I had a different kind of celebration for my birthday this year.

One of the things I was looking forward to since we got engaged was the bridal registry. I love receiving presents and although I am always ecstatic over receiving surprise gifts, there's just something about being gifted an item that you know you really like, so suffice it to say I am a fan of wish lists.

For my 38th birthday, J and I set an appointment with Rustan's Weddings & Beyond to choose items to include in our wedding registry. We actually tried to register back in September but we were advised it is better to return at least two to three months before our wedding to ensure availability of the items, especially since Christmas season was coming and stocks might run out. We went back last month, and chose April 6 as our appointment date.

We were assisted by Miss Ailene of Rustan's Makati

Since J and I have already built our life together, we actually have almost everything we need so it was a bit challenging to think of what items to add to our registry. We would love contributions to our honeymoon fund, but we also understand that some people would prefer to pick out presents. The bridal registry is a great way to ensure that we really get items we need and that we do not get multiple duplicates of the same item.

Each appointment runs for two hours, so it would be helpful to go around the department store prior and make a mental list of the items you feel you would want to add. To be honest, I imagined the scene to be like in the movies wherein we would be given a scanner and we could just scan the barcodes of the items we want, but Miss Ailene actually accompanied us during our session so she could take photos of the tags of the items we liked, together with our chosen quantities. This method also works because it felt like we had a personal shopper throughout the process, and Miss Ailene was also able to offer advice regarding the products as well as helpful suggestions. 

We forgot to take photos dueing our session so here's me deciding between luggage colors.

Whoever avails gifts from our bridal registry are entitled to 10% discount, while J and I could enjoy 10% discount to regular-priced items in Rustan's up to six months after the wedding. Amazing deal! 

Aside from one tiny thing that everything is done manually in that you have to get in touch with them via Viber as opposed to say getting on the website and entering a code to see what's available to purchase for the couple, I'd say the process is pretty seamless. The shop assistants in Rustan's Makati were also very helpful and accommodating, while Miss Ailene is quick to answer whatever questions we might have in our Viber group chat. 10/10 would recommend this experience. :)

And because it was my birthday, J INSISTED on getting me another gift aside from the DIY Monica's Apartment kit he already got me.

Get you a guy who treats you SO WELL all other guys pale in comparison

When we got home, we were also able to add more items to our registry by checking the website and noting the product names and product URLs.

65 days to go. ♡