Q: Hey guys!! I find that I often look to you all on things DIY related, but more often than not, on things life related. I would love to hear items in or around your house that you are so glad you own because it helps with the day to day. I really enjoyed reading about how you saved money with Clara (what items you skipped out on or decided to go back and buy) and how you saved money with your wedding. I am getting married next June and it would be super helpful to hear what things my fiance and I should register for (and what we shouldn’t). You guys are my favorite! – Tyne
A: Let’s do this. We thought it would actually be fun to search our brains to see if they would even stretch back to 2007 and remember what we got, what we still love, what we regretted asking for, and what we wish we’d asked for. Because friends and relatives can be amazingly generous (and at least in our family really seem to appreciate a list of things you love so they don’t have to guess), so it all comes down to thinking long and hard about what you actually will use and love for the long haul. No pressure, right?
Registry items are definitely one of those personal preference things (some people might love that they registered for formal china, while other folks like us are happy to skip it) but in general we think the key is to know how you live and what you will actually use/need (registering for a Kitchenaid mixer when you don’t cook/bake is probably not the best idea). So try to toss out romantic notions of who you “should be” someday (ex: don’t picture yourself as “a grown up” hosting a giant formal 20 person dinner if this won’t actually happen – not everyone grows up, gets married, and does that).
Instead, try to focus on how you live now and how you realistically think you will continue to live and entertain over the years. Whether you’re a casual couple or are fancy and formal, embrace who you are and think about what you’ll truly use and love. Chances are you’ll still be who you are in a few decades – you might evolve a little, but you probably won’t become a completely different couple with a completely different personality and lifestyle.
Also, trying to choose things that are classic never hurts, just so that if your tastes change over time, you won’t be completely over a bunch of style-specific stuff that you once loved but now loathe. It can be pretty expensive to re-buy everything instead of going with something timeless – and you can always add personality later with inexpensive and easy to switch out items, like patterned cloth napkins, table runners, etc. See? White dishes, clear glasses, and basic silverware can be dressed up a whole bunch of ways:
We also learned that it helped whenever possible to choose things that are attractive enough to be left out (ex: a nice stainless steel toaster or blender) because you never know what you’ll leave out for convenience’s sake. So skipping something in a crazy color that might clash with your future kitchen curtains or forgoing something super cheap that you’d never leave out in favor of something that looks a little more elegant is usually the way to go for lazy folks like us who tend to leave the blender out for three weeks after we make smoothies.
But enough chitchat, we thought it would be fun to share a list of the stuff we registered for and still love to this day, a few things that we regret putting on our registry, items that we passed on (and why), and items that we wish we had added to the list. So without further ado…
Kitchen Stuff We Registered For And Still Love:
- Basic silverware from Crate & Barrel
- White cloth napkins
- Basic white dishes that go with everything (we’re still loving that they’re classic and they’re not too precious, so if one breaks we won’t cry for days)
- Good serving bowls and serving ware (three salad/chip bowls, three large platters)
- Stainless blender & toaster (we also have a griddle)
- A cute strainer (ours is bright yellow)
- Chunky wood cutting boards (two, since we leave them out on the counter because they’re charming and use them all the time)
- Simple and small (easy to store) can opener (we didn’t want a giant electric countertop one)
- Cute clear pepper corn and sea salt grinders (classic, yet kinda fancy since they grind)
- Basic glass pitcher (we definitely tried to go for timeless basics)
- Stemless wine glasses (they’re more versatile, so they can also work for oj or smoothies)
House Stuff We Registered For And Still Love:
- Two Dolce lounge chairs from Target that we still use today (they’re in the guest room of this house)
- Two basic glass based lamps that lived in our first house’s living room and this house’s bedroom/entryway
- Organic bed sheet set (in white) and four nice bed pillows and cases
- Gorgeous large leather photo album that we used for all of our wedding photo strips
- Fluffy white towels (which we still use to this day, both in our bathroom and the guest bath)
- West Elm daybed (from John’s way too generous Godmother)
- West Elm parson’s desk (from my way too generous BFF Cat)
