Let’s talk wedding registry. Here’s my feedback on items we received, loved and would recommend!
WHERE WE REGISTERED:
Registering for your wedding can be tricky. You feel so fortunate that to be choosing gifts for your friends + family to give you to celebrate your new life, but you are also overwhelmed with wedding to-do tasks and thinking of a comprehensive list of items you would like to have for years to come can seem overwhelming and is time consuming.
BUT, we wanted to do our registry justice. If people were going to be kind enough to shop it then we felt like the least we could do was put the work into creating a well rounded list items that they could choose from.
MY TIPS AFTER GOING THROUGH IT OURSELVES:
Include items with low + high price tags. You want your guests to be able to find several items to pick from no matter their budget.
Don’t wait until the last minute to do your registry. Decide where you want to register ASAP and begin working on your registries. This way you can slowly add items as you think of things you may want or need in the coming weeks. You will want your registries ready to go as soon as your first shower invite goes out.
Choose a retailer with a free shipping option, if you can. This gives guests the freedom to ship without that added fee if they so choose. (We did Amazon for this reason.)
Also choose a retailer that has a storefront in your city, if you can. That way if you have a guest who does not want to shop online they have the option of using the retailer that they can visit easily. (We did Macy’s for this reason)
Keep a running list of things you think of for your registry on your phone in the notes section. This way you can get online at your retailer and add them to your registry later and don’t forget it. For ex, I would add to ours when we were over at my mom’s and I saw something she had that I would like to own.
For retailers with smaller inventory scroll through each category on their website and find items to add to your list. For retailers with larger inventories search for specific items and choose one to add to your list. For ex, on the CB2 site, we looked through all the different categories of items and selected things we liked. There’s no way we could have done that on Macy’s or Amazon so we would think of a certain item, like an iron, and search irons and pick one from their inventory to add. Sometimes we even went a step further after searching for the item and narrowed the results down by color and price so there were less items left to choose from.
HOME STYLING ITEMS – Don’t be afraid to think outside the box here and register for items like coffee table books or art. You can also use this category of items to add some trendy pieces to your registry.
TOM FORD BOOK – I actually got this as a birthday gift from Ethan right after our wedding but it would work great as a wedding gift too and was on our registry.
YSL BOOK – We use coffee table books as decor around our home so even though books like this may not be a typical thing to register for, we really loved getting them! Have the gift giver sign + date the inside that way you will have the memory of the gift for years to come.
SMOKE GLASS HURRICANE LARGE + SMALL – We have already styled these so many ways! It is great to have a few pieces like this on your registry that are stylish but also versatile. These are great to mix in with holiday decor. Makes the decor seem more fitting and true to your style.
GLASS COASTERS – These are classic and therefore won’t go out of style.
MARBLE COASTERS – These are more trendy but I love having them for drinks on our side table.
BEDDING + THROWS – We were really in need for a bedding update so we were thrilled to get these gifts. Make sure you register for versatile pieces. I suggest ones that could be used in a master, in a guest room or even in the living room.
DOWN COMFORTER – Since you can dry clean this, it will work for a long time. You can also put it under any coverlet or duvet to change up the look in the future.
COPPER VELVET PILLOW – These are such great quality! Make sure you get the larger size insert to make them look lush enough. They would be great on a couch too.
FUR THROW – We have this at the foot of our bed and I love the dimension it adds.
BEDDING COVERLET + SHAM SET – Neutral and can be thrown in the washer and dryer!
SWEATSHIRT BLANKET – My obsession with this is real! I love the fabric.
BARWARE – We had lots of glasses prior to our wedding but we were ready to get rid of those and start with all new matching quality sets. Make sure you register for some sets in larger quantities so you have them for hosting purposes in the future (even if you keep a full set all boxed up in the meantime).
CHAMPAGNE FLUTES – These are a classic shape, a larger size and the glass is thin and crisp. Highly recommend. We got 8 of these.
CRYSTAL ROCKS GLASSES – I love the character that crystal glasses have. They remind of of being in a dark bar in France! We liked that this was a set of 6.
RED WINE GLASSES – The size of these is great! Not too big or small. We got 8 of these.
SQUARE WINE GLASSES – I think these add some flare!
STEMLESS WINE GLASSES – These are a lot shorter and smaller than I imagined they would be but we have grown to really like them! I use them for red wine and Ethan uses them for bourbon. Again, we got 8 of these.
CRYSTAL APPETIZER PLATES – Love these small plates for snacks with cocktails. We had some from family and these add to the collection so we have enough to use for get-togethers.
SMOKE WINE GLASSES (SIMILAR) – The exact glasses we got sold out but this is the new version from the same retailer. I think these are so luxe and on trend!!
SMOKE OLD FASHIONED ROCKS GLASSES – These are such a unique color and shape (short and squaty). I think we will love having these in our collection for some variety.
