The Best Wedding Registry Gift Ideas 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Samantha Schoech

Samantha Schoech is a writer focusing on gifts. She spends her time finding things that combine quality, beauty, usefulness, and delight.

We’ve added some unexpected must-haves to this guide, including a handsome enamelware jug, a rock-shaped outdoor speaker, and an excellent beach towel.

In this day and age, the average couple is already cohabitating in a house full of things by the time they get married. So the gift-giving tradition of setting up a new home requires a bit of a tweak.

A wedding registry is also an opportunity to upgrade those old for-now purchases with lifelong commitments to quality, and we’ve got you covered there.

At Wirecutter, we’ve spent years testing the best kitchenware, home tools, and travel gear. To save you some time, we’ve pulled our essential Wirecutter favorites into one ultimate guide of what items you should add to your wedding registry. There are plenty of ideas to suit your needs and interests, whether that’s an earthy dinnerware set or a practical dish drainer. Ideally, a registry should be a mix of big-ticket investment items and less-expensive practical or fun finds, so guests of all tax brackets can joyfully participate in celebrating your nuptials.

If you’re looking for other wedding ideas, we have great gift ideas for bridesmaids and groomsmen, as well as the best bridal shower and anniversary gifts.

This well-constructed, affordable, fully clad tri-ply set distributes heat evenly, and it’s durable enough to take some abuse in a busy household.

From: The Best Cookware Set

This Dutch oven comes in many colors, and it has a high-quality enamel finish that’s unlikely to chip over the long haul.

From: The Best Dutch Oven

This casserole dish heats evenly and holds a lot. It’s not too fancy for everyday use, but it still looks nice for special occasions.

From: The Best 13-by-9 Casserole Dish

This lovely pre-seasoned wok provides a shortcut to a slick surface, though it still requires some prep. It’s stable but heavy, so lifting it requires some strength (and likely both hands).

From: The Best Woks

This affordable pan is lighter than a traditional cast-iron skillet and a little more shallow. It’s an ideal shape for searing, roasting, and sautéing.

From: The Best Cast-Iron Skillet

No other thermometer under $50 can match the ThermoPop 2's combination of speed, reach, reliability, and easy-to-read display.

From: The Best Meat Thermometers

This beautifully made end-grain cutting board is gentle on knife edges. Cut marks self-healed over time, and it stained far less than many other wood boards we tested.

From: The Best Cutting Boards

This model has a convenient spin mechanism, and it comes with an attractive stainless bowl, which is great for serving. It’s worth the extra money only if you don’t already have a good salad bowl (or if you prefer stainless steel to plastic).

From: The Best Salad Spinner

This food scale is best for home cooks who want fast, consistent results when they’re baking or cooking.

May be out of stock

From: The Best Kitchen Scale

This classic-looking set includes the most-handy knives for home-kitchen use, as well as pull-apart kitchen shears, a honing steel, and a storage block.

From: The Best Knife Set

This slim, lightweight Japanese knife is specifically designed for slicing and dicing all manner of produce, with a thin blade that easily cuts into carrots, onions, and more.

From: The Best Gifts for People Who Love Food

This high-performance blender powers through thick, taxing mixtures, and it comes with a seven-year warranty backed by excellent customer service.

From: The Best Blender

This immersion blender excelled, thanks to its ability to create smooth purees, ease of use overall, competitive price, and well-designed extras.

From: The Best Immersion Blender

This mini chopper dices well and is extra- roomy, and it was the only mini processor we tested with two drizzle holes, for frustration-free drizzling. But it slacks on dicing herbs.

From: The Best Food Processor

This easy-to-operate flip waffle maker produces thick, evenly browned Belgian waffles worthy of a hotel buffet.

From: The Best Waffle Maker

This food processor is one of Cuisinart’s most-basic models, but it consistently chops, slices, and shreds better than any other model we’ve found for under $250.

From: The Best Food Processor

The Rio is a versatile time-saver in the kitchen. It’s one of Instant Pot’s more basic and affordable models, and it does everything you need it to do with ease.

Costco membership required

From: The Best Electric Pressure Cooker Is an Instant Pot

This air fryer outperformed the competition—especially considering its price—crisping food quickly and evenly. The slightly fussy touchscreen is its main drawback.

From: The Best Air Fryer

This slow cooker is one of the few models with a locking lid that seals tightly (for easy transport) and a probe thermometer (so you can cook to a target temperature).

From: The Best Slow Cooker

This affordable toaster oven effectively crisps bread, bakes cookies, and brings frozen foods to life.

From: The Best Toaster Oven

This rice cooker is a little slow, but it’s still excellent and foolproof.

From: The Best Rice Cooker

This high-quality stainless steel model drains very well, looks nice, and holds the same amount of dishes as our main pick, but it typically costs significantly more.

From: The Best Dish Rack

We recommend this precise-aim gooseneck kettle for pour-over-coffee devotees or tea lovers, who will geek out over its spot-on temperature accuracy.

