The Wedding Gifts I Wish I'd Asked For

Yesterday I went to my first bridal shower since my own thirteen years ago, and it got me thinking about the wedding gifts I wish I'd asked for back then. When I got married I was in my mid-20s and still living with my parents; I had never cooked a meal on my own, let alone managed a household. Registering was fun but I ended up with lots of beautiful stuff that stayed in boxes in the attic for years. Meanwhile, I spent lots of money on the things I learned I actually needed.

If I had it to do over, what would I register for now? My bridal registry list would be heavy on practical items, and light on things like the lead crystal Tiffany emerald-cut paperweight I got to match my engagement ring. Here are some of the practical items I wish I'd asked for.

A Crock-Pot slow cooker is the first item on my list of wedding gifts I wish I'd asked for. When I first got married I worked in the city; planning for dinner wouldn't start until I was getting off the bus at 6:30 at night. My life got so much easier when I realized that with a Crock-Pot, I could spend five minutes on food prep in the morning and come home to a fully-cooked dinner and an apartment that smelled great. Crock-Pot also makes a series of cookbooks intended for use with their slow cookers that are a great addition to any registry list.

You can't always plan ahead well enough to have dinner ready beforehand, though, so you need an option for last-minute dinners as well. This is why I also wish I'd asked for a Calphalon wok as a wedding gift. On those nights when you don't have anything planned for dinner and your husband calls and says he's coming home early, a wok is a lifesaver. Just chop up whatever protein and vegetables you have on hand and dinner can be ready in five minutes or less.

The kitchen wasn't the only area where my wedding registry left me lacking, though. As a new bride I was a bit perplexed when it came to laundry, too. We lucked out when our first apartment was located right across from the laundry room; I could hear when the machines were available and make a mad dash to claim them before anyone else. I would end up throwing my clothes into a plastic garbage bag to carry them back and forth because there wasn't a laundry basket big enough to accommodate the large loads I liked to do. I also frequently forgot my detergent in the laundry room and had it appropriated by someone else. If I'd had the Basic Elements Ultra Laundry Station with its three separate sorting bins, a hanging bar to hang up clothes and a shelf to fold clean clothes on, I would've been set. I would have been able to whip back and forth between my apartment and the laundry room without messing up all my clothes, and in a pinch it would have served to bring groceries upstairs.

Another really useful wedding gift I wish I'd asked for is the Ewave Garment Steamer. Women of my generation do not iron, which is why we have such large dry cleaning bills; anything that really needs to be pressed perfectly goes to the cleaners. That doesn't mean I like the wrinkled look, though, which is why this item really would have been the perfect wedding present for me. It steams any kind of fabric in two minutes flat, has an insulated hose so your fingers don't burn while you're steaming, is compact, stores upright, comes with a detachable lint brush and is on rollers for easy mobility.

The final item I wish I'd asked for as a wedding gift is going to sound a little strange, but I can't think of anything more useful-a Warner aluminum stepladder. We've bought one four times since we've been married because people keep borrowing them and not giving them back! This model is lightweight but strong and sturdy. At least three times a week a light bulb needs to be changed, an air conditioning filter needs to be cleaned or seasonal decorations need to be put away, and we bring out the stepladder. It can also come in handy when you need to put those not-so-useful wedding presents away in the attic!