The Best Wedding Registry Ideas: Essential Gifts for the KITCHEN

“The wisest of women builds her house”
Proverbs 14:1

Ladies,

This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article.

The kitchen is perhaps the most essential part of a wedding registry. You are setting yourself up for cooking for your husband and children. The tools you use for cooking will make this job easier or more difficult. In the past, our kitchen tools were so well made, we could receive quality items at our wedding that would last our lifetime. Keep this in mind when registering for gifts. Now days, the young women have grown up in a society where most things are made cheaply for low cost, and these are the stores they use for wedding registration. Consider using a higher end store for your wedding registry to register for high quality items. Or consider finding the highest quality brands sold in a particular store/online marketplace.

Women’s wedding gifts use to last her a lifetime without having to repurchase over and over again. Quality items will save you frustration from cooking utensils that can bend or break, to cookie sheets that rust. People are willing to splash out on one expensive piece for a wedding gift, so now is your chance to get the pieces that will work for you the best without having to buy it all yourself. This is the point of a wedding registry; it gives your family and friends an opportunity to help you start your home. Don’t worry, there are affordable kitchen items for those who have smaller gift budgets.

I made every mistake regarding the wedding registry.

The kitchen was no exception. I registered for a set of square dishes. Square was a mistake. Have you ever sipped coffee out of a square? It was not the best choice. The set was modern and Asian inspired which is not my style even though it looked nice. Which is a further point in this series, as a new wife you may have yet to develop your sense of design and style for your home. So be developing this as you think through these items since they do affect the style of your household.

Dishes

No matter how inexperienced you are as a cook, you need to eat off dishes. My best advice about style is get a set that will look elegant for the everyday dinner and a fancy Christmas dinner. A neutral white or ivory set is the best style for this. But you can find white or ivory sets that have beautiful, embossed detail on the edges of the dishes, or neutral painted detail, scalloped edges, etc. A simple white set can still have more style to it than being very plain. Go for more expensive dishes since cheap dishes scratch easier, they are heavier, they can even break easier. Aim for quality and look for brands with longevity factor. Read the reviews of dish sets of different brands!

Flatware

Again, go with something you genuinely like but I recommend something timeless. There are a lot of trendy silverware sets but they will not stand the test of time. Cheap finishes like faux gold will wear off and get dinged and look like garbage from every day washing. Beware of that fun cute set that is super affordable. It will not last, and the finish will get ruined quickly. Women use to receive a quality set of flatware at their wedding, and it lasted their entire lives.

Utensils

There are tons of cutesy sets of spatulas and flippers, whisk and ladle, etc. but they wear out fast, stain in tomato juice, bend, crumble, melt, you name it. The cheap utensils are the worst choice. You need quality not cutesy. Cheap utensils mean you will be repurchasing these highly used items (even as a non-cook) very soon. Not to mention that cooking is more difficult with bad tools. Especially as a new cook, don’t make the job harder with bad tools for the job. Look for chef and restaurant grade utensils. Look for stainless steel, long handles, and stainless-steel interiors of silicone exteriors.

Knives

I cannot emphasize quality knives enough. Avoid those block sets at the cheap big box store. Even if you are not a cook yet you will always have to slice or dice something, and it is a world of difference to use sharp good knives. Knives are a more expensive item that is a great high-quality gift for a wedding. One good set will give you the best start for becoming a more skillful cook.

Cutting Boards

I recommend registering for one large beautiful NON-SLIP wooden cutting board to use for bread or cheese. It can double as a tray to arrange a charcuterie board of meats, cheeses and crackers but it is also a practical cutting board. I also recommend you register for a set of NON-SLIP plastic cutting boards in various sizes for things like meats and veggies. A cutting board without the non-slip bottom is a fast way to get seriously injured. The only ones worth registering for are non slip.

Set of Glass Nesting Bowls & Lids

Even the non-cook will use these bowls. These will be what you use to set out chips, pretzels and dip, etc. The most basic recipes or even boxed items will require you to mix something in a bowl. I suggest quality glass over plastic. Glass is heavier and safer for staying put when using a mixer. They also look nice and not cheap like plastic. They also are not leeching plastic chemicals into your food after years of use. A nesting bowl set gives you various sizes and store more efficiently for small spaces. The lids will save you a lot of plastic wrap use. Lids also make it possible to stack bowls in the fridge or when carrying them, etc.

Mixer

At the very least, a hand held mixer for the beginner cook is necessary. Or, register for an expensive stand mixer for the enthusiastic cook. I do encourage you to register for one or the other. The odds of you never needing a mixer is quite low.

Measuring Cups & Spoons

These are absolute essentials for the kitchen and very affordable gifts for the kitchen. Be sure to register for sets that claims they will not rust. The more items you can toss into the dishwasher the better. Quality still matters with these little items as some brands will claim they do not rust but that might not be the case.

Coffee

I am not calling it a coffee pot necessarily, because it could be an espresso maker, or a French press. But if you drink coffee or your soon-to-be husband drinks it, make sure to register for the item with which you want to make your coffee. Go for quality, don’t cheap out on something used daily like this!

