Our Wedding: Registry Must Have's

Of course marrying my best friend, gaining another family was the reason, MOST important part of our wedding and wedding planning.  But, I have to say that I think the registering process was pretty exciting and fun for us! It’s a time for choosing items you wouldn’t normally buy for yourself and also a time for setting up your home with things you’ll both use for years to come! After a year and some months of being a newlywed I decided to compile a list of registry items I would recommend to others. Hopefully someone will find this list useful (Briana?). Just a warning, I like to entertain and cook so my list may not be appealing to some of you!

• Crock Pot - So useful to have especially on busy weeknights!

• Block Knife Set - or consider registering for a couple different knives (serrated, pairing, utility, Santoku and steak knives are what we use mostly)

• Small and large cutting boards



Simplehuman Dish Rack via BB&B



Dish Mat via BB&B

• Top of the line dish rack & Large Drying Mat – we don’t have a dishwasher yet, so this was essential for us. Even if we did have a dishwasher I would have registered for both anyway. The drying mat especially! It’s great for odd shaped electronics like our crock pot, waffle maker. It's also soft enough for stemware, it's portable too (think camping trips, hosting a party/shower outside of your home, etc.)

White Ceramic Handled Bowls via BB&B

White Ceramic Handled Platter via BB&B

• Entertaining pieces with a mix of silver, white ceramic and glass so you can mix & match for any occasion

• Casual chip & dip set – you’ll use it a lot!

• Acrylic cups, pitcher and ice bucket w/ tongs for outdoor entertaining



OXO Utensil Set via BB&B

• Utensils – A lot of people register for complete sets of utensils and don’t get them because they can be pricey. Register for a set and singles and you’re bound to end up with some. My personal favorites (and most used) are a slotted spoon, small and large spatulas, balloon whisk, meat tenderizer, microplane grater, small and large tongs, corn zipper and pastry brush. ** I have a lot of the Martha Stewart line from Macy’s and they are great quality.

Bella Rocket Blender via Macy's

• Portable blender - Daniel is obsessed with this blender. He wanted to get it for his protein shakes, smoothies. He uses it every single day!

OXO Dry Storage Set via BB&B

• OXO storage containers for storing dry goods (or any other air tight containers)







Wilton Bakeware Set via BB&B




• Baking essentials – loaf, muffin, cake and cookie pans are a must! Also, I recommend small and large glass casserole dishes, pinch bowls, mixing bowls, ramekins, ceramic pie dish, cheese board, and a pizza stone!
• Bar stuff – bar accessories, stemware, coasters, water pitcher, decanter, etc.
• Mini food processor – perfect for making fresh salsa
• Glass Tupperware – We used store credit to get these after the wedding. I love glass Tupperware! It is safe enough to heat up in the microwave and spaghetti sauce doesn’t stain it. I also use them as dinner prep bowls!

• Two sheet sets, lightweight duvet (we live in FL), euro pillows, quilt, bed skirt--- anything you’ll need to dress your bed. Register for good quality, but remember the higher the thread count the thinner the sheets will be, they’re more prone to holes and more wear & tear. I would recommend aiming for something in the middle.

• Frames & floating shelves – When you settle into your home you’ll want to decorate and make it your own, especially after you get your professional wedding pictures back!

Also, don’t forget things you wouldn’t think of like slim hangers for your closet, laundry sorter/hamper, small/large area rugs, lamp/lamp shades, cleaning supplies (steamer, microfiber rags, vacuum, steam mop, etc.), kitchen hand towels (Williams & Sonoma make the best!), and table linens (cocktail napkins, dinner napkins, table cloth, runner, napkin rings, etc.)

Shoulda’ woulda’ coulda’

• China! We aren’t fancy people by any means, but we still should have registered for china, especially since I like to entertain :) I’m thinking since next year’s wedding anniversary gift tradition is “china”, that’s what I’ll ask for from hubby! It will have to sit in storage until we buy a larger house though!

• More entertaining pieces – I find myself buying entertaining pieces at Home Goods and thrift stores and garage sales a lot. A mixture of platters, bowls and cake/tiered stands are great for showers and parties

• Good quality bath towels – We registered for cheap towels, unknowingly though. We still felt “wet” after we dried off. Anything micro-fiber or quick drying may not be the best quality, just keep that in mind. This is the time to register for the nice monogrammed towels too!