(deal on black)

From: The Best Electric Kettle

Favored by ice cream shops everywhere, this easy-to-clean scoop smoothly cuts into hard ice cream, producing perfect spheres.

From: The Best Ice Cream Scoop

This machine requires elbow grease, but its powerful motor enables speedy, efficient juicing. We liked the adjustable pulp strainer and built-in pitcher, which most models we tested lacked.

From: The Best Citrus Juicer

In addition to being heatproof, the silicone exterior of these oven mitts is grippy, easy to maneuver, and water-resistant, while the polyester-cotton lining adds extra protection and comfort.

From: The Best Oven Mitts and Pot Holders

The unglazed interior of this ceramic salt cellar absorbs moisture. And the wide, curved opening provides easy access yet also protects crystals from splashes and spills.

From: The Best Housewarming Gifts

These rounded cruets, for olive oil and vinegar, are made from sturdy borosilicate glass, and the spouts have handy drip catchers.

These dual-sided terry-cloth and waffle-weave towels combine absorbency, utility, and attractiveness.

From: The Best Kitchen Towels

The P6 offers double filtration for smooth, consistently good coffee that stays warm, thanks to a double-walled carafe.

From: The Best French Press

This all-around workhorse produces the consistent grind required to brew delicious coffee, and it doesn’t cost a fortune.

From: The Best Coffee Grinder

This little machine can heat and froth both dairy and nondairy milk. It makes dense foam (even with cold milk) and can melt chocolate for hot cocoa, too.

From: The Best Milk Frothers

This 5-quart stand mixer tackles batter, buttercream, and bread dough without knocking around on the counter, and it’s blessedly quiet.

From: The Best Stand Mixer

Deep and sturdy, this pie plate bakes evenly, holds up under a broiler, and comes in several colors.

From: The Best Pie Plate

These classic mixing bowls have been made the same way since the 1950s—in the last hand-pressed glass factory in the US.

From: The Best Mother’s Day Gifts

This sturdy, inexpensive sheet pan bakes evenly and will last for years.

From: The Best Baking Sheet

This sturdy pan has a durable nonstick coating, so edges and corners of cakes come out clean and sharp.

From: The Best Cake Pans

Nothing comes close to the soft, relaxed drape of this 100% linen tablecloth. Yes, it’s expensive, but it will last a lifetime.

From: The Best Cloth Napkins

Smooth and absorbent, this luxurious napkin is perfect for people who love the soft, relaxed texture of 100% linen.

From: The Best Cloth Napkins

This hardwood bowl, handmade in New England on 100-year-old machines, comes in five sizes and in black walnut, cherry, or maple. It’s pricey, but it’s also heirloom-quality.

From: Gifts That’ll Last Forever (or Extremely Close)

These handmade stoneware dishes are similar to Heath dinnerware, but they’re a little thicker, not as heavy, and finished with a speckled glaze.

From: The Best Dinnerware Sets

Store cellar-loving root veggies in the cool, dark ceramic bottom of this two-part fruit bowl, and keep fresh fruits in the bowl-shaped cork lid.

From: The Best Gifts for Mom

This streamlined yet versatile set is available in a variety of sizes. The teardrop-shaped handles are refined and lovely to hold.

From: The Best Flatware

Modern, attractive, and incredibly sharp, these knives are easy to use and offer exceptional value.

From: The Best Steak Knife Set

These handcrafted cherrywood salad tongs have the perfect spring-action grip, and they just get prettier with use—as long as they’re hand-washed.

This slim enamelware vessel resists chips and dings, comes in more than a dozen colors, and works great as a pitcher or a vase.

From: Gifts That’ll Last Forever (or Extremely Close)

These timeless, bistro-style glasses are durable, lightweight, and dishwasher-safe.

From: The Best Drinking Glasses

We love the refined look and feel of these classic French bistro-style glasses. They occasionally stick together when stacked, but the mixed colors are a joy.

From: The Best Drinking Glasses

This pepper mill has been a favorite since its introduction, more than a century ago, and it’s still the best. It’s fast and smooth, and it always grinds evenly.

From: The Best Pepper Mill

These durable, dishwasher-safe wine glasses are good-looking and well-balanced, and they showcase most wines very well.

From: The Best Wine Glasses

The six-piece bar set includes everything you need to make most cocktails, shaken or stirred.

These poured crystal glasses have all the elegance of expensive Waterford crystal, but they are actually affordable and durable enough to use every day.

May be out of stock

From: The Best Barware for Making Cocktails at Home

These graceful but sturdy stemmed cocktail glasses come in four classic shapes, and they look almost as good as crystal ones.

From: Best Anniversary Gifts by Year

High-quality, sparkling nonleaded crystal flutes can showcase your favorite bubbly.

From: The Best Wine Glasses

This hand-blown glass decanter comes in four subtle colors, and it can keep your favorite spirit drinkable for years.