HOSTING ITEMS – We registered for several items for hosting in the future. Even though we don’t really have enough storage for these in our current kitchen I knew we would be happy to have them in years to come. Try to think ahead when choosing items like these.
PUNCH BOWL AND PUNCH GLASSES – I know we will be happy to have this around the holidays. I always love the way my mom’s looks on her table filled with a cranberry fizzy punch and fruit for a Christmas party!
GLASS CUT SERVING TRAY – I love cut glass pieces like this because they are so timeless and can be mixed with trendy pieces easily.
SMALL BOWL SERVER SET – This works great for dips, hummus, etc etc.
TASTING SET – We haven’t used these yet but I can’t wait to serve fruit, ice cream or dessert in them! How cute are they??
APPETIZER SERVER – PERFECT for a relish tray!
WOODEN SALAD BOWL – Because we love a big salad with meals. I think this wooden piece will work well with our cut glass items and black dishes.
SALAD BOWL + SERVERS – I see using this for fruit salad at showers in the future but it will also be great for a dinner salad.
CHIP + DIP BOWLS – This just seemed like a handy piece to have because we can use it for so many different appetizers.
COPPER BOWL SET – We wanted a few copper touches and this set is so different. The bowls are small but I love that. It will work well for condiments or dips and we even used this at our wedding on the bar with limes and lemon slices.
COPPER CHIP AND DIP SET – This elevates any chip and guac spread!
WHITE SERVER – Another super versatile hosting dish.
ROUND SERVING BOWL – This work great for side dishes or pasta for a family dinner.
3 SECTION SERVING PIECE – These sections are good sized so they could work for anything from veggies to dips.
OVAL SERVING BOWL – Great for side items.
PASTA SERVING BOWL – Would work great for pasta for a family dinner.
RECTANGULAR PLATTER – We used this at Thanksgiving and it worked well. It’s a big size!
LASAGNA BAKER – This can be put in the oven too!
WHITE SERVING PLATTERS – I like that this set comes with both size options.
OVAL PLATTER – These white dishes won’t go out of style and can be used for tons of different food items.
OUTDOOR – It was kind of hard to think of items like this that we wanted since we got married in November but I know these will all come in super handy this summer.
COOLER W WHEELS + COOLER W/O WHEELS – COOLER W WHEELS + COOLER W/O WHEELS – These will both be so handy come tailgate and lake season. They are both really spacious.
DRILL + DRILL BITS – Ethan wanted to make sure we had an impact drill. I’m sure well be glad to have this.
GRILLING TOOL SET + GRILLING BRUSH + GRILLING BASKET + GRILLING SKEWERS – Cannot wait to start grilling out for dinners ASAP!
DOORMAT – We use this by our front door. Not cheesy or cutesy, just neutral and perfect.
EVERYDAY KITCHEN ITEMS – These are things that we use daily for breakfast, lunch + dinner. Choose pieces that you will not grow tired of but ones that also still fit your style.
SHORT CRYSTAL GLASSES – These are the sets we got for our everyday drinking glasses. We got 8 of the short and 8 of the tall. They are thick and heavy and I LOOOVE them. I think the straight lines make them so timeless but still more modern than the crystal cut plaid Ralph Lauren glasses that I have seen previously.
TALL CRYSTAL GLASSES – See above. These are just the tall version. We use both sets daily.
PLATE BOWLS – HIGHLY recommend getting some of these. We use ours all the time! They would great for anything from big salads to pasta to chili. We got 12 of these.
BLACK EVERYDAY DISH SETS – I searched high and low for a minimal set of black everyday dishes. So many have bad reviews of them chipping or are not dishwasher safe. These have been great so far! Sadly, it looks like this set (seen HERE) is sold out now in black. But the size and shape of these is perfection. The bowls are short and wide! Keep an eye out for the black to be restocked if you want a dark set too and if not then they beige would be a great alternative too.
SILICONE UTENSIL SET – Silicone utensils are our favorite thing to cook with. We use them for anything we do on the stove. We store ours in this stainless wine holder inside one of our lower cabinets. I hate stuff like this sitting on the counters making them cluttered.
BLACK SILICONE UTENSIL SET (SIMILAR) – see above
SPATULA SET – see above
DOUBLE WALL GLASSES – We have these in the rocks glasses, the mugs and the tall glasses. They are all amazing! They are glass and dishwasher safe. Such a unique item to have in your cabinet.
TRAVEL COFFEE CUP – I could rave about these forever and ever. Ethan and I love them. They are perfect to take in the car or to work. The 16oz is a great size for morning coffee. We have two of the black and two of the white. They come with a lid with a flip top and a lid with a hole for a straw. They also include two black plastic straws. I put our straws in the dishwasher and they come out fine.
TRAVEL COFFEE MUG – These are the mug version of the travel coffee tumbler. I love them too! Even for around the house!
