

This suits couples who want cookware, a bike rack and a honeymoon fund on the same list. The downside is real, though: a guest has to click through to another site to buy, and some of them find that confusing. Expect one or two phone calls asking "so where do I pay?"

A honeymoon fund instead of a fourth set of towels

More and more couples skip physical gifts entirely. Six years in the same flat before the wedding means they already own a kettle. What they want is three weeks in Japan, so they ask for that.

Guests tend to like it. Paying for a night in a ryokan feels better than picking a toaster off a list. A few older relatives will still want to hand over an object, so leave a handful of small physical items on the list for them.

Check how the platform handles the money before you commit. Some hold it until after the wedding, some charge a percentage of every contribution, and some are vague about both. Read that page properly.

Registries built for one type of couple

A few platforms serve a narrow audience on purpose. There are registries stocked only with sustainable products, for couples who do not want a plastic salad spinner in the house. There are registries built around smart-home kit, for couples who would rather have a Sonos system than a dinner service.

There is also a growing group of tools built around control: how the list looks, who can see it, whether the couple can tell who bought what. If you care about the surprise, that last setting matters more than you would think.

How to decide

Start with the guests, as above. If most of them shop online without help, any platform works. If a good chunk do not, a familiar store name saves you from fielding questions the week before the wedding.

Then look at what you want. Mainstream retailers cover the standard kitchen and bedroom list fine. If you want specific brands or things that only exist on small sites, a universal registry is the only format that fits them.

Delivery times, return policies and how quickly support answers an email vary a lot too. Five weeks for a duvet cover is not unheard of. Price matters as well: universal registries let you compare across shops, while department stores sometimes offer a registry discount that makes up for the narrower range.

Once you know which way you lean, create a wedding registry and start with the ten items you would be genuinely sad not to receive. The rest can come later.