Wedding Registry: What Will Last You a Lifetime

A Wedding Registry can be an overwhelming task. It is easy to feel completely lost, forget an item or get caught up in today's trends, which can ultimately lead to an item becoming dated quickly, broken & requiring repurchasing.

I have been infatuated with researching and choosing the best quality products that can be registered for that are classic items that will last the timespan of long marriage. I even went as far as asking my followers, who have been married much longer than me, what they use from their Wedding Registry and what has lasted the span of the marriage.

The items that I will list in this post are items suggested by people who have been married 2-20+ years. At the end, I will show a chart of the breakdown of items that are recommended. The overarching theme of this post that I noticed while collecting my data is choosing higher quality items that avoid trends in style and are classic and will not go out of style.

The number one item people recommended based on what they have and still use: High Quality Knives

Knives, knife sets, & high-quality knives showed up over and over again in my polling. The quality of a kitchen item that is used most likely every day is important for longevity. According to my research, the steel content, usually high quality CRMOV15 stainless steel material to make knives that cut sharp and last a long time.

Some brands to look for that are easy to find and register for are Wustof, Cutco & Shun. On all of their websites you can find information on how these knives are built to last.

Here are a few of my favorites.

The next item that goes hand in hand with knives is: High Quality Flatware

While we are talking about steels and metal, here is a little lesson for you! Flatware can have different chromium and nickel percentages. The higher the nickel, the less risk of corrosion, bending or dulling. 18/10 is the ratio that you want to look for over 18/8. These numbers can be found on the website specifications. Picking a classic shape and pattern is also important for the longevity of the product. The trendy matte black flatware might be cute now, but how will it wear and keep up with trends in 10 years?

Here are a few timeless options that have that 18/10 ratio.

As we make our way around the kitchen, the next most highly used Registry items that will last you are: Timeless everyday dishes and Serve ware.

You want to love a plate that you are going to eat on every day, and when I mean love, I mean love the way it looks, feels, washes, cleans, ect. Classic everyday dishes were mentioned multiple times in my polls by people who have been married for many years. Brands like Mikasa & Fiesta were mentioned many times. Bone China is actually the most durable of all the natural stones. Porcelain, along with many other stone materials are often dishwasher & microwave safe, which is also important. You are most likely not going to use it every day if you can’t use it or clean it quickly. To go along with this, picking serving pieces like large platters and bowls that are multi-functional with rather neutral are great items to pick for longevity.

Here are a few options that I think would last.

Cookware that will last

In my opinion, there are way too many options when it comes to cookware. I can see how it can get very overwhelming with all of the shapes, sizes, colors & materials to pick from. The cool thing about cookware is that humans have literally been using cookware for thousands of years. That trendy pan that makes all the edges of brownies wasn’t around 100 years ago, and people were still eating brownies. My point is, don’t get caught up in all the gimmicky things that cookware can do for you.

As recommended by the poll, many people have had their cast iron pieces for twenty years or longer. Cast iron is by far the most durable & versatile material for cookware, it just requires a few lessons! Brands like Le Creuset and Staub have been creating these products for years with little variations and they are truly pieces that will last a lifetime. They often come with some sort of lifetime warranty as well.

A roasting pan to roast your holiday meals once in a while and a griddle also came recommended by the poll.

Here is what I would choose for cookware.

What about appliances?

The only tool that was continually recommended by people who have been married for many years was a Kitchen Aid mixer. This brand has been around for so many years, I think my sister has my grandmother's Kitchen Aid. The quality and versatility of this mixer stand out. You can purchase attachments for the mixer that will make it function as other kitchen tools, such as a pasta maker or ice cream maker. This in turn eliminates the need for most other gadgets. Many kitchen appliances become dated, and the updated version is eventually worth upgrading too.

Here are a few options that I would pick.

Before I get to the big chart with all of the results, I wanted to share a few answers from my poll that came up a few times that I personally thought were great ideas for a Wedding registry.

Sheets & bedding in different sizes:

I thought this was smart. When you first get married you may not have a King size bed, but in a few years when you upgrade, the sheets that you registered for are ready & it says a little cash when you have a large purchase. Cottons like percale and sateen are higher quality and will extend the life of your bedding.

Coffee Mugs:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the collection of coffee mugs from every vacation or Starbucks in the country, but someone in my poll mentioned that they registered for a set of plain coffee mugs that have lasted them and they can pull out for guests. Remember, bone China is the most durable next to porcelain.

And finally… Here are the poll results! ** is indicating being recommended multiple times.

<2 years	2-9 years	10-19 years	20+ years
Floor wet/dry vac	Yeti cooler	Cutco knives**	Cookbooks
Pyrex	Fiesta dishes**	Flatware**	Armetale pewter serving pieces
Knife block**	Roasting Pan	Emeril Pans	Everyday dishes- timeless good quality
Sous Vide	Griddle pan	Waterford serving knife	Pyrex**
Le Creuset dutch oven **	Toaster oven **	High qaulity knives **	High quality knives **
Everyday dishes **	Serving plates	Kitchenaid **	Fiestaware **
Nice Bareware **	Cast iron/Dutch oven**	Serving dishes	Flatware **
Sheet sets **	Kitchenaid **	Coffee Mugs	Waterford
Suitcases **	White dishes	MIKASA set	Kitchenaid**
	Bamboo cutting board	Griddle
	Vitamix	Roasting Pan
	Le Creuset **
	Wine and Champange glasses- large quantities
	Nice sheets **
	Knife set **
	Suitcases **

I hope that this was helpful to whoever is reading! I find joy in researching and finding the best of the best! Please know, there is no wrong item to place on a registry or receive as a gift. These are all simply suggestions to help navigate this overwhelming path of options!

XXX

Items linked in this post are commissionable links through LTK.