Bridal Wedding Registry Advice
The guy in the background looks confused by housewares.
I was over on the Apartment Therapy Blog called the Kitchn (Kitchen) and they had a post linking to another post about advice if you are getting married and starting a wedding (bridal) registry. I have written about our process before but these foodies are more specific about what is required because they know what all those types of knives are for.
I think some of what they say makes sense if you are a cook and do spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Others of us are just happy to have a kitchen aid mix master (don’t ask, we just call it that because for many decades we had a sunbeam) and a working dishwasher.
I think overall the registry process can be helpful in getting a list together of what it is you have already between the two of you and making it obvious what needs to be purged because of age/non-use/broken-ness. It also gets the discussion going with your fiance about what it is he sees as important in the kitchen.
I also think that the process to generate a registry is really difficult. There are way too many choices and it is really difficult to think about what you will need 10 years from now and you can’t just pick what your mom picked because in many cases those products (companies) don’t exist anymore. (seriously, its impossible to find Noritake china these days)
So, my advice is to plan on making 2-3 trips to the store you plan on registering at before actually registering so you know what kinds of glassware you like (who knows this beforehand?) and what pots and pans you don’t already have. (and read up on anodized aluminum).
I also believe in keeping the registry list small to not overwhelm the guests. I actually think we may have registered for too many things. I was trying to replace things we have that are old and worn out, and yet we never got rid of the old stuff. Maybe when the kitchen is remodeled we will feel like we can use the new stuff? Because now it just sits in boxes in our loft because we feel like its stuff for the new house we can’t buy just yet.
We also had a good experience with Crate & Barrel’s wedding registry and a bad one with Macy’s. At Macy’s they spammed us every day with emails and then deleted items several times that were discontinued. It was hard to find replacements that were similar so a lot of the things we moved over to the Crate & Barrel registry or just left off. Macy’s also shipped things to the wrong address several times after we corrected their website errors for our address several times. It was very frustrating. Crate & Barrel isn’t cheap, but everything worked as it was promised and the items are very nice.
bast decision: We did not register for any daily plates or china plates and kept what we have.
The gifts that we though stood out were:
Most sentimental: The crystal and silverware from our parents as well as some vintage plates/cake plate/server from Aunt Evie that has been in the family for 3 generations.
Most used: The capalon 6qt chef’s pot/pan from my cousin Jeff (we use it almost every time we cook) And the Kitchen Aid Mix Master from my brother and his girlfriend Kelly.
Biggest suprise: A full suite of Tupperware from Steve’s Groomsman, its all very helpful, we just have to get rid of our ancient worn/discolored tupperware now so we have room to store it properly. And a silverware case from Steve’s cousin Ryan and family.
Most practical: A large cutting board and table cloth from one of my briedsmaids Susan, A turkey roaster & dutch oven from the matron of Honor Amy and the cake decorating kit from another Bridesmaid Amy. All great staples for the kitchen.
Do you have any wedding registry advice to share also?