First decision you have to make is where to have your wedding list. You can find services at several large department stores across the country. Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Argos all offer a selection of products for a variety of styles and prices. Some stores offer money back and discounts, but the most important factor is often which store sells the tableware you like. We chose John Lewis, who honour manufacturer's guarantees and will offer an extended guarantee on larger electrical appliances. They also are known for their price matching policy, so if your Uncle Bob can find it somewhere cheaper he can save those extra pounds. The John Lewis Wedding List is easy to manage on line, perfect for the busy bride!
There are also online lists, which offer discounted prices and a wide selection of items. Personally we wouldn't recommend the Amazon.co.uk wedding list. With the introduction of the Amazon Marketplace, many different companies can sell through the Amazon website. And while Amazon offer free shipping on orders over £15, these other sellers set their own shipping rates. Unfortunately the current Amazon Wedding list won't let you select specific sellers. If you choose an item supplied by Amazon and it goes out of stock, the cheapest alternate vendor is automatically chosen no matter what they charge. We had a George Forman Grill jump from £24 to £109 when a special offer ran out and the only alternate vendor was asking for almost double the retail price! While these changes could be forgiven, you are never notified when sellers are changed or even when prices change. The Amazon list requires constant attention and maintenance. Even with orders through Amazon you are not notified when items have been shipped, and you aren't told where they are going to. While for some people it might not make a difference, our regular delivery person tends to abandon parcels outside. There were a few incidents when we were unsure if parcels were lost or simply sent to the guest. Over all the Amazon Wedding list requires more time and effort than a wedding list should, and with multiple sellers it's easy for less computer-savy relatives to pay too much in either shipping or cost.
Hopefully you might have found a useful tip or two from our experience, and tomorrow we'll have a look at tableware. Have a wonderful Bank Holiday!