Stuff We Got And Later Regretted (all our fault – we wish we had chosen more wisely):
- Hepa filtered vacuum (regret: we registered for a cheap one that didn’t hold up very well, so we later upgraded to a Bissell Helix Bagless Upright)
- Set of knives in a knife block (regret: again, totally our fault, but we chose a cheap-ish set that we have since had to replace, but our current one is by Paula Deen from HomeGoods and we like it)
- Basic white mugs (regret: we didn’t think about scale at all, so the set that we got is so small it was sort of like teacups – we’ve since replaced them with larger mugs that actually work for tea and hot chocolate without feeling like you’re at a kid’s tea party)
- Cordless hand vac (regret: we wish we had done more research before randomly choosing something, since ours bit the dust pretty fast – we later replaced it with a Dirt Devil Kurv)
- A few basic pots and pans (regret: they weren’t great quality and got scratched and beaten up pretty fast – we later learned about Greenware pots and pans, which are eco-friendly and teflon free, so we asked for them for Christmas in 2009 and have been enjoying them ever since)
Stuff We Passed On (mostly specific kitchen gadgets after we realized we just wouldn’t use ’em):
- Coffee maker (we’re a tea household, and even when coffee folks stay with us we all go to Starbucks)
- Kitchenaid mixer (as much as I’d love to buy one in a fun color, it would totally collect dust)
- Monogrammed towels and robes (we’re not robe people and basic white towels sans monogram did it for us)
- Espresso machine (same as coffee maker, just wouldn’t get used)
- Ice cream maker (didn’t think we’d ever use it)
- Toaster oven (after thinking it through we decided a stainless steel toaster and an oven were all we needed, and five years later we’re still happy without one)
- Rice cooker (much like the ice cream maker, we just didn’t think we’d use something so specific)
- Panini press (ditto)
- Waffle maker (ditto)
- Martini glasses (ditto)
- George Foreman grill (ditto)
Stuff We Have Since Bought (if we could turn back time, we’d have registered for these too):
- Nice set of wood spoons and spatulas for a caddy next to the stove (get things in sets whenever possible, our old ones were all mismatched and later we updated to a matched set and appreciated how much better they looked)
- Immersion blender (we didn’t miss any other gadgets but we did end up yearning for this one – and we use it often enough to warrant storing it)
- Cute “Cucina” soap and lotion set from Anthropologie (so charming on the counter in a kitchen or bathroom)
- More specific things as rooms evolved and our taste became more clear (ex: green cloth napkins, J & S mugs, metallic holiday glasses, etc)
- Sonicare toothbrushes (wish we had thought to register for these guys)
- Two big clear glass containers for cereal, flour, sugar on the counter
- Clam shell fruit bowl from ZGallerie (it has been our fruit bowl for years)
I’m sure we forgot a few items (it was five years ago!) but that’s a pretty good idea of what we registered for, what we regretted/replaced, what we skipped, and what we wish we had added. And after compiling that list it made me want to poll some friends and relatives to hear their five favorite registry items (you know, because I’m nosy) so here are their responses. It’s so interesting to see who loves what the most (and it definitely reinforces that knowing what you will love and use is more important than putting too much stock into what works for someone else (like slacker chefs and non-coffee-drinker like us, haha).
- My BFF Katie: white dishes, white platters, white towels, stainless toaster, and basic silverware
- My other BFF Cat (you’ve seen her wedding here): basic white towels, a silver goes-with-everything serving platter, everyday dishes (colorful Fiestaware bowls, plates, and serving dishes), a brightly striped ceramic pitcher from Crate & Barrel, and a cute bowl set from Anthropologie.
- My friend D from All Things G&D: my crockpot, a good set of knives, good pots and pans, an Aerobed (air mattress) and G’s heavy bag (for boxing – it was his “guy” gift from all of his groomsmen).
- My friend Heather (you’ve seen her wedding here): everyday dishes, a blender, nesting bowls, picture frames, a Rainbow vacuum cleaner. Things I never use: martini glasses, electric knife, cake stand, and ice cream dishes (why did I register for special ice cream dishes when basic bowls work even better?!).
- My friend Cody: plush white towels, a 9 x 13 baking dish, a throw blanket, a welcome sign wall hanging, and of course white dishes.
- My friend Kristin (you’ve seen her awesome house here): white everyday dishes, knives/cutlery, small electronics like toaster/hand mixer, serving platters that don’t go out of style (plain but nice), and basic glasses. All boring kitchen stuff! But I have friends who got married 8-10 years ago and registered for trendy everyday ware (in a specific color and style) and are now replacing it all since they no longer like it!
