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Wedding Registry Must-Haves

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Wedding Registry Must-Haves

Your wedding planning is off to a good start, so now it is time to create your wedding registry and fill it with your must-haves! We’ve all purchased gifts for friends from their registries, but creating our own can be overwhelming. How many plates do I need? Is China really necessary? While each couple’s style and priorities are different, there are a few must-haves we recommend you put on your wedding registry. Here’s some help to get your registry started with the most important items.

Pots and Pans Set

The number one cookware item you will use daily is your pots and pans! Whether you are a can of soup or a homemade chicken cordon bleu person, you must put them on your registry. Not only are they useful, but they are also made to last and are expensive. Many registries allow group gifts so friends can team together to give you a more expensive gift.

Bath Towels

Now that you’ll be married, it’s time for your college bath towels to become cleaning or beach towels. Register for some nice, new towels. You will be so glad you did! It is fun putting together the color scheme of your first married home together. Towels are a great way to decorate your bathroom with a splash (pun intended) of color. Pro tip: Register for bath sheets! Bath sheet towels are towels but are longer than typical bath towels, so you will be wrapped and cozy after every shower without a chilly breeze.

Bed Sheets

Speaking of sheets, you won’t want to forget to register for quality bed sheets! We recommend cotton sheets for spring/summer and flannel sheets for fall/winter. Cotton sheets will breathe and not hold in your summer heat making for a more comfortable night of sleep. In contrast, microfiber sheets will hold in your heat, so we don’t recommend those. Flannel sheets are so cozy and perfect for the infamous Chicago winter windchills!

A Clothes Steamer

This one might surprise a lot of people. You may think, “Why do I need a clothes steamer when I already have an iron?” Well, let me tell you! Many an event and weddings have been saved by my inexpensive clothes steamer! A bridesmaid forgot to iron her dress? Steamer. The groom ironed his pants wrong? Steamer. Table cloths laying strange on the tables? Steamer. Trust me, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Every household needs a clothes steamer!

Your Everyday Dishes

Unlike China dishes that you only use about once a year, your everyday dishes will be used, you guessed it, every day. Because of how often you will use them it is important to register for quality everyday dishes. Read reviews and ask questions, don’t just go by looks. We recommend registering for 8 place settings. If you are not registering for China dishes we recommend registering for 12 place settings. These dishes will ideally last for decades, so be sure to choose a pattern and color you know you will still like in a few years.

Have you registered yet? Which of these items were on your must-haves list? Would you add something else? Tell us in the comments below. For more wedding planning inspiration and advice check out more Chicago Wedding Blog posts below. Happy Planning!

Home Decor Wedding Gift

Wedding Gift Ideas

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Wedding Gift Ideas

Every couple appreciates receiving monetary gifts from their wedding. However, some wedding guests can’t afford a large monetary gift. Here are some wedding gift ideas newlyweds are sure to love!

First Idea: Artist Rendering Of Couple’s Photo

As newlyweds begin their lives together, they will need to decorate differently than when they were single bachelors or bachelorettes. Photos and artwork of the married couple is a great gift. But if you’d like to make the gift more special, get an artist to hand paint or design a caricature of a favorite photo of the couple  or even one of their engagement photos and have it framed. This is a great gift for a range of budgets depending on the size or skill of the art. A meaningful keepsake perfect for the couple to decorate their new home.

Second Wedding Gift Idea: A Funded Date Night

This gift can be done many ways. You could give a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant in a basket with a bottle of nice wine. Give a card written in calligraphy that you will pay for a date night of their choosing and place that certificate in a photo album for their wedding photos. A gift certificate to a spa or hotel is also a great gift for a quick getaway. This is a great way to treat a newlywed couple nomatter what your budget may be.

Third Gift Idea: Special Home Goods or Decor

Most people will not splurge to get themselves nice home decor. Purchasing a special item for the newlyweds’ home you know they’ll love is a generous gift. Maybe you know the couple LOVES Crate & Barrel, but is very frugal. Purchasing them a gift from that store would be a meaningful surprise for them. Home decor or serverware is a great gift especially if the couple loves to have friends over.

Fourth Gift Idea: Contribution To A Charity In Their Name

Some couples have a cause they are passionate about. A beautiful way to support them and their passion is by making a donation to a charity close to their hearts for them. This is especially meaningful if the couple has lost someone close to them from an illness. Some charities sponsor children others rescue animals. Choose one close to the couple’s heart.

Fifth Wedding Gift Idea: Holiday Decor

We’ve discussed how couples love to decorate their new home. Giving decor for each holiday will be a useful and fun way for couples to decorate their new home. Keep in mind which holidays the couple celebrates, or if they have a favorite holiday. If they love Christmas, you can throw in extra Christmas decor. You can also put in holiday glasses, plates, or serverware to accommodate extra people at holiday gatherings.



What physical wedding gifts have you given? As a couple what would be your favorite gift as above? Let us know! For more wedding planning advice, tips, & tricks check out the blog posts below!

4 Cute Wedding Shower Ideas

Unique Wedding Shower Ideas

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Unique Wedding Shower Ideas

The fondest memories of many people’s wedding planning process are the fun parties, showers, and celebrations with friends and family. From bridal or wedding showers to day after the wedding brunches these events have so many theme or decorative options. One of the first engaged celebrations you’ll have is your wedding shower. Here are some unique bridal or wedding shower ideas you probably haven’t seen yet.

1. Have the guests bring a photo of them with the bride/groom when they were young and now to create a meaningful keepsake photo album.

Weddings are sentimental for the friends and family of the soon-to-be married couple. That sentimental feeling comes from your friends’ and families’ happiness and pride for you. Celebrate the love your friends and family have for you. It is something special you will always have to look back on as you start your married lives together.

2. Menu Trivia

Everyone has played couple trivia games, but have you played couples’ favorite food trivia games? Nope? Now’s your chance. Have the engaged couple’s favorite foods at the shower and have everyone guess whose favorite food is whose. This is a fun way to eat yummy food and learn fun facts about the couple the other side of the family may not know.

3. Wedding Shower Playlist

Ask the couple for each year they were dating to give you ‘their’ songs. Create a shower playlist of songs from when the couple first started dating until now. You may need to add to it a bit, but ‘their’ songs will give you a guide.  Music brings back so many memories. What better way to celebrate a couple’s relationship journey than to go through a timeline of their favorite music together? Keep the playlist to give to the couple later to keep.

4. Have each guest to the shower bring a bead they feel best represents the couple to create a meaningful piece of jewelry or decoration.

Having unique keepsakes to remember these special celebrations will be treasured long after the wedding is over. Think friendship bracelets from middle school, but better and more meaningful. Have each guest put their bead into a sealed envelope with a short note on why they chose their bead. Later have the couple open each one so they can read how much they mean to each of their guests. Later, string together the beads for the couple so they can hang it in their home, or wear it as a reminder of their friends’ and families’ love and support for them.

There are so many posts about ideas for bridal or wedding showers. We hope these ideas give you some unique, new inspiration. There are many ways to tailor a couple’s bridal or wedding shower to their interests. Use what is meaningful to them and blend them with this inspiration and your unique ideas. Happy Planning!