Q. Hi Jordan,
I love your home style with its very personal and eclectic – but still very chic – feel, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations you could throw my way for registering for our very first married home. Thanks so much!
Ashleigh
a. Congratulations!
When we got married, we decided to do a “honeymoon registry” (where guests can buy you anything from a taxi to the airport to a champagne toast to an elephant ride) for two reasons:
1) We wanted to go somewhere completely off-the-rails (Bangkok/Phuket/Bali), and definitely could not afford to do this on our own, especially right after dealing with the not-inconsiderable expense of…you know…a wedding;
2) We lived in a 300-square-foot apartment and literally did not have room for another fork.
Even so, we did end up registering for a few things for our home, including a full set of beautiful china that we ended up storing at my parents’ home until we moved into a bigger place, just because I felt like there was something very special and lovely about having your very own “wedding china”.
All of this is to say that registering – like everything having to do with your wedding – is a personal process that depends a lot both on what you value as individuals, and what you need as a couple. But you did ask me for my opinion…so here goes :).
Were I to be registering for a wedding today, here are the kinds of things that I’d go for:
– A full set of silverware with a classic shape…and a little twist. I love the gold set pictured above, but my personal favorite is Pottery Barn’s vintage-y Maxfield flatware. (Click here for more of my flatware picks.)
– Beautiful glassware that, again, has a classic shape with some unique details. It’s all about making sure that these pieces aren’t ones that you’ll get sick of, but also that they’re distinctive (by which I mean distinctively you).
– Dishes! I love mixing and matching patterns, and the china that I use on a daily basis is a mishmosh of Noritake’s Rochelle Gold, Hertford, and Yoshino patterns* (the former two are pictured above). Our wedding china was a mix of four different silvery Kate Spade patterns, which also happens to blend nicely with our Noritake stuff. (Click here for some tips on how to mix and match your very own china collection.)
– Oh, just get one of those Kitchenaid stand mixer things. I didn’t register for one because we didn’t have the space; I totally wish I had. They’re awesome.
– Two more musts: a truly spectacular knife or set of knives (I love my Warther Cutlery pieces), and at least one great multi-purpose pot. Literally, if I could register for just one thing right this very moment, it would be Le Creuset’s 3 1/2 Quart Signature Flame Braiser: it’s perfect, and basically the only pot you need for making everything from sautéed vegetables to roast chickens to short ribs, spaghetti sauce, whatever.
– And finally, I think you should register for at least one or two completely impractical things that are just straight-up you, and that you’ll treasure forever. Like a sparkle deer head. (Just saying.)
*Noritake China was a 2012 sponsor of Ramshackle Glam.
