If I could go back in time and redo our wedding registry, I probably would not have run rogue through the store scanning every item that caught my eye (probably).
I also would have taken more time to think about what we needed. Because Gregg and I lived together before marriage like a couple of sinners, we already had a lot of the items that people put on their registry; however, the versions we had were the cheapest options to account for us moving in to our house when we were 23 and 21 and having no money whatsoever.
Now that we’ve grown into our home, I’ve been able to do research over the past three years since our wedding and determine what is actually worth putting on your registry (and what you can probably leave off).
While most people tend to fill their wedding registry with tons of random items, as they should, I compiled a list of the top 15 products you should be sure to include.
The best news? Everything can be bought at Target, either in store or online, and will last you for years to come!
We just purchased this air fryer in 2020 however, if I could go back and purchase it the second it was invented believe me, I would have. From appetizers to prepping chicken, we got our money’s worth out of this air fryer in the first week we owned it. This specific version is smaller than others so it takes up less room on the counter, and is easier to store when not in use. The bucket and tray is also dishwasher safe #score
Originally, I had purchased a regular Keurig for Gregg one year for Christmas (which he didn’t even begin using for another year after THAT). The specific model we had was difficult to clean and begin to take too long to make watered-down coffee. Enter: this guy. Gregg did all the research and settled on this specific model to allow for the ability to brew our favorite coffee, as well as make tea k-cups in the k-cup attachment.
If you have any number of k-cups, whether for a Keurig or the coffee maker we own above, this has been the best use of space for us. While I originally wanted a cool tree-like holder, this saves way more space and keeps the rest of your counter space free!
My Mother-In-Law purchased this for Gregg and I a couple of years ago and it was come in handy so many times. Since we aren’t huge bakers, we didn’t require a $500 stand mixer (although believe me, those are NICE). This one in particular is easy to use, easy to clean, and easy to store. If you haven’t noticed already, being able to efficiently store larger appliances is basically our number one goal when finding new products.
For smaller baking endeavors (usually cake or brownie mixes) I like to be able to just pull out this little guy instead of dragging out the stand mixer. Also small and easy to clean, this hand mixer has lasted us over five years and does not show any signs of slowing down.
Occasionally, Gregg will go on a protein shake kick when he doesn’t have time to prep meals in advance, and this one has been the most trustworthy. We originally just had the blender but upgraded to the two on-the-go blender tumblers for when he just needed to make one serving before heading out. The blender blades have yet to dull, and I’ve used it to make protein ice cream, so that says a lot!
I am not going to lie, we got this for our wedding and forgot about it until I went to clean out our cabinets a year later. Now, it’s become the number one way of cooking meat in the winter (Gregg likes to use our smoker when it’s nice out).
With the Wi-Fi option, he can start cooking and continue with his day without having to worry about consistently monitoring its progress. It cooks the meat the same temperature all the way through without creating a burnt crust on the outside like when you try to cook meat on the stove.
When selecting dinnerware, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money (or rather, ask others to spend a lot of money) but also wanted to be sure we would end up with something that would last awhile. We received two sets of this dinnerware set for our wedding over three years ago and to this day (not counting the bowl that broke once), everything has held up its quality, and washes great in the dishwasher.
They keep sets like this in stock at Target for YEARS so if we ever need to purchase more or add new items, I’m not worried about it being discontinued.
Same as with our dinnerware set, this silverware set also stays in stock forever and holds up extremely well in the dishwasher. Between Gregg and I, we probably go through all eight forks every day and they STILL have held up incredibly. I recommend getting at least two packs, as each pack comes with four sets of silverware.
As much as I strive to save money and not spend a lot on storage options, I kept coming back to OXO storage solutions during my hunt for the best option. The pop-top keeps everything fresh inside, and the container itself easy to open and close. Maybe that shouldn’t be such a selling point but believe me, it is. Since getting this original five pack, I have added additional cereal storage containers and a couple other medium containers for holding oatmeal and all our baking ingredients.
Newsflash: all the bedding/bath options I recommend are, and always will be, Casaluna. The comforter is the first item from Casaluna I purchased and we will never, ever go back to the way life was before. We have a queen bed and my mama taught me nice and young to go up a size when purchasing a comforter (hence, we purchased a King). Although it’s too large to fit in our washing machine, I have absolutely no qualms about taking it to the laundromat because it washes great and lasts FOREVER.
Anyone else sleep with a fan on in the middle of winter? No? Just us? Well, to add to the nonsense of sleeping with a fan on in the middle of winter in Minnesota, we also like to cover ourselves in blankets. This one is a nice heavyweight option and keeps us so warm (together with the comforter from above) that we don’t feel as crazy for turning up the fan rather than just taking off a blanket.
The Casaluna bath sheet is my most recent find and man, if these were around when I got married they would have COVERED my registry. Gregg is 6’3” (I believe) and the bath sheets are so large they fit around him MUCH more comfortably than the bath towel. They are also extremely soft and wash up nicely (even when put in the dryer). I have officially swapped out all our old towels for these guys and, because of that, I am a changed woman.
Like other items on this list, we had originally registered for and received a different robot vacuum. However, Gregg did an abundance of research and begged me to get this one for months. We finally found it on super sale (currently at the time of this blog posting it is on sale for $100 less than the original price!) and it truly has been an excellent investment.
While a great registry gift so you don’t have to fork over the money yourself, it’s something I 100% would invest my own money in again, especially if you have a white dog and dark wood floors. Gregg has it run on a schedule every other day at 1:00pm so we don’t even have to worry about remembering to turn it on!
Beware: this mug will probably be on every list I make, forever. I am drinking out of mine as I type this. I fully believe a wedding registry is a nice way to ask for more “investment”-type products that you would not otherwise purchase with your own money however, I also think it’s nice to have more affordable products on your registry as well, especially if you marry young like we did (I was 24, Gregg was 26) so most of your friends can afford to get you a gift!
We have these travel mugs all over our house so we make sure to get our water in (holds 40oz!) and can take it with us. Even better? Amazon sells individual handles in case yours breaks!
Do you have any of these items? Are there others that you would be certain to put on your registry again? Share them in the comments below! Tap on any photo in this blog to purchase the item or add to YOUR registry.
