My niece had a very small wedding cake just so they could do the “cut the cake” thing. Otherwise, their dessert of choice was a variety of whoopie pies! There was a local place known for their whoopie pies and she and her H loved them - so whoopie pies it was!
S and his fiance were going to go start looking to put things on a registry today. I KNOW they are going to go and be overwhelmed! They are so used to be being broke college students and first apartment dwellers that I think it’s hard for them to think about having “good quality” items.
What would you consider “top 10” items that should/could be on a registry?
I told them that my advice was not to just think about what they need now - they are in an apt. But to think ahead to 2 years from now when they might purchase a house and will want to have more than the assorted plates, glasses and cookware left over from college days or recent Christmas gifts. I said, “you could pick out a nice everyday dish set and not even use it now - save it for when it feels like you’re in a home” - at the same time, I told them not to feel like they needed to “fill up” the list - if they have limited items, they will probably just get more $$ - which is totally ok with them!
I never chose china and have had NO regrets - not one - in over 30 years of marriage. I think they will be the same. China is not part of our routine any time of year!
I’m thinking:
Bed/bath linens
Small kitchen appliances
Quality kitchen utensils like spatulas, grater, tongs, etc.
Knives?
Everyday dishes
Silverware
Pots/pans
I think what they register for should depend on how much space they’ll have to start off. It’s no fun to have to store all your gifts somewhere for a couple years until your living conditions allow you the space to use them.
Here are some additional thoughts beyond items you listed:
Quality cutting boards (recommend Boos), Cuisinart food processor, blender, coffee maker, teapot, crockpot, KitchenAid stand mixer (assuming they have room for it), mixing bowls, wine glasses, cocktail glasses, cocktail shaker and bar tools like a muddler, carafe, pitchers, food storage and baking canisters, a grill and grill tools.
They can also register for items that are less kitchen/home oriented like camping and gardening equipment or whatever their couple hobbies might be.
^^I sort of disagree with this - though they are both college grads and working full time (a couple years out by wedding time) they are not in high paying careers (S is a teacher) so while they have a small kitchen right now, they might appreciate having some things “stocked” ready to unpack in another year or two if they buy a home.
I do like your additional suggestions though!
I agree on the china , abasket. D chose very nice (dishwasher safe!) Kate Spade dishes that she and SIL actually use. I have a set of china (for 12) that I only use on Thanksgiving. If I had to do it over again, I would not have gotten the formal stuff.
I’m really trying to talk Son and Fiance into registering for good stainless. My Reed & Barton 1800 still looks perfect after 26 years of daily use and it is still being sold.
The traditional French wedding cake looks like donut holes (they aren’t actually - they are puff pastry balls filled with creme anglaise) stuck together in a tree shape. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquembouche It would be fun to make one out of donuts.
I spent the morning of my French “brother’s” wedding filling those little suckers with the creme!
We went to Germany three weeks after we got married, so a ton of gifts got stored in our parents’ attics. It was actually super fun five years later to rediscover them.
Things I would get again:
small vases (not from registry got both pottery and crystal bud vases I use all the time)
every day china
silver (we use ours every day), but otherwise nice stainless also fine
Kitchen Aid mixer
We still use the napkin and placemats that many of our poor grad student friends gave us
For cooks - cannisters for sugar and flour
Salt dish and pepper grinders
Nice cuttingboards - I love my Boos table so I assume their cutting boards are good, but I like my bamboo cutting boards too.
I think we’ve broken every single glass that was a wedding gift.
A grandparent or a group of folks might want to go in on a big gift together like a Breville toaster oven or a Dyson vacuum.
mathmom, I attended a wedding in France where they had a cake like that. The dinner was seven courses, and everyone got up to play games, watch a slideshow (or the bride’s family act our important scenes from her life!), etc in between the courses. It lasted until 6 AM.
