China AND Casual Dining?

triciaholden1987

Hi knotties!

My FI and I are trying to decide if we should register for fine china and our everyday dishes or either one or the other?  What is everyone else doing?  

coraloc

I'd say go for both as long as you're fine having to slowly complete your china sets yourself if you don't receive them all.  It's definitely great to have formal china, even if you don't think you'll use it because it's not an expense you'll want to have several years from now.

My wedding was in 2008 but my Macy's registry is still active because I'm still able to use my completion discount for all of their various sales.  As long as you use your registry after your wedding, you'll be able to maintain your discount for all sorts of fun stuff.

ElisabethJoanne

As a guest, I wouldn't side-eye a registry containing both quotidian and "good' china. I might side-eye a too-complete set of quotidian china. You don't need bread plates for Saturday lunch.

We registered to complete a "good" set I inherited from my great-grandmother, and for Fiesta ware.

mcskatcat

I wouldn't worry about what everyone else is doing.  What are YOUR needs?  Would you use the china?  That's what matters.   We registered for nicer everyday ware, and I had already inherited some china from my mother and will only be receiving more in years to come, so I couldn't really justify registering for china.  You are in your own boat, though, so do what suits you and your FI.

egm900

We registered for both good china and nicer every day stuff, but we're the entertaining type who also needed every day stuff.  We registered for the full set of each, but we're from the South where the majority of people are going to get boxed gifts for both the shower and the wedding, so we "needed" a larger registry.  If you really want one thing over the other, just register for it and you'll stack the odds in your favor for getting it.  Or you can always take stuff back to complete one or the other (like if we get one place setting of fine china, and all of our every day but a few pieces, we'd take the fine china back to fill out the every day stuff).

music11

We registered for both.  I always (as did FI) grew up with using nice china for the holidays and special occaisions.  If you think you'd use both, go for it.

emswanson613

It is fine to register for both. We have a set of everyday dishes so we only registered for fine china, but if we didn't already have everyday dishes we loved, we would certainly we registering for both. It's totally normal to do both - so don't worry about it. 

ninaelizabeth3

We registered for both at BBandB (cheaper than Macy's and you can use the coupons).  Noritake Colorwave in Terra Cotta and Lenox's Carved Opal Innocence for our nicer china.  We plan on having holiday's at our house with our families, so it was worth it for us to have on there.

rlavach

We registered for both & that's what I commonly see also. Some only register for casual since they have no need for fine china. I will say that I might side-eye someone who ONLY registers for fine china. But hey, it's their registry & not mine! If I can't afford it, I just get something else. Register for what you want & will use. 

jessicabessica

We did everyday china and fine china.  I don't side eye any dishes on registries.  Maybe the couple needs/wants both.  If they just register for fine china, maybe they're happy with the everyday stuff they already have.  If they want bread plates and dessert plates and chargers, I don't care.  

sparkles776

I am planning on registering for both. I definitely dont side eye anyone who registers for both or just fine china, or whatever. Its their registry and its what they want/need.

morenachica110

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_china-and-casual-dining?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:34Discussion:c449307d-2224-4f04-958b-2abf68ce6fbfPost:f3c120ea-c43e-49b3-a10c-6dfc67b8cc8f">Re: China AND Casual Dining?</a>:
[QUOTE]We did everyday china and fine china. <strong> I don't side eye any dishes on registries.  Maybe the couple needs/wants both.  If they just register for fine china, maybe they're happy with the everyday stuff they already have.  If they want bread plates and dessert plates and chargers, I don't care.  </strong>
Posted by jessicabessica[/QUOTE]

<div>I agree with bold. Do what makes sense for you and your FI. We only did casual because we NEVER entertain and I don't forsee us doing so. If we do, we don't care about having the formal. So there's that. It was way more important, for us, to have the casual china than worry about fine china.</div>

triciaholden1987

You ladies are awesome! Thanks for your opinions! Very helpful. I am going to go with my gut and do both. I love having dinner parties and entertaining so they would be used.

divinemsbee

I actually registered for 3 sets of dishes. We basically will get rid of every dish we have because they are such a college mishmash. So, we registered for an 8 pc set of Oneida that's a plain white basket weave. It was $70 and comes all together in a box, so, pretty cheap. We then registered for 12 place settings, plus some serve wear of a Lenox pattern (Chirp) that I can mix in with the plain white and we can use both every day and it will look pretty. 

