FLUFF: If you were getting married in the present time...

Experiences instead of things. Movie passes, tickets to anything from sport events to theater, and maybe gift cards to Expedia or airlines

I didn't register when I got married 40+ years ago. I don't remember why we didn't but we just relied on people asking either my mom or my DH's mom. We went practical all the way. I already had a full set of everyday dishes because my father had a connection with Franciscan Ware and gave me the set we liked. I guess I wouldn't change that now, because we received some great practical things and I don't think there was a single duplicate. One unusual gift we got was a big dictionary. It was from a friend of my father and he said he gives a dictionary to every young couple. My ex didn't appreciate it, but I loved it and still have it today.

Truly, the only thing I would change about my wedding is my choice of groom.


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Small kitchen appliances ... especially a KitchenAid mixer or a KitchenAid food processor ... I've now bought them for myself   

Decent knives ...

Nice cutting boards ...

Quality sheets and towels ... in the colours that I had registered for   

I'm into useful items   

Been married about the same time as you.  I didn't register for china cause I knew we were just not the kind of people who would use it.  My mom didn't even have any.  But I wish I would have registered for more 'nicer' things.  Like instead of registering for the plain old Walmart toaster, I wish we would have upgraded to a nicer one.. on everything we did register for it seems like I just wanted to go cheap???  I don't know why.  But this was the days before internet and it was even hard to find a store that had a registry that would work in multi-states. And I didn't really have a clue how to even handle it.. We just went in and picked this and that. 

Now times have changed and not that I would ask for the most expensive items but I certainly would make better choices. Heck we had family that had money that could afford more pricey items. 

I never registered for anything crystal either, but I still got tons of it. 

Since we eloped, we got two sets of towels.
So if I had to do it again
I would register for bath sheets.
Kitchen utensils. Good ones.
Mixing bowls of all sizes.
China I love china. Expensive china.
Glass refrigerator storage bins.
Vacuum cleaner
Brooms of all types

Wool blankets
Quilts
Car seat covers. Good ones. Custom floor mats.
Door mats

Kitchen towels.
Hand towels
Rags

A hundred cases of paper towels and toilet paper



Shower curtains
Washable throw rugs for the bathroom.

Washable throw rugs for everywhere I need one.

All clad pots and pans.

Bits and pieces off your house plants. Especially if you have old ones.

2 dozen white Corelle plates.

My family gave me a Linen shower and it was the most sensible shower I have ever heard about. Pillowcases, tableclothes, towels, sheets sets,blankets were received and everything was well-used and appreciated. There was also a wishing well for carrot peelers, spoons and little items.

It was an affordable option.

Honestly, I didn't mind the china (I dug it out and use it as a daily thing) but some of the other stuff I got talked into registering for is about useless. In fact, I probably couldn't even tell you what all I got. 

If I were to do it again, I would beg people not to buy my traditional gifts. I am old enough and established enough that I don't need a gosh darn thing. But looking back, what I wish people had of done was paid into a 'pay for their tuition/books/living expenses so they don't need to take out student loans' fund.

We registered for the traditional china, crystal and flatware and would do it again. The only regret is the particular crystal we picked.

I did just get married and we received towels, photo frames, photo albums, gift cards and cash.

The photo frames were my favorite because I framed our wedding pictures. I was thrilled with what I got considering I wasn't expecting gifts.

No frames, no personalized stuff, no crystal.

I love DH's grandparents but they have us several personalized stuff. A small album, a frame, a heart-shaped paper weight, all with our names and wedding date on them. The album sits in a box. The frame is on a shelf but the paper weight is being added to a box of other knick knacks that we don't want to display right now. There were a few other things that now sit in boxes because we can't sell them or donate them.

What we really wanted was home improvement gift cards. We had just moved and had a long laundry list of things that needed to be done. Gift cards would've offset a lot of that cost. DH said he wished there was a way to ask for a snowblower as a wedding gift. I guess we're more practical than sentimental.

My favorite wedding gift was a quilt my sister made. She did a wedding knot pattern and asked us for feedback on fabric colors.

We were married almost 29 years ago and didn't register at all because it was a shotgun wedding.

We did receive daily dishes which we used up until a few years ago. They weren't fancy, but they were useful. We also received small appliances like a crockpot and food processor that we still have and use. The crockpot gets used rarely because the Instant Pot has taken its place.

So many people getting married these days have established households already, so I often give gifts for experiences or gift cards to fun things. A favorite for local couples is to give them a gift card for a date night at our local cooking school. One couple just went nuts because they used their gift card towards a Surf & Turf class. I was kind of jealous because the menu looked so amazing.

In keeping somewhat with traditional wedding gifts
Good sheets
Good baking pans
Dr. Pepper (I registered for and received quite a few 12 packs)
Carpet tiles for the basement
The damn Cheshire cat statue I want

A lawn mower

Someone to build the built in we want on either side of our fireplace

And a good processor

Its been 47 years for us and I did not do any registering. I already had a china set that my mother gave us - living on Guam like she was it was not such an expensive gift. I had the pots and pans that I learned to cook on since my mother sent them to me when she upgraded to corning ware. I loved that. The gifts we got were very usable and some are still in service to this day. In particular a set of mixing bowls, some serving dishes and other odds and ends. The kitchen timer we got just gave up the ghost a few months ago. I could not bring myself to toss it and it sits on a shelf with other memory things.

If I had to do it now I would want some of the same things as they were so useful. Of course, say I would not have anything and was starting out from scratch like I was way back then, I would definitely go the registry route and ask for things like vacuum cleaner + kitchen appliances. I would want to choose my own linens as I am particular about those.