A Cooking Lover’s Wedding Registry

By Courtneysims @courtneynora

I’m all finished with my bridal showers! What a whirlwind that was. My friends in WV threw me a surprise bridal shower disguised as a Great Gatsby themed wine club. I had a cooking themed shower courtesy of my friend Andrea and my mom and a fiesta at my soon to be mother-in-law’s house thrown by my friend Tiff, Ben’s mom and my stepmom! Thanks so much to everyone for some amazing memories!

This whole wedding thing is really starting to feel real. The invitations are out, we’ve paid off our photographer, and we’ve completed our wedding registry. As an admittedly still novice cook, I went hog wild in the kitchen section when I had the registry gun in my hand. Think of all the amazing things I could make! Then I got home and started browsing through my list realizing it might not be a bad thing to cut it down to just the practical things. Here are my 5 kitchen must haves for a registry:

Serving Bowls & Utensils


Okay so, when you come over to my house for dinner there is a pretty good chance we’re going to eat buffet style. As in, grab your plate and head to the stove. I don’t have any serving bowls or serving utensils. It’s usually just the two of us so really, I never got around to stocking up. Now that we have guests for dinner more regularly, it’s time to be adults and actually serve the food in an appetizing way. I stuck with all white dishes to match all of my bowls and plates and standard stainless serving utensils. Classic is best if you can’t decide!

Zester/Grater


I recently broke my zester and knew I had one on my registry so I’ve been avoiding buying a new one. I don’t actually think I can hold out. That’s how often I use this thing. If you haven’t started grating your garlic yet, you’re missing out on the easiest cooking trick ever. No more chopping into little bits, just grate it into your pot and be done.

Cast Iron Skillet


We already have one and we are both obsessed with it. Ben actually loves cooking with it and cooks more often now that we have it. He treats it like his baby and I’m totally cool with it if it means he does the cooking more often ;) We have a 12-inch pan, but we’re looking to expand our cast iron family with a 10-inch and 8-inch. Trust me, you can’t have too many.

Steak Knives


I’ve been embarrassed more than once having people over for dinner and realizing I only have 3 mismatched steak knives and that someone is probably going to have to make do with a semi-sharpish butter knife (go ahead it’s okay to cringe). One of the first things we scanned was a set of 6 steak knives. We can always add more if necessary, but this should cut down on the embarrassment for now!

Something for fun


I know I said I’d be practical, but the cutesy stuff is just as fun! I love this Personalized Engraved Cutting Board. Instead of using it as an actual kitchen tool, I actually proudly display it as decor. I absolutely love the color of the wood and the engraving is large and clear.

What am I missing? Any suggestions from expert chefs or brides-to-be are welcome!

I was sent the Personalized Cutting Board from GiftsForYouNow.com in return for a brief review. All opinions and thoughts are honest and my own. We partner with them at Brad’s Deals and I also have two friends that work there and, personal ties aside, I have seen a lot of their merchandise and am always impressed! Definitely check them out if you’re looking for some unique gifts.