My D and her fiance are looking to register for some gifts. They have a tiny apartment and she is planning to go to grad school full time in another year so they don’t have much space and may be moving to a new city. They are putting mostly kitchen ware, dishes, and glassware on the list, as well as the etiquette no-no of letting people contribute toward honeymoon experiences.
If they don’t have china, I think that should be first on the list. At some point almost everyone wants to be able to set a nice table and serve a meal to a group of people on something other than Corelle or paper plates. But I would not think in terms of “sets” that include pieces that never get used–those little cereal bowls, for example–and would urge them to look beyond the boringly safe choices too many couples go for because the haven’t developed their tastes yet.
Instead of registering for “place settings,” they could register for 12 dinner plates and 12 salad plates, for example. I’d much rather give a couple 4 dinner plates than a “place setting.” In my experience, the people who actually use their china regularly tend to go more mix and match, as opposed to the person who gets a big set of something and puts it away for “special occasions” that never seem to arrive.
I wouldn’t go for crystal. Glasses just get broken too easily.
No one ever had too many big white cotton or linen dinner napkins. 
First on the list if they will like/use china. Seriously, in over 30 years I have NEVER wished I had china. And we don’t eat on paper plates.
I just asked my DD about a registry the other day. There is nothing they “need” – they’ve already shared an apartment for years and have well-paying jobs. But I said they need a registry for people who have a hard time thinking of gifts and to accommodate various price ranges – it just makes the process easier for the gift buyer. So we’ll see!
As far as china-- I have all the china they would ever want. It is packed away in drawers in a sideboard where it has sat untouched for all the years I have owned it – it is just stuff I took from my grandmother’s home after my grandmother passed away 30 years ago. Seemed like a good idea at the time. 
I’m using the term “china” loosely.
It could be earthenware, it could be pottery, it could be porcelain.
I’m all for people having things they enjoy using, and that enrich their lives through that pleasure. Stuff that is going to sit in a closet somewhere is the antithesis of that.
I love my good china, but not being able to put it in the dishwasher is a big minus. We now use this stuff everyday and it makes me happy every single day: www.kscopepottery.com We have the light plates with different leaves on just about every plate. There was a brief period when the kids were babies when we had no dishwasher and did use the Wedgewood for our everyday china.
Glad you clarified,@Consolation. That was how I interpreted your post and I tend to agree. That is pretty close to the strategy D has used in her registry. Last summer I went to Nashville to help her select her wedding dress and since she made that decision in short order, she also had me go with her to select her “dishes.” She later said that was more fun than picking the dress.
I have 2 sets of fine china and sterling flatware, mine and my mother’s. Both rarely used. D elected to skip selecting any fine china or sterling because she and her brother will each get a set from me. Maybe when I downsize, rather than when I depart for good!
Mathmom, love those plates!! We have stoneware we got from my parents 32 years ago. It was ugly then and is even uglier now. I said when S1 went off to college that it was time to get new dishes. Eight years later, I still haven’t decided on anything. It is a more expensive proposition than it was many years ago and I have not found much that has gotten me excited.
Good knives will last a long time and get used every day. We use our pyrex baking pans every day.
Several of my cousins are related to the Boos family through their dad’s side. Unsurprisingly, they all have the cutting boards.
@mathmom -Many of the newer fine china patterns are now dishwasher safe, including some Wedgewood. Much different from those of our day!
^And very sensible too!
I’m visiting my oldest daughter and just asked her what items she considers most worthwhile from her registry. She’s been married for 4 years. She said: the 2 pieces of matching luggage, Wusthof kitchen and steak knives, the silver picture frames for their wedding photos … and her Kate Spade china. I’ll feel like an idiot if it’s dishwasher-safe because I’m the one who washes it by hand after holiday dinners.
Now, if you ask me what item was most valuable from her baby shower registry, there is no doubt it’s the boppy. http://www.boppy.com/product-category/boppy-pillows/ Boppies rule.
I see “kids” picking nice every day dishes. Denby pottery is worth looking at. I bought a friends daughter some for her wedding present, then I bought enough for 12 for myself.