must-have items for your wedding registry :: greensboro wedding photographer

When Josh and I got engaged in 2007, one of the things I was most excited for about the planning process (other than the prospect of marrying the man of my dreams) was perusing the aisles and websites of my favorite stores to create our wedding registry. If you've been through this process though, you know that it isn't always as fun as it sounds. You stare at china patterns until your eyes are crossed, can't decide which spatula to choose out of the 20 options in front of you, and after all that, you and your hubby to be have to actually agree on what you need for your new home. 

Thankfully, Josh and I both tend to be fairly practical people (most of the time). I like the idea of having timeless items that I know I'm not going to be sick of in six months, so I tried to keep that in mind when registering. Having been married for a little over four years now, these are the things I've gotten the most use out of from our registry: 

The Best Wedding Gifts I Received by glessnerphotography on Polyvore

1. White Dishes - Instead of getting china that I knew would take up space in a cabinet and only be used once a year, we went with lots of basic all white everyday dishes - plus serveware and bakeware - from Macy's. I'm still not sick of them, and food looks beautiful on a white canvas (hello Instagram food photos). Not to mention that it's easy to add pieces later on because you can always find plain white dishes.

2. KitchenAid Stand Mixer - I know, I know. A whole lot of folks out there think it's impractical for a home cook to spend $300+ on an appliance like this. However, I'll say that my lime green stand mixer made me love baking 53,654,686,548,648 than I did before. You throw the ingredients in a voila ... you have chocolate chip cookie dough, banana bread, or fresh whipped cream. All of these things are common in my house thanks to this gadget.

3. A Plain Down Comforter - This is my favorite thing ever. Since I quickly tire of patterns and colors and like to change things up, it's never been a great idea for me to spend hundreds on a patterned comforter. With my plain lightweight down comforter, I can throw a duvet on there (which makes it much easier to clean than trying to stuff an entire comforter in the washing machine), and for a reasonable price, get a new duvet when I get sick of the old one. (This one from West Elm is on my bed right now, and I LOVE it.)

4. A Really Good Set of Knives - Few things upset me more than a dull knife when I'm trying to cook. Thankfully, my hubby was somewhat of a kitchen knife expert and insisted that we invest in Cutco knives. Y'all - these things are awesome! Four years later, they're still super sharp, and they have a lifetime warranty. If they get dull or something breaks, just send it in, and they'll sharpen, fix, or send you a new one. 

5. Keurig Coffee Maker - I have to admit - this one took a little convincing. Josh really likes newfangled gadgets and at the time we got married, the Keurig was a pretty new thing. Before I worked from home, neither of us got up early enough to have more than one cup of coffee before leaving the house, so it was much easier just to throw a k-cup in the machine and put a to-go mug underneath it before darting out the door. It's still the same situation for Josh, and I try to limit my caffeine addiction to just one or two cups a day now anyways, so it would be senseless for us to have a coffee pot.

6. Gift Cards - If you know me, you know I'm not a huge advocate of gift cards. I tend to think they're a bit impersonal - you just grab them while you're in the grocery store and check that item off your list. However, weddings are an exception for me. When we got married, we got gift cards from the places we were registered, as well as Williams-Sonoma and Home Depot. These were especially nice because I love Williams-Sonoma (but didn't register there because there wasn't one near most of our guests), and we were able to get a new grill from Home Depot, which was something we hadn't even thought about wanting when we moved to North Carolina just a few months after our wedding. Note: I say gift cards instead of cash, because for me, if I have cash, I end up spending it on everyday items and never even realize where it went.

What are some of the best wedding gifts you have registered for (if you're engaged) or received (if you're married)?

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