- My friend Lisa: a nice set of knives, pots and pans, flatware, and an ice cream maker (we’ve been married 13 years, so nearly everything else has been replaced).
- My brother (who’s officially Doctor Dan, not Almost-Doctor-Dan – woot!): basic towels, a good knife set, simple flatware, a coffee maker, and picture frames.
- My sister-in-law Katie: coffee maker (still going strong after 9 years!), casual dishes, stainless steel silverware, serving dishes that match our casual dishes, Wustof knives (we surely would have put pots and pans on this list but we already had those before we got married, but those are still going strong too).
- My mother-in-law Kathy: wow- who can remember?! Haha. Crock pot, hand crank ice cream maker, big woven basket that we use as a laundry basket, glass canister set, and a beautiful bowl. We were very practical and did not register for fancy china.
So there you have it. A whole lotta registry loves and a few shoulda-woulda-couldas. What are your favorite registry items? Anything you got that you wish you hadn’t? Or that you later purchased and wished had made it onto your registry? Hindsight is 20/20, huh?
Our 11 year anniversary is next week and I wish I didn’t have blue and white striped dishes, serving platters, and glasses. I wish I would have gone with plain white.
ooo could you do a baby registry suggestion post? That would be very helpful to this already-married lady!
That would be fun!
xo,
s
I second this suggestion! :)
I bet people have more regrets when it comes to stuff you actually need for babies then for weddings. I know I do!
My mantra for kid-stuff (whenever we have a baby) is going to be: reasonable minimalism. I think you guys are doing that well and I would love to hear what you recommend for those of us who may need to gently direct excited and generous friends and family members.
Aw thanks guys! We’d love to do a sequel post for baby registry stuff!
xo,
s
This was so fun to read! I just had my bridal shower on Saturday, so it’s a bit late for me to change much, but we’re really happy with everything we’ve registered for and received so far. I’m looking forward the most to my Kitchenaid (I LOVE to bake) and our new Crate and Barrel dishes that are listed as the color “sand.” Not as pristine as pure white, but definitely better than the burnt orange and full of chips dishes we have now!
When my husband and I got married, we both owned houses and had lived on our own for quite some time. Rather than register for house stuff (many of which we ended up having doubles of when we combined the stuff we already owned), we asked that our friends and family do one of two things: make us something (anything from a mix cd to a plate of cookies), or make a contribution, via our travel agent, to our honeymoon fund. People loved the twist on the standard registry, and we still, 9 years later, reflect on the generosity (our honeymoon ended up being almost completely paid for) and creativity (my sister made us a pie month for a whole year!) of our friends and family.
A few things I’d probably change are all kitchen related: 1) I would have asked for 5-6 extra dinner plates from C&B since our blue stoneware line has since been retired and we now have some chips and a couple have been shattered, 2) no martini glasses and 3) fewer coffee mugs- somehow I wound up with 12 of each set of glasses and it’s my own fault! And one other piece of advice for registry bound couples- if you’re in an apartment or somewhere that isn’t permanent and lacking storage, GO FOR THE GIFT CARD! We wound up having to return a bunch of stuff and get store credit because we just didn’t have the storage.
I agree–you need to think about your lifestyle and what you’ll really use. Ideally, your friends + family will give gifts that will last for many decades to come! I’d say don’t be afraid to register for higher quality everyday items you know will be used a lot. My husband + I love to cook so we made sure to read reviews on Amazon before adding kitchen items to our list. We’ve found Oxo + Calphalon gadgets to hold up really well, our Fiestaware dishes are indestructible, and a set of Pyrex glass containers is so versatile for leftovers and prepping. Our favorite kitchen gift is a nice Calphalon copper/stainless steel pots + pan set from my mom-in law. We use them everyday and they’re holding up beautifully.
A few more must-haves:
-fluffy towels (we seriously went to nearly 10 stores to find the most durable ones)
-immersion blender (works wonders for homemade soup, milkshakes, and quick smoothies)
-a soft, comfy sheet set and duvet (you can switch it up later with covers that suit your fancy)
We also got married in 2007, and I had lived on my own for a while, but my hubby moved from his parents house to ours. When we moved in together I left almost everything I had with my sister, thinking we had registered for items and didn’t want to have so much. Well, people either gave us money or things we didn’t register for. We got home from our honeymoon and realized we had nothing to eat our cereal with.
