a year later: the best wedding gifts

Now that we have been married over a year, we have really had the chance to enjoy all of our wedding gifts. We were so blessed to have family travel from all corners of the US that the wedding gifts were truly not necessary, but they sure have made married life fun! We lived together for 2 years before we officially tied the knot, so I think we did a pretty decent job making our wedding registry more needs than wants, identifying things that we had found lacking in our home life on a weekly if not daily basis. The lady at Bed, Bath & Beyond kept trying to make us add more items to our list (something about needing 2 times the number of gifts for the number of people on the guest list), but we stuck with things that we really really were going to use, & not just pretty things to sit around & get dusty.

Inevitably people did go off of the registry list, but these were mostly people who knew us very well, & gifted us personalized items like restaurant gift cards to our favorite local places, bar cart accessories because they knew our love of adult beverages, or monogrammed items with our last name. Additionally, Tyler's parents very generously gifted us a honeymoon package to an all inclusive resort in Antigua. But if you know that this is not being provided, this is also a category that many couples enjoy being gifted. Below are the 10 products we have enjoyed the most over the last year, but that might not be on everyone's registry list:

1. I grew up making rice in a pot on the stove, but Ty was the one that pushed to have a rice cooker on our registry & it has changed my life. This one is so easy & even has a tray to steam veggies too! 

2. This was probably our #1 want/need item! All of our knives were hand-me-downs that were basically worthless! Having a quality knife set will make cooking fun again! 

3. I don't think a waffle maker was on our registry list (?), but I am so glad that we were gifted it! Armed with my great-grandmother's waffle recipe, many many weekend mornings have been waffle mornings! This one is so easy & delivers a perfectly crispy/fluffy waffle every time!

4. If you know the couple isn't being gifted a complete honeymoon, there are many modern registry lists that allow you to purchase a portion of the trip (massage, dinner, room service, bottle of bubbly) for the newlyweds. 

5. We love our bar cart so we were so excited to get beautiful accessories to put on display. If you know a specific household area that your couple enjoys, this is a great place to go off registry (coffee connoisseurs? cheese aficionados? homemade ice cream junkies?). We were gifted this classy wine decanter, gorgeous gold accented bottle & the adorable Kate Spade "his & hers" rocks glasses that we use all the time!

6. Along with the knife set, the cutting board is also a heavily used item in our house. The solid wood is beautiful enough to stay out all the time, & we certainly use it almost every day!

7. Good pillows are things that people don't often think about asking for, but they make all the difference. Maybe this makes me an old person, but I am very particular about my pillows & it is so nice to lie my head down on pillowy goodness each night. 

8. If you know your couple frequents a particular restaurant, or has had a certain place on their restaurant bucket list for a while, you can easily call the establishment & either get a physical gift card or set up a credit for them there.

9. Oh, the olive oil sprayer! This is a low cost item that blew my mind. Instead of using spray on your pots & pans that is filled with chemicals, you can just fill these up with the oil of your choice! Healthy & more affordable!

10. Maybe this is the Southerner in me, but I love our deep fryer. This one is no mess, no fuss! Ty loves making panko-breaded chicken tenders in them & I love to eat them!