We still need to buy

• Kitchenaid mixer in Aqua!

Kitchenaid Mixer via BB&B

• Steam mop -- I've heard mixed reviews on the Shark mops.  Does anyone have it and love it? Any other recommendations?

• Professional clothes steamer - We have a really cheap Conair one that works great (go figure!) but I would like to upgrade! We registered for a nice Rowenta travel and large sized steamer and both didn’t work well.  I would love a recommendation!

• Espresso maker – I only drink espresso drinks, and our Keurig is only for regular coffee. I need to invest in a small espresso maker because Starbucks is getting pretty expensive.

Where to register?

I highly recommend you register at Bed Bath & Beyond! They have a phenomenal exchange/return policy and their customer service is wonderful. Our sheet set we registered for was a high thread count and less than a year of having them, washing them I saw holes in them. Since it was such an expensive set and we had it for such a little amount of time I wanted to exchange them for another brand. You don’t need a receipt, you just tell them your registry name and it was no problem at all! We also had issues with a dish rack, glass water pitcher, trash can and we were able to get a replacement for those with no problems too! Oh, and of course you’re able to use the 20% off coupons to buy anything off your registry which is a bonus!

Aside from BB&B we registered at Macy’s and Pottery Barn. I do NOT recommend registering at Macy’s. While I love everything we received from there, and I like their products and selection they annoyingly discontinue stuff. It seemed as soon as we registered for stuff it became unavailable to order, or discontinued which caused me a lot of headaches trying to keep our registry full for our guests (maybe that's changed?). I think they just receive a lot of new items so they go through inventory quick. I do have to add though, that they did throw a really NICE registry event that we went to where they had a DJ, catered food, and representatives explaining how their product works (the Wustoff rep gave us a free pair of kitchen scissors and showed me how to properly use and care for sharp knives!) and we received two nice wine glasses as a parting gift! Potterybarn was great, we love everything we received from there and they have awesome customer service too.



Aspen Dinnerware Set via C&B



We tried to keep our guests in mind when registering. Make sure you choose a store that is available in most states, one which is affordable and an upscale store too. I think most people register at 2 – 3 stores for variety. Looking back, we should have registered at Crate & Barrel instead of Macy’s. After we returned from our honeymoon I went to C&B to stock up on our dinnerware essentials—their Aspen white collection which I love! You can’t beat their prices and selection. I did a LOT of research on basic white dinnerware and a lot of the porcelain, ceramic sets I liked reviewed poorly and chipped easily. I wanted a durable set that we could have for a while. All of the bowls, plates and mugs are holding up very nicely. As a matter of fact, I’m planning to go back soon to stock up on some extras.

Last words of advice

• Register for stuff in store. Try not to register online as a lot of the items can be available online only. Take it from me, your guests will more than likely steer clear from anything that’s online only. They want convenience and for it to be affordable too. Nobody wants to pay shipping, unless they’re from out of town.

• Read reviews and ask your friends what they love and recommend! I read reviews for a lot of the stuff we registered for. It was time consuming but we wanted our stuff to last a while. While some things just weren’t what we expected, the majority of what we registered for we still have, love, and use! Also, save your receipts and warranty information. I have a binder I keep them just in case.

• Take advantage of your registry completion discounts and go to registry events! Discounts and free stuff…need I say more?

• This is not the time to register for a bike or coach purse. If you really want these items just mention it to your family or wait for Christmas. Be realistic too. Call me a traditionalist, but a registry is meant for a couple to set up their first home together. The exception to the “rule”, camping/ traveling gear and board games (hello, couples game nights!). Also, if you’re tempted to not register at all in hopes of receiving cash just know that more than likely you won’t get the cash you hoped for and instead receive a gift you don’t need… or want!

Lastly, keep in mind that your family and friends’ presence at your wedding is a gift in itself. You invited them to share in your special day. You may not even receive a gift or card from some. Most importantly, be sure to properly thank everyone for coming and for their gift. We had a wedding Thank You card made (I shared it here) which everyone including our vendors received. If we received a gift then we sent a separate hand written thank you card with it.


Hope this helped!