The best gifts we got include a high quality knife block set, a gift card for a new couch and a set of mugs. Honestly, we got so much stuff we either had already or didn’t need. We got a beer fridge and wine glasses, but we don’t drink, we got a blender with fancy smoothie glasses and a drink recipe book and we never used it. My MIL did buy me a new outfit to wear on our trip though, LOVED that. haha
My absolute FAVORITE wedding gift ended up being something that I registered for on a whim….seriously, like on the way out of the store I was like, eh, why not register for this clothes steamer?? 6 years later, I still use it EVERY SINGLE DAY!! I got rid of my ironing board (still have the iron…but have only had to use it maybe 3 times in 6 years)It also comes in handy for others….my sister in law stopped by a few days ago to steam her bridesmaid dress for a wedding she was in this past weekend. I’ve steamed entire bridal party’s dresses, including the bride! At the time it seemed like it was just another luxury that I probably wouldn’t use, but it ended up being the most useful gift we got!
Oh, and the first gift we received was a camera we had registered for. I thought nobody would buy it for us but thought we would register for it so that after the wedding we could buy it with the “stuff nobody bought you” discount that comes with your registry at places like Target. I think everyone should register for fun things like this. Maybe camping gear if you are the outdoorsy type….things like that.
We also set up an online “honeymoon” registry. Of course there were folks that thought this was ridiculous, but we ended up with over $500 in gifts towards our honeymoon in Aruba….which meant we could stay there a few extra days. The site we used was travelersjoy (or something like that) and we were able to break it down into descriptive “gifts” so that people who sent money could get a gift certificate that said they bought us a day excursion, or a spa treatment, etc. But in the end the website just sent us a check for the full amount of what was contributed. We had family who put together cute baskets for our shower with beach towels, flip flops, sunscreen, and a gift cert towards our honeymoon. It was AWESOME!!
Ohhhhh, what kind of steamer do you have? I bought one once and ended up returning it because it didn’t actually get out the wrinkles, which seemed kinda silly!
Favorite/most used items are definitely our garlic press & PC knives, set of pots and pans, white dishes, glassware, utensils, my crock pot, blender, toaster, comforter set and vacuum.
There aren’t a lot of things we registered for that we didn’t need/want aside from a few PC (Pampered Chef) items, but I had a PC shower and asked for a lot of small unexpensive things because I felt bad the prices were so high (citrus press, slap chop, ladle holder). My biggest issue was that members of my family didn’t follow the registry and would get me things that I didn’t want or need, so we returned a lot of hideous serving platters, photo albums and a turkey roaster.
When my husband and I got married two years ago, I looked at it as an opportunity to upgrade the things we use most to more durable and useful quality stuff. For instance, our merged collection of random cheap silverware was upgraded to nice Gorham stainless steel that goes from casual to formal. Our pans were upgraded from hand me down Teflon to nice copper bottomed stainless. Of course, we donated all of our old stuff. We really avoided just adding clutter and have things that we will enjoy for many, many years.
And sheets. A good set of sheets is worth its weight in gold. I recommend Land’s End.
OMG! You guys don’t own a shop vac??! I might die in shock!
I know, right? John’s dad’s basically permanently resides in our basement! Haha.
xo,
s
Any idea where to find that soap/lotion set or something similar? I looked at Anthro, but no luck. I love the look of yours! Thanks!
Hmm, maybe try googling Cucina and see who sells it? That’s the brand name. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
http://www.fruits-passion.com/Cucina-Product-Line-us/
By far the best thing on my registry was a set of Wustof knives and All Clad stainless steel pans from Williams-Sonoma. Pricey items, but did you know that employees get a 40% off discount?? I am blessed to know a couple of people who work there 1 day a week for the discount. It applies to WS, West Elm, and Pottery Barn!
I Highly, HIGHLY recommend these products!
Also the Dyson Animal vac we bought with wedding gift cards was another great decision.
We have the same C&B white dishes and love them! We are now fully stocked thanks to our wedding last September.
Its probably common knowledge (that we didn’t have), but two-three sets of sheets (prefer white). For the longest time, we made do with one set that I’d have to take off, wash and dry (in our tiny apartment dryer that takes three hours) all in one day. Having more sets is well worth it. And I highly recommend the organic ones that Bed, Bath, and Beyond sell (about $100 for the set).
