How To Create Your Wedding Registry

  • 2
  • May 06, 2016

This next post may seem like a departure from what Inspiring Kitchen typically shares with you. But, it isn’t! I actually created Inspiring Kitchen at the insistence of wedding registry couples I was working with who appreciated the kitchen knowledge I was sharing with them. No matter where you are in life, having a kitchen appointed with all that you need makes cooking that much more fun. That’s why in the next two posts, you will find all that you need to create a wedding registry that is designed just for you.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry

You said, “Yes”! How exciting! So many details to be taken care of in preparation for “The Big Day”. Let’s start with your bridal registry. The foundation of your home is the kitchen where family and friends will be brought together for meals in celebration of holidays, birthdays, sporting events, and any other reason to just hang out. Even if you are a novice cook, having basic tools in your kitchen will make preparing your daily meals a much more fun experience.

Ok, time to do that registry. You’ve chosen the stores you want to register at, walked in the door, and are now staring at all the options in front of you. Where to start???

Inspiring Kitchen wedding registry

After 14 years advising wedding couples on how to register for items that fit their personal cooking styles, I have compiled my top 10 bridal registry recommendations by category:

1) Cookware: Unless you are eating PB&J sandwiches every day, some cooking is necessary. Making eggs in the non stick fry pan, grilling chicken on the grill pan on the stove, cooking chili in the stock pot or Dutch Oven for that football party or making your very first Thanksgiving turkey in the roasting pan, the cookware listed below will cover most of your cooking needs.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry Guide

a. 10” Fry pan – stainless and non-stick, 3 quart sauté with lid, 2 quart sauce pan, 8 quart stock pot, stainless steel roasting pan
b. Extras: grille pan, griddle, lasagna, wok, cast iron Dutch Oven, tea kettle

2) Cutlery: The key tools you need in your kitchen are good knives. You don’t need a lot. Just the basics for everyday food preparation including cutting small fruits and veggies with the paring knife, making sandwiches by slicing fresh bread with the serrated knife and your workhorse knife, otherwise known as the Chef’s knife, for all the chopping of veggies and slicing of meats.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry Guide

a. Must have: 3.5” paring, serrated knife (bread or utility), 8” Chef or 7″ Santoku
b. Good addition: 6” utility, 9” slicing, honing steel
c. Wood cutting board

3) Baking: Do you like to bake? Even at 10 pm when you just need brownies? Well, you must have the right size baking pans or you will be very disappointed having to eat boxed cookies instead. And since baking is more of a science than cooking (measuring matters!), those pans in their respective sizes really do play a major part in the finished product.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry Guide

 

a. Bakeware – 8” square, 9 x 13, 2 cookie sheets
b. Measuring cups – for liquid (glass) and for dry ingredients (metal/plastic), measuring spoons
c. Mixing bowls

4) Tableware: There is a point in life when using paper plates or plastic college sports team cups is just not acceptable. Time for dinnerware that matches, isn’t chipped and has no advertising messages on it. Showcase the meal that you have created for your guests. (even if it is take-out, it will still look better this way!)

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry Guide(Photography by Audrey DLC

a. Dinnerware – 12 place settings
b. Flatware – recommend 18/10 stainless, 12 place settings
c. Glassware/Cups/Mugs
d. Serve ware and utensils

5) Barware: Unless you drink wine out of a box or with a screw top, you are going to want that corkscrew. If you know all the latest cocktail trends or wine varietals, then you need the appropriate glasses.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry Guide

a. Wine glasses
b. Cocktail glasses – Highball, Martini, Margarita
c. Wine opener (corkscrew)

Inspiring Kitchen wedding registry

Ok, now you have 5 of the 10 categories to begin researching for your registry. Some stores to consider that have registry events and or support are Bloomingdales, Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, Bed Bath and Beyond and Target to name just a few. There are also resources outside the kitchen area to register at if that is of interest to you. Check back Wednesday for the remaining 5 categories to complete your wedding registry.

In the end, choosing the items for your wedding registry is based on how you want to cook, maybe not at this moment (no time, kitchen too small), but in the future. Think five years down the way when registering for items that have the potential to last forever (good cookware and knives). Take the time to learn the differences between products and brands as there are things to take into consideration. For example, cooking in non-stick is a different outcome than cooking in stainless steel. If all of this seems like a bigger project than you anticipated, let Inspiring Kitchen guide you in designing a wedding registry that is personalized for your cooking and entertaining style. See Inspiring Kitchen for more information or contact us at wedding@inspiringkitchen.com.

And congratulations again on your engagement!

15 Comments

  • Shirley Wood says:

    Oh the memories. We will celebrate our 19th anniversary this year. I always enjoy using the kitchen items we received as wedding gifts. The memories make me smile.

  • A well stocked kitchen is definitely essential for every home. It makes it so much easier to cook for your family when you don’t have to worry about whether or not you have the right sized pan, baking dish or skillet to cook it in.

  • I wish we had someone like you when we got married. My husband and I have been married for 6 years. Our wedding was kind of thrown together with the help of some family, but still a wonderful memory! And yes, all of those things are super important to have!

  • Jacqui says:

    These are fantastic tips, I wish someone had told me a few of these when I was registering! Especially taking your time, and thinking ahead. I would also recommend holding the cutlery before buying it. If kids are in the picture for the future, think about the weight…

    • Inspiring Kitchen says:

      Thank you! Yes, learning about knives is really important. As a knife sales rep, understanding why the knife is heavy is important to understand. Having a lighter knife that is also razor sharp is more important than a heavy knife. Let the blade do the job for you. Not the weight.

  • My sister is getting married next June. She just got engaged. She will be so excited to see this. She did a registry on Amazon, but I know she is really stressed with all the planning. Thanks for sharing!

  • Absolutely perfect tips! I remember registering for my wedding and I still love using the gifts we recieved then today. In fact, I think I mostly registered for kitchen items because my husband and I love to cook.

  • Michelle Delgado says:

    These are great Wedding registry tips. I love to cook and should have thought to put cookware on my registry. I love cooking on my griddle though.

  • Dee says:

    I can only wish that one day I will be able to create a Wedding Registry and me and soon to be husband can pick out items that we both would use in the kitchen. Creating one with your spouse to be can be a great way to bond as you plan your lives together.

  • Chelsea L. says:

    I had a simple and intimate wedding and every time i reminisce that special moment of my life. I can’t help but to smile , I wish i have read this a long time ago because it would be so much easy for our relatives and friends to pick what stuff do we really need to start a family. I will share it with my friends who are planning to get married this year.

  • Alison says:

    You know this is actually good to know – I had no idea what I was really doing when hubby and I registered years ago and I’m sure I could’ve chosen some items that were much more useful than what I actually did!

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