Coffee Grinder

If you freshly grind coffee beans, register for a good grinder. Not sure if anything is made this well anymore but my parent’s coffee bean grinder is still going strong 30 years later. Quality. Matters.

Tea Kettle

If you are a tea drinker, be sure to register for a top-quality tea kettle. They also have the electric ones if you prefer that. The point is, get the best quality you can so it will last for all of those daily tea times and to serve your guests.

Toaster

A toaster is a good appliance to have and if you register for a quality one you may never have to repurchase it.

Mugs

Your dish set may come with a set of mugs that matches it or you may have to register for a set separately. They are vital to have, and you want to start with at least four. Beyond this, mugs will come to you, trust me. They are like cats. You never need to buy one. They find you. You will end up collecting them on vacations, thrifting ones you just have to have, and you will be gifted mugs. You may eventually donate mugs and purge your cupboards of mugs because you will have too many you don’t really like. However, it is important to have a small set to begin your marriage.

Glassware

Glasses make serving water or any beverage a lovely experience for you or your guests. I suggest a set of tall glasses since most people want a large beverage. I personally skip on the shorter glasses but maybe opt for some tumblers if you serve or drink liquors.

Stemware

For wine, you may want to have at least one set of four to six that is just a plain classic style.

Pots & Pans

You would think that pots and pans should be the item you register for to have for the rest of your life but if you are learning to cook, your pots and pans collection will change over time. You will ruin things; you will decide what you prefer. Register for decent quality in what works for you right now where you are skill wise. Many people avoid non-stick pans due to fears of chemicals leeching into food, but for the new cook, they are a great gateway into non intimidating cooking. My opinion is that they are safe as long as you do not cook everything on high for years or scratch the surface with the wrong utensils (always use silicone or nylon utensils on non-stick, not your stainless-steel utensils). I suggest nonstick pans for the novice cook because food will not frustratingly stick to it. There are lots of good affordable sets out there. Your eggs will slide right off the pan and you will feel confident with easier cooking! Your pots won’t be so difficult to scrub clean while you’re getting use to cleaning up after dinner every night. Otherwise, you could register for a set of a high-quality stainless-steel pots and pans and learn how to properly use them to make food not stick. Moreover, you could register for cast iron skillets and venture into learning how to properly use those. The fact is, unless you are ready to learn these things, do not register for the pots and pans that are beyond your education level. Register for the pots and pans that meet you where your skill level is at, and you can always move into a different direction later.

Pot Holders

This is another frugal gift and an extremely necessary item for the kitchen beginner cook or not. I recommend oven mits that you put your hand into, not just the little squares. I recommend silicone oven mits over fabric since they are better heat resistant.

Kitchen Towels

This is another affordable gift for guests. It is important to have several sets of kitchen towels since these are the work horses of the kitchen. They need to be highly absorbent and able to get stained. I personally avoid all white kitchen towels for this reason unless it is a “flour sack towel” which is something I use for wiping up and not to hang and display in the kitchen. For something that will be your towel on the kitchen sink, I recommend something with some pattern to disguise the stains.

Casserole Dishes with Lids

Talking about work horses, you will need a set of various sizes of glass casserole dishes. You can register for a set of various sizes that come with lids. A set like this will cover your needs from a huge dinner casserole, to lasagna, to brownies, to pan nachos. The lids cut down plastic wrap use and make these items refrigerator friendly for stacking and transporting.

Cookie Sheets

Don’t cheap out. Get the sturdy, stainless steel, going to last a lifetime one. Brand matters in this item. Register for at least two large cookie sheets. You will use them to place under casseroles in the oven to keep overflowing juices from hitting the oven and smoking up the room. Heavy casserole dishes need sturdy cookie sheets. Cheap cookie sheets bend and rust easily. However, this item should be hand washed and the dishwasher is more likely to cause rust on this item.

Cake Pans

You do not need to register for cake pans. I think it is a good idea but it is not nearly as essential as a cookie sheet. I mention it in case you will be baking cakes regularly and if you do, register for at least two.

Rolling Pin

My friend registered for a rolling pin and then never used it and donated it shortly thereafter. I do think this one is up for debate because I would have kept it for later use because it’s a smaller enough item to have for when you do use it and it is a basic kitchen item, unlike an appliance that would go unused. I would have told her to keep it, but I understand not wanting things you are not actively using. This is why you need to think carefully about what you actually use and get the most essential items for you.

Cheese Grater

I wish I had registered for a high-quality cheese grater. I prefer grating my own cheese since it saves a lot of money and tastes better than pre-shredded. If I had a quality cheese grater from the very beginning it would have saved me using a flimsy cheese grater that broke right away. I used it broken for years. So not only did I not register for this necessary item, but I purchased it more than once because I had to buy it for myself and since I bought a cheap item, it broke so I had to buy it again. This is what you want to avoid with your basic kitchen tools. Buy quality ONCE. Preferably have them gifted to you once at your wedding. Rarely do you have to repurchase a quality item, it usually takes decades to need to be replaced.