I’m a little obsessed about the coffee–maybe a cute French press could be easily stored to save you the trip to Starbucks? Then you could just pick up some coffee when guests are coming. Sorry–could not help myself, but the people I know who drink coffee really need it, like first thing in the morning (I am a tea drinker also.)
I may not bake every week, but when I do I am so happy to have the Kitchenaid stand mixer. It’s something I would have had to save for a long time to purchase for myself, and the accessories are great (love the ice cream maker, which is stored in the freezer).
This is probably a favorite post of yours. :) I love buying gifts for people, and take a lot of time trying to figure out what they would appreciate and love… and smile to think of me when they use it saying “Kelly TOTALLY rocks!” LOL I love your list, and the fact that you asked other people to chime in. I would say that hands down, our favorite gifts over the years have been our programmable crockpot and immersion blender.
Favorite stuff: Wide, shallow, white bowls (for soup, salad & pasta), kitchen aid stand mixer (used weekly), ice cream maker (ditto in summer), ice cream dishes, and 1 really good knife.
Least favorite: serving trays & place mat.
I wish I had registered for: dutch oven & immursion blender
I love my french white corningware set we received. They never go out of style and are so versatile. Another item I love that I bought myself soon after we were married is a beautiful hand-painted pie plate, even though I do not bake pies. I use it at least three times a week for a small serving platter for our small family or in place of a small casserole dish.
Things from my registry I love and use constantly: Anchor Hocking glass bowls with rubber lids. They work so much better than plastic Tupperware at keeping things fresh and heating things up in the microwave. Also, my Ninja blender. The motor attaches to the top, rather than being a base to set the blender on (and can be used with the accompanying food processor), so it’s much easier to store and clean. Also our stovetop wok gets used all the time. All of these came from Target. I’m also rather partial to our Fiestaware plates, bowls, and platter. I originally registered only for the Peacock blue, but my mom got us plates in green, red, and orange also. I ended up loving the variety of colors more than just the blue and sometimes open the cabinets just to look at them :)
I’m with you on the hand vacuum. I use it often and it definitely doesn’t last very long anymore (it’s a Shark).
One bonus registry gift that gets used a ton is our treadmill. It was a group gift and is definitely worth the space it takes up.
One more thing I definitely didn’t regret: saving all of the bags and tissue papers from the shower and wedding gifts. Some people probably thought I was crazy for doing so, but I hated to see perfectly good stuff go to waste. I’ve reused the bags and paper for every birthday/wedding/baby/holiday gift I’ve given in the past year, and still have a ton leftover! Plus, I’m terrible at wrapping things, so it makes my life much easier :)
I totally did that too! And for my baby shower too! Love it. Haha. It comes in handy when other people get married/prego!
xo,
s
Best gift: Weber Performer Grill from my parents. Has needed a few replacement parts over the 12+ years but we use it all the time, even in the winter.
Worst gift: A bird feeder. Really?? A bird feeder?
Regret: Not registering for the DeWalt drill I really wanted. My then fiance couldn’t imagine anyone spending that amount on a gift, even if multiple people went in on it together. So we registered for a cheaper one. Needless to say, after opening the gifts and receiving the cheaper one, we returned it along with a few other items and bought the DeWalt. Sucked when he had to admit I was right so soon after getting married!
This post couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m also getting married next June and I have been wondering about what to register for to. You’ve made me rethink the Kitchenaid mixer and brightly colored/trendy dishes, etc. I do have one question though, where did you get your white dishes from? I’ve noticed a lot of dish sets have really shallow bowls and I want some nice deep cereal bowls. Any suggestions?
We got ours from Linens N Things, but I think BB&B has the same type. Maybe Target too?
xo,
s
Being 3 weeks from getting married, this has been on my mind. We are both in our 30’s and had a decent amount of stuff. What we did register for is good quality things like Le Creuset, nice wood cutting boards, the immersion blender, a juicer. Things we wouldn’t necessarily buy ourselves.
You’re so right in saying you have to know yourself and what you’ll use when you register.
I am such a kitchen person so my favorite things from our registry are all kitchen things – Kitchen Aid Mixer (I use it like every single day), good pots and pans, good knives, lots of stainless mixing bowls, etc.
I also actually did register for good china since we entertain a lot. So I use it all the time, sometimes even just for a nice dinner for my husband.