COLD BREW COFFEE MAKER – Ethan LOOOVES this cold brew maker. He makes it every night and then it is ready to pour into a tumbler and take to work the next day.
COFFEE MAKER – My old coffee maker (though I loved it) was too small for what we need now. I love the look of this one and the reusable filter.
FLATWARE SET – We searched for a while and landed on this set because it is super simple and classic. The quality is great.
KNIVES – I know a lot of people are very picky about their knives but we aren’t. This set turned out to be perfect for us.
KITCHEN – We tried to select basics that would last for a loooong time.
SILICON BAKING MATS – These make clean up super easy.
BLENDER – This blender is super powerful and durable. Happy to have this one in our pantry.
CANISTER SET – I could not resist these neutral canisters. We have ours sitting on the counter right now with sugar, etc in them but they would work in a cabinet too.
MARBLE MIXING BOWL SET OF 3 – One of my favorite kitchen gifts. How good is this marble print? I know these are a little trendy but it is fun to mix some items like this in too so you keep your own style in the mix.
POTS + PANS – This set has worked out perfectly for us so far. THIS large all purpose pan with lid came with our set as a bonus gift with purchase and we use it way more than I ever thought we would. The offer is currently still available too. It works perfectly for things like fajitas and stir fry etc etc.
CORNINGWEAR DISH SET – You can’t beat this set for things like leftovers etc. I love that the lids come with!
NON SKID MIXING BOWLS – These are very handy! I had no idea how helpful the non skid bottoms would be. We keep them somewhere that we can easily access them so they can be used often.
STRAINER – This strainer fits over the sink (its adjustable) so it is really handy. It works even if you are at home alone cooking because you can use two hands on the pot to pour.
TRAVEL – In hindsight, we probably should have added a couple things to this category on our registry. See below.
BEACH CART – We needed something like this last year when we went to the beach to haul chairs and coolers etc between the beach and pools. I can’t wait to take this one with us in May! I think it will also come in handy for other things even when we aren’t on vacation.
LUGGAGE SET – I was SOOO happy to have a new luggage set. We love that these are lightweight and have 360 wheels. See more about them HERE.
PET – Don’t forget about some gifts for your fur babies too!
WHITE + BLACK CAT BOWLS – How chic?? These are the perfect size for one cat and have grippers on the bottom of the bowls. I like that the water and food are not attached for cleaning purposes.
DOG BOWL – Great for outdoor use!
HOUSE ITEMS – Make sure you think of things like cleaning and practical household items when you register too.
iROBOT ROOMBA – I was so skeptical about these but I could not be more glad that we have one now! I am working on a full post reviewing this item so stay tuned.
SMALL TRASH CANS – We are a huge fans of the Simple Human brand (their items are top notch) and these work great for bathrooms.
IRON – We are obsessed with our Rowenta Steamer so we wanted to add an iron from the same brand to our house. This one works great.
SPEAKER – Ethan was THRILLED to receive this speaker. I have to say, it is much more chic than our last one and we use it daily when cooking dinner and lots on the weekend too.
There are some things that I can already think of that I wish we had registered for. Here is our wish list of forgotten items:
–packing cubes
–luggage tags
–RFID passport covers
–pet bed
–closet storage cubes
–vacuum cleaner
–outdoor furniture
–dog harness
This is another visual of the items we registered for. Sometimes seeing the product image from the website helps me when deciding on items.Click on any item below to shop:
Another great gift to keep in mind is a first Christmas ornament. We received a couple of these as wedding shower gifts and I LOVED having something so special to add to our tree this year. I wrote the gift givers name in sharpie on the ornament box and kept them for storage of the ornament each year. This way you can think of them as you decorate the tree every time! This is one of the ones we received:
I hope this helps you all! If nothing else, then it might trigger you to remember some items you need on your own list.
OHHH! And one last tip–even if you are not getting married, these items would make a great thing to ask for on holidays. I started asking for a few household items each year from my parents for Christmas when I was in college. Even though I was still in the dorms, I knew they would come in handy one day. I kept this up even after college until I moved into my first house alone. I never opened the gifts. I just stored them. It worked out magically, because when I moved into my first house I had all new dishes, etc to unbox and use and I didn’t have such a huge list of items I needed!
xx
ADDITIONAL WEDDING CONTENT:
PHOTOS – here
WEDDING VIDEO – here
VENDORS + ALL DETAILS – here
PROPOSAL – here
PINTEREST INSPO BOARD – here
UPDATE – here
Q+A – here
GUEST LIST TIPS + INVITES – here
DRESS FITTING – here
VIDEOGRAPHER – here
UPDATE 2 – here
SPA BRIDAL SHOWER – here
HIGH TEA BRIDAL SHOWER – here
BACHELORETTE PARTY – here
PHOTOGRAPHY – here
PHOTO DIARY – here
FINAL UPDATE – here
