apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

These were on mine and the things I love/use the most and things I gave away in the end. I live in NYC so space is limited. I am sure others can add to this list....

-All Clad cookware, essential
-Great set of knives
-LeCrueset french oven
-BEAUTIFUL silk quit for the bed
-Nice tea kettle, such as a cast iron
-Simple Human Recycling Center (FAB pull out trash bin with another bin behind it for recycling) check their website
-Liquor decanters, they are nice when you have guests and for yourself if you leave it out sometimes.
Nice red wine glasses, received 6 from Tiffanys (not even on my registry) and I use them ALL the time.
-Hand Mixer, I dont have the space for a huge food processor and love my Kitchen aid, this fills the gap without taking up a lot of space
-Towels/sheets, register for good ones, you'll hate paying for them yourself later..there always seems to be other things to spend money on

WASTE/SPACE HOGGERS
Things like:
-a lux fish poacher (all-clad makes one), waste of space..unless you cook whole fish all the time...but who does that??
-Mandoline...find it easier to cut my own veggies than use this thing..gave to my sister
-Pizza stones and cutters, if you live in a small space you dont need this, call for delivery.
-Toaster ovens... unless you have tons of counter space...use the oven in your apt./house
-as a general rule kitchen items that perform only one function usually take up too much space and you probably wont use it.

GOOD LUCK, congrats!

If you haven't got a food processor, that might be a good choice - I find it indispensable.

If you have younger friends, keep in mind their budgets. So rather than registering for a matched set of something (like wine glasses), register for each type of glass (flutes, red/white glass, water glass) separately.

i would say definitely go with a good set of knives and some nice glassware (more than you think you need, since lets face it, you're gonna break some over time).

One tip we followed was getting three knives- chef, paring and bread- rather than a block. Then you can store them in a drawer rather than take up counter space.

I didn't have time to do much comparative research- if you happen to subscribe to Cook's Illustrated, I pulled out every issue we have and just followed their recommendations. Made the process much easier.

a friend of mine made a huge mistake by only putting crazy expensive stuff on her registry...nothing on it was priced under $200!!!! it was insane. i highly recommend a great variety pricewise. i would put All Clad on there and a good set of chef knives, but also a simple potato peeler ahaha ;)

Register for things that are small, cost slightly more than $100 (or the relevant "price point" that you think your guests will spend) and easy to return.

My wife and I registered for a bunch of stuff we wanted (All-Clad was AWESOME!) but other stuff just to make gift giving easy for guests.

We returned all the dinnerware sets (tough b/c they were so big and heavy) and a ton of other stuff.

Ended up getting the CB2 "Movie" sofa with a bunch of the returns -- no one would have gotten us this individually, so returns were a godsend (and, BTW, Crate and Barrell return cards can be used at CB2).

Cheers and congrats.

Thanks for the advice so far, and for the congratulations! We've registered for a Henckel Twin Cuisine block set (aprox. $400) and a 7 pc. set of All Clad Stainless ($600 I believe) -- any suggestions on sets vs. open stock? It seems like buying 3 open stock items from either of those almost equals the cost of the much larger sets, but on the other hand the sets are a high price point for a single gift. Do we hope either a bigger spending relative splurges or people partner up? Or are we better off going for the individual pieces, returning them and using the credit towards the sets?

-Benjy

One of the best tips we got when registering was to register for open stock and the sets - that way if someone buys you the set, you can return whatever open stock but people who don't have that huge well of cash can get you one pan. Chances are that you'll get a couple of pans and be able to return them to by the set but either way you'll end up with what you want.

One thing we didn't register for but got that I've found indispensable is a kitchen scale...

As someone who has purchased a lot for others from their registries, I say do a variety of high and low price point items. When I was a poor student, I apprecited being able to buy several small items (kitchen gadgets, etc.) or, say, a single pot or pan. When I was no longer a poor student, I enjoyed splurging a bit more, and I've definitely paired or tripled up with others to buy big ticket items. A lot of that just depends on what your circle of friends and family members can generally afford. For cookware, I say do open stock. I think you will be more likely to get some of the pieces that way, which you can either add to, or return and use the money towards the set.

As for particular items, I cannot live without my food processor, my OXO Good Grips vegetable peeler, and my Henckel knives (although I don't have a whole set...yet!) I also recently got a cast iron (enamel coated) dutch oven and LOVE IT!

Congratulations!

A few thoughts:

-Remember to register for a variety of price ranges to give everyone something.

-Register for more than you need and make sure you have leftovers on there for the post-event discount most retailers send

-If, like most of AT's world, your taste tends to the more modern, register at Bed Bath & Beyond where you can return registry gifts for cash and then go to the various little stores that sell what you really want. Consolidate at BBB and make it easy on yourself.