One thing that we didn’t register for, but did receive that is sort of life changing is a Le Creuset dutch oven. I use it almost daily, it’s so easy to clean and goes from stovetop to oven.
Love all your tips and I wish I found your website before we got married! Do you happen to have a blog post on things to do in/near Richmond?
Yes, if you search Richmond five favorite in our sidebar search it should come up first!
xo,
s
We use our rice cooker all the time and not just for rice! Makes perfect Quinoa, Barley, Pilav etc. Any type of grain really. We throw in the veggies, meat…it’s a one pot wonder machine and you can even bring it along on road trips and make things in your hotel/motel room.
What I no longer use is our salad spinner (too big and bulky), coffee grinder (buy ground coffee), wooden lazy susan (just get’s in the way), set of expensive sheets that I wish I had felt more carefully ahead of time, because I despise the texture on my skin ;)
Love all the recommendations. I owe you a much belated thank you for a great Christmas gift I asked for and received. I checked your tools recommendation list last fall and asked for the drill on your list. I have to tell you that it has been FANTASTIC. It makes me feel like I could literally do anything. I’ve used it repeatedly as both a drill and a screwdriver and it’s a champ. So a bit late but thanks for the great recommendation.
Yay! So glad. Girl power!
xo,
s
My husband and I have been married 3 years and I still love almost everything we got from our registry. The thing I am most proud of is registering for several kinds of dishes. We registered for fine china, casual china, and plain(er) basic white plates. I use all three sets all the time for different occasions and am so glad I have those different options. So my table can always be changed up!
I do wish I had registered for more serving pieces. At the time, it looked excessive to put 4 serving trays on a registry but we ended up buying even more than that afterwards just to keep up with all the parties we have!
My three most used items from my registry are the white dishes I got from Crate and Barrel (Aspen dishes and bowls, but we used the Everyday mugs since the shape was nicer to hold), Thomas O’Brien white towels from Target (I did a lot of research on the nicest affordable absorbent towels), and the Dyson Animal Vacuum (need to control the chocolate lab hair everywhere).
We also let it be known that we would gladly welcome Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA gift cards since we were doing our kitchen just a few months after the wedding. I would have registered at HD (how awesome would it have been to receive a box of flooring for a wedding present?) but I couldn’t figure out how to actually do it.
For some cool serving dishes – try Walmart. They have white pieces that are square and rectangular, so you can fit more on a small space. I use them mostly for Thanksgiving when we set up a buffet on our kitchen peninsula.
Awesome post, and I was actually thinking about some of this just recently (I love the way our dishes look when they’re stacked in our cabinets).
I have to say that one of our biggest regrets was our pots and pans choice. We went cheaper as well and had to replace them so quickly. Luckily my Uncle knew better and took it upon himself to get us higher quality stainless steel pots. Also, a turkey roasting pan. We have two for some reason and I haven’t used them yet.
As for what we surprisingly love- My glass cake stand/punch bowl. I use it for cake, desserts and christmas decorating as well! Also, a solid set of silverware. So glad we scooped out a great set.
Great post! So informative for brides and grooms.
I was 38 when we married and we both had apartments so we had 2 toasters, 2 microwaves, 2 sets of every day dishes, 2 sets of everyday utensils, 2 sets of pots and pans… You get the picture. The good thing is that we now have a vacation house so we didn’t have to furnish it. The bad thing is we each had sets for 6 or 8, however they came: blue stonewear everyday dishes for him, iris-decorated Corelle for me. NOT anything that can be mixed and matched. So dinners for more than 6 people had to be either BBQs with paper plates or a not very attractive table… PLUS, you’re SO right – your tastes change, even if your style doesn’t – what I wouldn’t give right now to toss it all and start all over with white, white, white. And not one fancy china setting: we have 12. Still in their boxes. I’m going to start using them for “real life” – at least they’ll get some use!
I’ve looked on your source list and didn’t see this, but could you share where your white dishes came from please? We are not China people at all but the dishes we did pick out were on the cheaper side and have so many chips in them after only 3.5 years. I would love to get a set of white dishes that aren’t super expensive but will hold up to every day use.
LOVE this post by the way. Snooping through people’s registries is one of my favorite things!
They were from Linens N Things but I think Bed Bath & Beyond has really similar ones too!
xo,
s
We have really similar white dishes from Pottery Barn (Caterer’s Box line) that were surprisingly affordable. We loved them so much we returned our slightly fancier set!
