{Photo: One Kings Lane}
I just hung up the phone with a couple whose wedding I’m planning. As we toggled through the to-do list together and landed on “Register for Gifts” the couple had mixed feelings about the prospect. The registry, after all, was created by Marshall Field’s department store in 1924 as a way for couples to easily select items necessary for setting up a home and guest to be sure they were getting something the couple actually wanted. After living together for the last few years they were at a loss for what they even needed. My advice was simple, how do you entertain, who do you entertain and how do you live? After a quick inventory, we landed on an absolute need for a full set of nice wine glasses and in anticipating hosting a formal Thanksgiving in the near future a couple of good tablecloths and a full set of flatware rather than the odds and ends that they have now. From there it was easy, “it would be really nice to have a full set of matching plush towels” and “how about two sets of nice Frette sheets” I added. Before we knew it we were halfway there adding a much-coveted Nespresso, Le Creuset dutch oven and KitchenAid along the way. Registries are up 10% over previous years and while there are options for guests to gift you cash for your honeymoon or downpayment on a house the little luxuries that you wouldn’t buy for yourselves can feel like a real gift. If anyone is asking my personal registry includes a full set of sterling silver flatware available on First Dibs for $33,000. Who could resist a collection with a sterling pickle slicer included?