-Don't feel forced to register for sets - if you don't need the whole knife block, why register for it? Most only need three knives anyway: a chef's, paring and bread. Same goes for pots. Sets don't account for how you actually cook.

We registered for a 12 person's set of beautiful cutlery, and gave the possibility to give as little as one spoon. In 30 years time we'll still have them and we'll say: these were our wedding gift.

A food processor is indispensable! They even have a stainless Mini Prep model at Crate & Barrel for only $30 if you're looking for a smaller, inexpensive model.

Target has a nice basic checklist that you can download as a pdf file. It's underneath the pair of doves at the top...click on "Download Registry Checklist".

http://sites.target.com/site/en/clubwedd/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-004045

Best present ever: my cat. Only thing she's good for in the kitchen though is getting underfoot.

I got engaged in November 2006, and will get married in May. While it seems like a really long time (and yeah, it is) it gave me the chance to go through all the holiday meals, the summer canning, the seasonal baking, etc. and see what little tools in my mother's kitchen I had always taken for granted, and will need in our new place.

I already have it, but I love my cast iron pan; we have four between us. If you love something, don't be afraid to receive multiples - that way you and your partner can cook at the same time.

Regarding cookware/all-clad... I think putting 3-4 pricey things on your registry is fine. You certainly should be conscious of your guests budgets. I registered for the all-clad set, which was in fact $600, my two aunts went in on it together for me. It is the thing I use the most by far. Worth every penny!! I wouldn't suggest putting too many sets, break up items when you can. The idea of individual knives is a good one since they can be quite pricey and its better to have 3 good ones than 10 mediocre ones.

I think you will find that some of your family is likely to pick up the more expensive items and guests/friends will go for lower price. A suggestion is that some sites allow you to put gift cards in various amounts on your registry.

Oh, we had SOOOO much fun with our registry. Just be practical and register for the life you have, not the hypothetical one where you have fancy dinner parties every night. We got affordable ($150/ 4 settings) china that's pretty enough for special occasions but still gets used every day. Didn't bother with silver, got good quality stainless silverware instead. Big purchases that we love are our food processor, chef's knife, dutch oven, pots/pans (we chose to do open stock and received everything), and good-quality sheets.

- Corningware French White, set or a variety of sizes (I use the ramekins for everything from mise en place to butter dishes, so I ended up buying another 8 later, and I use my large oval probably 3 times a week or more)

- Tongs - one set long, 3 short

- magnetic knife rack (it's bad luck to give knives as a gift, it cuts off the friendship, so if you register for knives plan to give a penny to each person who buys one)

- we are breakers of things, so we stuck with simple china that can be replaced or mix/matched. Ditto glassware. I have family silver, so we just got a nice new set of dishwasher-safe flatware.

- OXO tools. There are nicer designs, but few harder workers.

- Several pieces of simple serveware. I picked out some plain white porcelain trays and hors d'oeuvre pieces kind of on a lark to fill out the sub-$20 category, and I use them constantly.

I already had a lot of kitchen stuff when I got married. There were a few things that I got that I haven't used/used in a year:
The wok
The fondue pot (seriously...I didn't register for this)

what I wish I got:
Good wine glasses, at least 6
My great-grandmothers silver (I got this later)
linens for the table

Or tell your closer friends something unique: I like brightly colored dish ware. When I pull some of it out, I think 'heather bought us this' and I have fond memories of her.

Another question I thought of since I initially posed this question... we already have our KitchenAid mixer, so what attachments/accessories are worthwhile? The only one we've bought so far was the ice cream maker -- which has been disappointing and a replacement ice cream maker is already on the registry (Cuisinart ICE-50BC).

Less is more. Ask for items that you will use everyday, can multitask, and can easily fit into a small space.

Great knives (chef, paring, bread)
Good stainless, last-forever measuring cups and spoons
Dishes & serving pieces you like enough to use daily (food looks good against solid colors - don't be afraid to mix-and-match)
Silicon pads
Good pots/pans (All Clad is my favorite)
Cast iron skillets (Lodge is good; even better is one from your Granny or Auntie that's seasoned and a family heirloom passed down)
Heatproof rubber spatulas, tongs, a good manual can opener and a few perfect spoons and spatulas.
Heavy stainless bowls for prep work
Good salad spinner
Coffee grinder
Coffee percolater
Nice silverware and serving utensils
Inexpensive glassware (so you don't care when friends chip or break it)
Small ramkins (for food prep, baking desserts, etc.)
Food processor

Real Simple Weddings has a pared-down checklist. They used to have it in easily-printable PDF format, but the closest I can find is this - http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/registry-gifts/wedding-registry-checklist-00000000000227/index.html