Also wanted to add we LOVE our PB Comforter! Good bed linens were fantastic to register for!
Crate and Barrel also has a similar set – the bowls with their Aspen set are nice and deep (it can be deceiving when you’re filling them with ice cream though…)
My motto when registering is to stick to the classics and only choose items of quality. My mom is actually a registry consultant at the Williams Sonoma store she works at, and always says that young couples get a little gun happy and scan all sorts of useless things. I love my glassware, Guy Degrenne flatware, All Clad, coffeemaker and the linens that I chose. I believe it is a total waste to buy fine china unless you really are going to use it on more than just one holiday per year… Great post!!
After the wedding make sure you write down the name/design/color/size of your plates, glassware, and silverware, and put it somewhere safe, then if you have to replace things down the road you can make sure your ordering the right stuff (Crate and Barrel goods especially!).
So I didn’t get married until almost 6 years after college and we lived together for about a year before the wedding. We had everything we needed. Not knowing what else to register for, we went to crate and barrel for classic white dishes. We got 4 sets out of 12 requested. Bummer. However, we also asked for Home Depot gift cards because we love projects and tools. We got a ton of them! Several hundred dollars of miscellaneous items and a miter saw later, we’ve finally used all the gift cards. Score!
PS. I loved the white dishes so much that my husband let me complete the set. We use them everyday.
I got married 2 years ago, my husband and I both had our own places and consolidated most things so we didn’t need to register for much… We use our Pyrex storage dishes almost every day. They are great for leftovers, the glass is more food safe than the plastic containers that may contain BPA. And it also doens’t stain or melt in the microwave. We also registered for nice vases in different sizes. Every time I use one of our vases I can remember who gifted it to us, hope I can do that for years to come. I second your matching wood spoons and spatulas, it keeps our drawer from looking “to college hand me down.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. :)
my mom (who does catering for a living) taught me the rule to live by for keeping your kitchen uncluttered–never buy anything that only serves one purpose (unless you are a die hard fan/pro)!! ie: rice maker, ice cream maker, tea kettle, pasta maker, etc. there is always another way to do it with a tool you already own.
one lady’s opinion, anyways.
I agree with Joanna! If you don’t register for china, you will probably never buy it yourself. I love my china! White with simple silver detailing from Kate Spade for Lenox, it could totally be used for everyday should it be needed. Every single piece is dishwasher safe too, no reason not to use it!
Creating our registry was by far the worst part of the whole engagement. I hated it, he hated it, but we survived and I can honestly say that we use everything that we registered for two years later. A good friend told me to register for two sets of silverware so when the first one is all beat up and missing pieces years down the road you’ll have a brand new set to open that you didn’t have to buy.
We also registered for china because I really wanted it. I love using it for special occasions and we got lucky on that because right after our wedding Macy’s ended up clearancing it out. It went from $70 a setting to $11.24 for a 5 piece place setting! I was giddy when my parents bought me the rest of the place settings and pieces for my birthday. I wouldn’t trade my china for anything!
We also have simple white dishes that we use on a daily basis and I love those too.
One thing I loved about registering is that we put together a whole place settig at a table while we made our final decisions. We registered at a local gift shop for dishes, flatware and glasses. It was so helpful to see it all together.
Sherry, my wedding anniversary rolled around in June and I had been brainstorming a bunch of wedding posts to write, but never did. I’m hoping to get them done before next year, ha! Anyway, one of the posts was going to be on this *exact* subject! Hubs and I often marvel at a few of our wedding gifts and how much we love them and use them (ie: a pyrex liquid measuring cup, of all things? my husband uses it everyday to make his coffee!). Other favorites are my punchy colored mixing bowls from C & B, silverware from C & B, cheap wooden spoons, and my tangerine Kitchen Aid from my Mom. I certainly registered for a few duds too that I feel guilty about, doh!
Totally agree with you on the knives – register for NICE ones. We had to replace ours quickly.
We are coffee drinkers so the coffee maker, high thread-count sheets, and some decent flatware were all great registry items for us.
This is great! I will have to remember this for the future.
