I’ve been agonizing over our wedding registry all week and finally made a few choices. For everyday use I’ve decided to go with a classic bistro-inspired feel. The Cue Juice Glasses, Gourmet Flatware and Maison Dinnerware are all from Crate & Barrel. The red check napkins are from Sur La Table. My Grandmother Rita already bought us a large set of gorgeous vintage hand-painted china which I’ll photograph and share with you once we arrive in California. This whole process makes me feel like such a grown up which is really quite hilarious since I haven’t the slightest clue what I’m doing! Did you feel that way when you were registering? What do you dine on each evening?
I love your choices! Everything we eat on is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Not very exciting but I plan on doing more once we get more settled.
Dancing Branflake — Totally understandable! I’ve been eating off Ikea for years—no shame in it : ) Someday you’ll have the fabulous pattern you’ve always dreamed of!
XX katie
Love your blog, I’ve commented before but I just had to tell you I heart it again. :)
My husband and I registered for the Maison dinnerware also. I love it – classic white with a twist. The low bowls and small coffee cups are so cute. My hope is to eventually mix in other colorful dinnerware with the Maison. My formal china is my paternal grandmother’s, it isn’t worth a ton, but she used it every Christmas so it means a lot.
I personally was overwhelmed by registering. It felt so monumental picking out the plates we would use for the rest of our lives! I didn’t want to mess it up or regret our choices.
Excellent choices! Particularly the juice glasses and simple flatware. Love the thought of vintage china set.
Alaina
Allison — THANK YOU! So glad I’m not the first one to find this process a bit daunting! You’re such a dear! Even more excited to get the Maison pattern now! XX
Alaina — Isn’t the flatware nice? They have so many I was totally overwhelmed, but when I saw these I just thought YES THE ONES!!!
Love it! I definitely think simple is better. J and I have similar juice glasses (but a little taller and more like what you’d find in a diner!), and some Oneida Pearl flatware and white dishes with two black bands on the edge. We also have some glasses by Luigi Bormioli from BB&B. I don’t think I realized how much I loved them until I started using them every day.
Good luck with the registries! I felt so powerful making the registry – it was great!
*kate
We absolutely felt the same way, it was sort of like playing house, it didn’t feel very real at all. Love your choices! We also registered at Crate and Barrel and are still deeply in love with our Eva Zeisel Classic Century dinnerware.
Lovely choices! My everyday dinnerware is a very plainwhite vintage German set inherited from my grandmother. I love it for its versatility. You can change the look with linens, mix and match with other pieces, patters, etc. Also opening the kitchen cabinets to reveal stacks of white dishes and rows of simple glassware makes me smile.
You made some excellent choices; pieces that will fit into any kitchen through the years.
During college I worked at Macy’s Bridal registry and once couples got done registering they all had this look of confusing; five minutes after completion they had no idea what they had just placed on their list. You are obviously not alone.
I love these classics. I’m a little nervous about registering because I am so indecisive! It will be fun though! You’ve made great choices!
I’m a total sucker for a clean, white plate. Plus – it makes everything (included my re-heated leftovers) look restaurant quality fancy!!
:)
Oh my gosh Katie yes!! Registering was both agonizing and fun, there are just so many beautiful things!! And you really want the things you choose to hold up over time! We went with the Pottery Barn Sausalito dinnerware, in neutral. We chose this because it felt warm, and looked lovely with the red wine we’d become so accustomed to sharing. I love the look of white dinnerware, it is so classic and clean you can’t go wrong! Can’t wait to see your China, I’m still holding out for my grandmothers one day.
I think you made the right choices. I’ve always been a huge fan of simple place settings — they’re really so versatile. You never have to worry about your dishes matching the wall color or the silverware being too nice for a bbq. That’s the way it should be. I haven’t registered, but I have shopped for a home and I know how easily that can drive you insane.
Your breakfast table will look so charming! Classics, like clean white china and simple flatware, will never steer you wrong. We’re Crate and Barrel people, too-Staccato dishware.
I know what you are talking about! I went with tyler and got nothing accomplished. I had to take a friend back and finally was able to get some things on there. crate and barrel is a good choice though. they are everywhere!
xo
Great choices! I didn’t go with formal china (just not my style) I have the star pattern plates from Fishes Eddy. Nothing fussy or too fancy. :o)
I love this, want to have me over for dinner?? I was SO stressed registering, I mean who knows how I will entertain in 20 years!? But once I got going I had a blast…now I just hope our guests stick to the registry and don’t go too crazy with their own wacky ideas…Have you received any gifts not on the registry yet? Cause if you have friends like we do…just you wait. It gets interesting! haha
My first job out of college (a million years ago) was in the home dept. of a bridal magazine, so I spent a lot of time with china patterns.
We registered for a beautiful formal pattern (I still love you, china!) but ended up pulling it from our registry before the wedding. A lot of my friends who registered for china said they hadn’t used theirs once, or had it sitting in boxes somewhere, so it seemed a little wasteful at this point in our lives, when we’ve bought/sold a house and moved across the country and might move again soon.
Anyway, we registered for and use the heck out of our flatware (Kate Spade Malmo) and dinnerware (Heath Ceramics in a variety of earth tones). Both have a timeless quality to them that I think makes them versatile without worrying about a color scheme or matching other stuff.
It’s so easy to become overwhelmed with all the details (I think I appointed my now-husband Chief of Reviews and made him scour the internet for approval before any small appliance was added to our registry!) but my advice is this: you know yourself and what you will and won’t use.
Be honest. If you hate to bake, a KitchenAid mixer is going to collect dust on your counter. Don’t get caught up in the checklists and whatnot and register for everything in sight. This won’t be new to you since you are the neo trad, but quality not quantity! Happy registering!
you really can’t go wrong with those choices!
and honestly, food likes best on white plates.