Just over a year ago, my husband and I tied the knot. Like a lot of couples nowadays, we had already been living together for several years. During that time we had accumulated most of the traditional things seen on a wedding registry. However, I was set on having a registry in order to provide our guests a way to give physical gifts that we would enjoy. And also because finally having a complete set of matching silverware sounded amazing. But once you’ve added the requisite Le Creuset Dutch Oven, what else do you add?
My suggestion is to embrace a few non-traditional items on your registry. Add things that you know you and your future spouse will use, even if they’re not exclusively for the kitchen or house. We used Amazon for our wedding registry, which makes it really easy to add whatever your heart desires. If you want some inspiration, I made a list of five unique things that my husband and I put on our wedding registry – and a year later we are thrilled that we did so!
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Label Maker
I’m not sure about you, but I’ve always wanted a label maker. There’s a primal urge to organize that is satiated by putting a sticker with the name of an object on the object itself.
What I didn’t know about label makers before putting one on my wedding registry is that label technology has come a long way. The Brother P-Touch Cube uses a smartphone app where you can use pre-made label templates or create your own with different fonts and icons – not just the all caps black-and-white labels of old. Take a look at what I created for organizing my makeup.
It’s certainly not a traditional registry gift, but it is getting far more use in our marital household than our blender.
Makeup Mirror
This item is more geared towards me than my husband, but don’t worry, the next one is his. I wear glasses and am pretty much blind, so I have always been intensely jealous of those close up mirrors seen in hotel rooms – eyeliner is so much easier to apply when you’re not leaning aggressively over a sink to see your reflection!
And if there’s any opportunity to try to make your house more like a hotel, it’s with your wedding registry. Towels and sheets are the obvious registry picks, but I went with the light up make up mirror. The Ovente Lighted Wall Mount Mirror has worked great the past year in my bathroom, swiveling flush against the wall when not in use, and providing direct light and magnification when I need it.
Quality Knives
Good knives make a huge difference when it comes to cooking. You can use your wedding registry to get a full knife set if you don’t have one, but you can also use this as an opportunity to upgrade what you have, or to expand with a few specialty items that you don’t need but want.
So my husband’s contribution to the non-traditional part of the registry was a Wüsthof Flexible Boning Knife and a Dexter-Russell Meat Cleaver. The Flexible Boning Knife is great for filleting fish, which we eat a lot of. The Meat Cleaver is just something he wanted and I said sure, even though it is one of the more terrifying things in our kitchen. Compromise is at the heart of a working marriage.
Cheese Grater
Come on now, who hasn’t been to an Olive Garden and wanted one of these things? Bring the high class restaurant atmosphere into your own home and add the Zyliss Handheld Rotary Cheese Grater to your registry. It’s fun. It makes you feel fancy. Shouldn’t the start of your life together be filled with elite kitchen products? Yes, it should.
Dry Bag
If you do water-based activities even once a year I would add the Skog Å Kust DrySåk Dry Bag to your registry. It is so reassuring to know that while you’re having fun, your electronics, clothes, food, whatever will remain dry. My husband and I have used this on a beach outing, and during a few trips in our friends boat. It’s small enough to tuck away on the boat, but large enough to fit your essentials. I also love the patterns this bag specifically comes in.
Conclusion
Hopefully this post gave you a few ideas of how you can branch out when adding items to your wedding registry. It’s your special day and you should ask for things that you will actually use, even if they’re not traditional. Use your registry as an excuse to receive gifts that you wouldn’t buy yourself, or that you want but don’t need. I know that both my husband and I have enjoyed everything on this list.
