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Almost 6 years ago, I married my very best friend in the world! We had a wonderful party to celebrate, and all of the people we love were so generous and gifted us entirely too much!
When we were engaged, I was 22 and had no CLUE how to cook for a family or keep a home! My tastes in home decor were ALL over the place, but mostly stuck somewhere between dorm room and first apartment.
This lack understanding of what we would actually need over the course of the rest of our lives was totally understandable. I mean, I was 22! I had barely finished undergrad, and had only worked for one year while living with a roommate.
While we have used the heck out of everything we were given, and we are still so incredibly grateful to the sweet people who gifted us SO much, there are a few things that I would definitely change if I could register all over again!
What I Would Register for…6 Years Later
Linens
Linens are SO important when you are making a home. I didn’t really understand this whenever I was registering. I had a ton of towels that had been gifted to me whenever I graduated high school that were basically still new.
We don’t need to register for towels, I thought! We have plenty!
Mistake.
Register for towels.
Every single time you get the opportunity, register for towels. You go through them like crazy!!
More than just registering for towels. I would register for WHITE towels.
Why? Because white towels can be bleached back to their original pristine glory at any time. They are a wonderful thing!
With all of the same reasoning as the white towels, I would totally register for a few sets of really nice white sheets.
Kitchen
This is probably the area where I mostly had NO clue. I didn’t know what brands of cookware were the best, what items I would use a ton (or NEVER use), or what would get broken and need replacing.
No one should have ever let me wander around Bed Bath and Beyond with the scanner gun through the kitchen supplies!!
There are a few items that we registered for and I have used SO much and still love to this day.
One of those is our stainless steel cookware.
This is the exact set we have and will keep forever. Stainless steel just doesn’t wear out. The pieces in this set are all pieces that I use all of the time.
Another thing that I registered for and love is our really nice set of flatware.
This set is super heavy and still looks and feels exactly like it did the day we took it out of the box.
Now, what I would have registered for had I known any better?
The first thing I would have gotten is something I use at least 5 days a week now. My dutch oven.
I love my dutch oven and use it from making soups, to skillet meals, to baking bread. If I had to keep just one piece of cookware in my kitchen this would 100% be it. It’s amazing.
Another thing that I would have registered for in the kitchen is a plain set of dishes.
We registered for and received BEAUTIFUL dishes from a boutique that you have to buy one at a time. I love them. We use them every single day. The issue is, that whenever we break a plate or a bowl (which I have done several times), it cost $40 to to replace it!
I’m of the opinion that life is short and to use nice dishes, but I’m also not super keen on dropping $100 a year to replace broken dishes!
If we had a plain and cheaper set that could be used to fill the gaps until I could replace a piece at Christmas or my birthday that would be wonderful.
Another thing that is incredibly useful and just doesn’t wear out is glass storage containers. I would have registered for a couple more sets if I could do it over again!
Cleaning Tools
Another area where I though, oh we’ve got one of those, is in cleaning tools.
Clay had a vacuum in his apartment that he bought whenever he first moved into an apartment. It was only a couple of years old and was barely used.
Well, that vacuum was about the cheapest thing you could buy at Wal-Mart. Translation, it was extremely loud, didn’t do a great job, and resulted in me walking straight to the dumpster outside of our old rental home to throw it out.
We then bought a bagless corded vacuum and I was blown away at the difference and ease of cleaning!
This vacuum was also what led me to get a cordless vacuum a couple of years later. It’s amazing and really one of the best purchases you can make if you have kids or a pet.
Another floor cleaning tool I love and use all of the time is my steam mop. It really makes cleaning hard floors super easy.
That’s really all that I would change!
I would just make sure we were stocked on the basics and then fill in the gaps later on.
So, if you are registering for your own wedding, just keep it simple! Put things that will be timeless and not too trendy. Quality items over the quantity of items.
Oh, and always remember to write a thank you note!
Remind the people who have been so generous to you exactly how thankful and appreciative you are to them.