How To Create Your Wedding Registry

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.

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???

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.

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.

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.

 

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!)

(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.

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

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!