My fine china is Wedgewood's "Oberon" and I'll feel luck if I manage to get a couple of place settings, but that's something that I'll probably collect for a long time. 

jessicabessica

Also, I know a lot of patterns are carried at BBB and Macy's, so I actually wanted to put in a plug for Macy's.  As a guest, I'd rather buy from Macy's, because I almost exclusively shop online for registry gifts and Macy's will give you free shipping over $100, whereas BBB you almost always have to pay for shipping.  Macy's also has some amazing sales--I've purchased 2 $180 place settings form about $150 (2-for-1, plus additional discount).

mbrischoux

We registered for our casual set (one that I've wanted since I was 16...I was a loser kid:-P), but we also got the fine-china set I had considered registering for but didn't because I didn't want to look gift-grabby.  Honestly, there is NO problem with registering for both if you think you will use it over a long period of time...both of ours are still boxed up because we are planning to move soonish and don't feel like having to repack all of it, so we figure let the manufacturing company pack for us:-P

aragx6

We only registered for everyday but that's simply because we already have a beautiful set of china from my grandmother. Otherwise I would have registered for both, and I would never side eye anyone for doing so.

twilight.rose

We registered for both and, two years later, use both sets regularly. If you think you'll use both fine china and everyday dinnerware, register for them.

hoffse

We are registering for 3 sets as well - an everyday that we'll use most of the time (fiesta), a mid-ranged white set for casual entertaining (Gabriella from PB) and our china for holidays and special occassions.  I already had 8 place settings of our fine china, so we just registered for 4 settings plus serving pieces.  That made us feel better about registering for the mid-ranged set from PB.  We entertain a lot, and I have a lot of serving pieces that are that rustic white look which we pull out when guests come over, but no dishes that coordinate.  We wanted fiesta for our everyday because our apartment is so very neutral - we needed some color in our lives to help wake us up in the mornings

Also, I know this will sound crazy, but my mother has been collecting spode christmas tree for me for the last several years - I get several pieces each holiday season.  Eventually I'll probably have a complete set of that as well, though not for a good long while.

cosmogirlWed144626

I entertain a lot but we "have people over for dinner", we don't "have dinner parties".  I don't have the space or the interest in fine china.  Our Fiestaware is fancy enough for us.

(But I do have my Corelle Santa Claus set to use at Christmas!) 

emeejeeayen

Fiance and I both grew up with families that had mismatched place settings with chips and such, ha. So our "nice" china will be a set of bone china from Crate & Barrel and our everyday from Pottery Barn. (We wanted everything to be dishwasher safe because if it isn't it will never get cleaned.) Pottery Barn's stuff is really reasonable! About $100 for a 20-piece set (and obviously you can do individual or smaller sets). 

Lowell14

Am so happy I found this topic! I was also wondering about registering for china vs, everyday. I was feeling obligated to register for good china but am happy to register/pick up myself nicer everyday dishes. Im clumsy so i wont feel bad about chipping my everyday dishes. would be gutted if i chipped the good china. I have white dishes now so I think Im going to pick a few white dishes with different designs. (nothing matched but everything goes together)

TheSlowskys

I really wanted China and everyday dishes but (a) we don't have a ton of space and (b) our registry is already kind of big. I ended up deciding to use china for our everyday dinnerware as a compromise (White Pearl Dinnerware from C&B). I always thought china was more delicate, but its actually more durable than a lot of dinnerware.  If you go that route just make sure it can go in the microwave and dishwasher (so a metallic trim would be out).

Peledreamsofrain

I agree with the others, do whatever fits your lifestyle and completes your kitchen.  Anyone who eyes your list and judges you by it is just a nasty nellie who would have found something to disapprove of along the way.  Might as well give them something bland to scowl at :P. "tisk, dishes!"  heehee

We too have a college mishmash of Goodwill dishes.  So we ordered everyday dishes, as well as a nice entertainment set.  This is on top of an antique Wedgewood set that my fiance's parents er..... gave to us (I really don't like it, but they wouldn't let me decline and I didn't want to make a scene over a family heirloom).  I'm thinking the Wedgewood is the Christmas set when we entertain his parents.

Lowell14

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_registering-gifts_china-and-casual-dining?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:34Discussion:c449307d-2224-4f04-958b-2abf68ce6fbfPost:9fafc255-c274-479c-ba78-04e4b06fee47">Re: China AND Casual Dining?</a>:
[QUOTE]leahwatts, china is very durable, especially bone china.  It's not as fragile as a lot of people think. Replacements.com is a great source for replacing discontinued patterns, and so is eBay.  Losing a piece of china isn't the disaster it was even twenty years ago. Most patterns remain in open stock for years as well.
Posted by RetreadBride[/QUOTE]

I thank you for that advice! as you say, most people (including myself) think bone china is very fragile. I guess it comes from helping my mum and grandmother set the table with the good china and always being told BE CAREFUL! it seems to have stuck with me