From: The Best Alcohol Gifts for Cocktail Lovers

Save money in the long run with this well-constructed, lofty 700-fill-power comforter. It features quality stitching, and its fabric should last for decades.

May be out of stock

From: The Best Comforters

This model kept us warm without smothering us. It’s ideal for people who avoid down, and it’s cheaper, too.

From: The Best Comforters

Our pick is a dream to sleep on: It’s comfortable, breathable, easy to care for, and durable.

From: The Best Sheets

This wool and cashmere throw is cozy, soft, and thin, but it is not flimsy.

From: The Best Throw Blankets

These cotton terry towels are soft and plush, like ones found in luxury hotels. And they come in several sumptuous colors.

Add two to cart, use promo code WCMAR25

From: The Best Bath Towel

If you want a luxurious-feeling beach towel with maxed-out softness and absorbency, this Brooklinen towel is for you. After years of testing it on Oahu’s beaches, we’d pick (and pack) this towel over any other.

From: The Best Beach Towel

If you’re looking for a big, bright digital frame, this model displays photos as nicely as smaller versions, and it’s just as easy to set up. It would look great on a wall or on a bookcase.

From: The Best Digital Photo Frame

This excellent cordless vacuum cleaner has handy attachments, a long battery life, and strong suction. But it is expensive.

You save $100 (22%)

From: The Best Vacuum Cleaners

This bot is a top-notch cleaner and a great navigator that avoids (most) obstacles while keeping on top of scattered debris. It comes with a charging dock that sucks debris from its dustbin after it cleans.

From: The Best Vacuum Cleaners

Framebridge is easy to use, and it offers terrific customizable frames.

From: The Best Online Framing Services

This tabletop speaker is small and simple, it sounds great, and its tasteful styling should please everyone. The only thing missing is a play/pause button on the unit itself.

From: The Best Home Bluetooth Speaker

This set packs all of the essentials in a small package, at a great price. It is the best choice for common home repairs and upgrades.

From: The Best Basic Home Toolkit

This is the most comfortable drill we’ve ever held, and it’s loaded with convenience features.

From: The Best Drill

Easy to clean out, truly airtight, and covered with a five-year warranty, this trash can does the best job of fitting and hiding trash bags and keeping them in place.

From: The Best Kitchen Trash Can

This rock-shaped Bluetooth speaker is incredibly easy to set up and use. It doesn’t sound as full as our other picks, but it’s great for casual outdoor listening.

From: The Best Outdoor Speakers

This high-energy game—for two to 12 players—has teams gauging one another’s responses to questions that are sometimes silly, sometimes serious, but always conversation-provoking.

From: The Best Board Games

Requiring strategy and dexterity, this Swedish yard game involves tossing wooden dowels at larger blocks. It’s simple, satisfying, and fun for groups.

From: The Best Gifts for Families

This sleek-looking, resilient piece of hard-sided luggage has top-of-the-line components—including sturdy zippers and very smooth wheels—for a decent price.

From: The Best Carry-On Luggage

The L.L.Bean Boat and Tote is made from heavy canvas that lasts a lifetime, but it doesn’t have any pockets for storage. It comes in a variety of colors and sizes.

From: The Best Tote Bags

Comfortable, adjustable, and carry-on-capable, the Farpoint has everything we needed for a week, or even months, of travel.

Comfortable, adjustable, and carry-on-capable, the Farpoint has everything we needed for a week, or even months, of travel.

From: The Best Travel Backpack

This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick, closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.

From: The Best Coolers

I’ve worked as a lifestyle journalist for more than 20 years, with stints in style, beauty, home decor, and fashion. And, even more pertinent to this guide, I’ve been married for 24 years. That means I once registered myself, so I have a strong perspective on what my husband and I still use to this day and what’s long gone. For instance: Our Cuisinart food processor and flatware are still kicking, our wine glasses and towels had some good years, and the serving tray made especially for crab was just silly.

I did not assemble this guide alone, however. I also polled engaged staff members who were in the process of building their own registry lists. Then I combed our site for the best of the best in every category, relying on the extensive research, testing, and expertise of my colleagues on our kitchen, sleep, outdoors, travel, games, and other teams. This list is a result of hundreds of hours of rigorous product testing across multiple categories.

Our picks come from dozens of retailers, so you may want to consider a wedding-planning site that lets you collect all of your wishlist items in one place. Wirecutter staffers who’ve planned their own big days have used one-stop sites like Zola, The Knot, and Joy. These services help with all things wedding, and they allow you to create a registry from multiple brands and vendors. Although these sites all have some minor flaws, most staffers very much appreciated the convenience they provided. Amazon also has a registry feature, and it allows couples to add items from other vendors. If you prefer small, unique, or personalized items, Etsy has a newly launched registry service with curated collections for browsing, but it does not allow links to other sites.

This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.

Samantha Schoech

I discover, vet, and write about gifts of all kinds from my office in San Francisco. I am particularly drawn to all things shiny or bookish, but I try not to impose my taste more than is strictly necessary.

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