I’ll go against the grain here and say I’m glad I registered for fancy china. Sure, it’s been a year and a half since our wedding and I’ve only used it twice, but: my family is a china family. Since I was a kid, holiday meals have always been eaten on china, no matter whether at my Mom’s or Aunt’s or Grandmother’s houses. I loved shopping for it and picking out a classic pattern with my mom, both my grandmothers were thrilled to buy pieces for me (and both use their wedding china for special occasion dinners) and it brings me a ton of joy to see it out on the table for the occasional fancy dinner. My everyday dishes get more use, sure, but I like having plates that can instantly make a basic meal feel special.
Favorites:
cuisinart immersion blender and food processor
kitchenaid handheld mixer (much less bulky than countertop)
BIG stainless bowl set
anchor glasses and measuring cups
metal serveware
cuisinart stainless pots/ pans
mac knives; paring, santoku, and bread are all that is really needed. A block set is not a great value
wine decanter
presto percolator
the above are used at least several times per week
Don’t need:
expensive wine glasses. Moderately priced are better for entertaining.
Super expensive china. If it’s too expensive, no one will buy it. Get fine china, but unless you have a lot of rich friends, don’t buy the most expensive model there is.
Stand mixer. I have used it a few times but usually reach for the handheld ad it’s easier.
More kitchen appliances / serveware than your house can hold
I wouldn’t have registered for a huge punch bowl with matching cups. It takes up a lot a room and it’s really too fragile for parties with kids. And who serves punch at an adult party?
I agree with the plain white dishes and simple silverware. I wanted to get something bright and colorful, but my aunt intervened and recommended we go white, pointing to her white pyrex set that had lasted her the past 30 years. Glad I did! I love our white crate & barrel dishes.
And even though I don’t use it enough, I still LOVE my robin’s egg blue Kitchenaid stand mixer. It’s so gorgeous. I should probably go make cookies today to justify it.
Favorites: Everyday dishes, down comforter and nice sheets, kitchen aid mixer (which I actually use!), personalized door knocker (not registered for but someone got it for us and I LOVE it)
Less favorites: Party prep type stuff. I don’t throw parties so I don’t know why I thought I needed so much serving/appetizer type stuff!
I have to recommend Fiestaware if you’re registering for dishes! You will have them forever, they are so sturdy (my old roommates used to drop mine on our tile floors all the time and never cracked one) and the design is simple and hasn’t changed since they were introduced. My grandmother has stuff from 50 years ago and it blends in seamlessly with the pieces today. I like the classic white dishes idea, but I have always felt fiesta is just as classic with a little more fun.
At one of Macy’s registry events, my then-fiance and I had to debate about whether or not to register for individual knives or a block set. I wanted to do the block at $400 (Wusthof – worth IT!) and he thought it was too expensive and we should register for the knives individually. The price of 8 knives added up to around $800, so I talked him into the block. We were given the block knife set from some family friends and LOVE them!
I’m going to sound like a promoter, but Macy’s had a great registry system. They tell you what kind of price range “spread” you should have based on your # of guests. Then the systems automatically counts all the items for you and tells you where you’ve got enough and where you’re lacking. Then, they give you a gift card worth 5% of all the purchases from your registry. A few months after our wedding, a $500 gift card and a “completion” coupon arrived – it was pretty awesome!
One more piece of advice (on the off chance Tyne reads all these comments!): because of our “debate” I’d recommend you go over your list together in advance before you get to the stores ;-) That way you each have an idea of the other’s expectations. Have fun!
My absolute favorite thing that we registered for was a stainless steel wall mount triple dispenser by simplehuman. Our bathroom is small and this saves valuable space, and I can see exactly how much shampoo we each have left. It was the best gift EVER.
The only item we regret is a cheapish rug from target. It cost about $60 and the fibers are already falling out of it… and we’ve only had it six months.
The key is knowing who you are as a couple. My husband LOVES hot tea, so the tea kettle was a must. I live off of green smoothies for breakfast, so a nice blender was a must. We make lots of homemade pizza, so a pizza stone was a must. We also went the way of buying simple white dishes, but in order to make them a little more “us”, we chose rectangular plates, and angular bowls, and we LOVE them. We also chose a very nice set of stainless steel silverware. They have a slightly funky shape, which makes them feel a little more modern and a little more us.
Another thing I learned is to keep your registry realistic. My husband wanted to register for a $300 margarita machine, when the blender works just fine, a friend’s husband registered for a ton of xBox games, and another friend who worked part time, had an unemployed fiance and they both lived with her parents registered for $100 pillows, $60 towels and a $300 iron.