Wedding Registry: What We're Still Using 7 Years Later..

I had the idea to write a post about what wedding gifts we received 7 years ago that we're still using when we were using our electric griddle for breakfast recently. The electric griddle we did not register for but use all.the.time. Ahem. ;-) Now that we're old married folk, I think it's really fun to think about the things we still use and the things we just had to have on our registry that we never use. Some of them are probably still packed in boxes because we've moved at least four times since then.

 So let's take a step back to 2006 and have a look...

We were both 22 years old and had never lived together so to say we had no clue what we needed to "make house" would be an understatement! :) Thankfully, some of the older and wiser guests at our wedding clearly had a better idea of what we needed than we did! I thought this list might be helpful when I'm thinking about what to buy for upcoming weddings or if you are soon to be married maybe this will help you while trying to strategize your own registry list. And if you're already married I would love to hear what things you're using and what things you aren't!!

First of all, a couple things we did not register for that we use all the time!

1. Non-glass/non-fancy cups for drinking.. yes, by all means register for nice glasses but please don't be like us and not think about the fact that 99% of the time you will not be entertaining guests. You will be laying on the couch in your yoga pants, drinking a coke and eating Cheese-It's straight from the box. Oh wait. Is that just us? No seriously though, we received a set of nice Tupperware brand large cups that we use every single day. They wash well, they hold a ton of fluid and they stack nicely in the cabinet. And they are still a heck of a lot nicer than the bar-b-que joint souvenir cups we could be using. The exact ones we have aren't available anymore but they're similar to these :)

2. An electic griddle. I don't even think I knew this existed before we got married but I'm so glad someone at our wedding had the wherewithal to gift this to us! As newlyweds our weekend routine would be to sleep in on the weekends and get up and make a big breakfast. You need this griddle if you'll ever do that. We can do sausage, bacon, pancakes, toast, etc etc all right from one pan! I've even used it to host a baby shower where I did a Grilled Cheese Bar! See!??

This isn't the exact one we have, but I think they're all about created equal and they're an awesome affordable gift for a wedding!!

3. We did register for nice Lenox silverware (yay us for doing something right! Hah!), and since silverware is something you will use every single day, I think a couple should go high end on this one. But please take a word of advice; register for at least two sets! We only got one set which was perfectly fine for the first five years of marriage or so.. then we started hosting small family events, our friends started having bridal and baby showers, we had a baby and we just started using a lot more silverware than we had ever before. And you know what? Our design had been forever discontinued. We still haven't been able to find a second set.

4. I am so glad we received the nice salt shaker and pepper mill set we registered for! We use it daily too, like the cups. I hadn't done much meal cooking before we got married but I am so glad to have a nice set that looks classic sitting near the stove and a pepper mill is a necessity if you're going to be doing any type of intensive cooking! Ours wasn't expensive ($20) but it's so much nicer than the pre-filled shakers at the grocery store.

5. I still have and cherish all of the personalized gifts we received at our wedding. The one example that immediately comes to mind is an elderly friend of the family that hand knitted us pot holders and kitchen towels and made me an apron. I still use them a lot! They are personalized to our taste and since they're not things that get grimy with food regularly they have lasted us years and years. They are similar to these from Etsy.

6. Finally, we registered for two types of cookware for our wedding and received both: stainless steel and non-stick. The high end stainless steel pots and pans we received have been used so much that I can't imagine our home without them. And they show no wear whatsoever! Our Teflon pans, on the other hand, have long since been replaced because they have gotten scratched and dinged along the way. If I had to do it over again, I'd still register for a very nice set of stainless steel equipment but I'd get cheap non-stick pans, knowing they don't have the longevity of stainless anyway.

7. I am so glad we got a neutral colored Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer! We have used it so much in the last 7 years! They are a kitchen necessity in my mind because they can do so much! Plus, you have the added benefit of being able to add attachments over the years to make it fit your changing family/entertaining needs.

Now can we talk about the things we registered for and don't use anymore?

1. Bedding! We registered for colorful bedding that was adorable and perfectly suited our tastes! Our tastes in 2006. Those bedding sets have been replaced several times because we (1) upgraded our queen bed to a king sized, (2) moved to a home where they didn't coordinate well anymore, (3) our tastes evolved.
If I could do it all over again: I'd register for a nice plain white down comforter that I could use duvet covers over as our tastes changed.

2. Towels: We registered (again) for a colorful set that we happily received and used... for a couple years. Then we decided to upgrade our set so we had a full set of towels in our guest room. Then we upgraded again because I decided (finally) it was smart to have all white towels so they could be bleached and kept looking cleaner over the years.
If I could do it all over again: I'd register for a small set of white towels knowing my tastes would change but that I could add to as we needed more over time.

3. Fancy drinking glasses/wine glasses: ours have been infrequently used. We didn't register for enough to manage a full dinner party and we never use the fancy stuff when we're at home by ourselves. They are definitely shoved to the back of the cabinet right now.
If I could do it all over again: I'd register for one simple, large set of affordable glasses that I could pull out for entertaining.

4. Electronics: It should go without saying that these things have all been upgraded over time. We did have a slim kitchen radio we used for years, until we moved over to an iPad with a stand a few years ago. But the camera, alarm clock, etc have all been sold or donated in just 7 years time.
If I could do it all over again: I'd register for one or two affordable items I really wanted right away knowing they'd be replaced in a short period of time!


Now I want to know from you -- what things are you still using from your wedding registry? What were your most used gifts? Please link in the comments if you do a blog post yourself - I'd love to read it!