Best Gift Ideas for Your Wedding Registry, Based on CR's Tests and Evaluations
Whether you’re building your own wish list or shopping for a happy couple, here are some top appliances, cookware, and other home products you'll want to consider
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If you’re getting married, setting up a wedding registry can be fun in theory, but choosing what to include on your wish list—amid many other decisions you’re likely making—can feel like a chore. And if you’re the one buying the gift? Deciding among the options suggested on a registry can be tricky, too.
Let us help you narrow the field. If you’re on your way down the aisle, we’ll help you get started on your registry. We’ve got guidance on the best home products that we’ve tested, including kitchen gear, bedding, and other household necessities. If you’re the gift-buyer, you can turn to this list to find items you can gift with confidence.
Setting Up Your Registry
Couples who already live together may not have as much work to do as a couple who’s combining households. But either way, you’ll want to take stock of what you have and want. I talked to Esther Lee, editorial director at The Knot Worldwide, for some advice.
“The first and most important step is to balance your needs for your lifestyle. Are you moving into a new home? Or simply looking to upgrade the essentials you already have?” she asks. “Think of it as an opportunity to curate the future you are building together, rather than just filling a cart with random items.”
The Knot, like other wedding prep sites, offers a curated registry store and the ability to combine registries from online retailers into a single registry, making it easy for your wedding guests and other loved ones to choose the gifts they want to give.
Like The Knot, the wedding planning site Joy has a curated list of products you can choose from to add to your registry. Zola, another online planner, allows you to add items from any retailer’s site to a single registry it hosts. With My Registry, you can download a Google Chrome extension to add items you find anywhere online. Regardless of which you use, Consumer Reports’ tests can help you identify products that perform best, last longest, and are most satisfying to own.
How Much They'll Spend
Even if you tend to spend conservatively, you don’t always have to list the least expensive options on your registry. After all, this is a special occasion, and guests may be more generous than you might expect.
Just as an example, I looked at Consumer Reports’ grill ratings and found some priced in the thousands of dollars. I gave Lee the example of a $2,000 grill and asked her if that’s too much.
“While a $2,000 grill might feel like a big ask, weddings are one of the few times in your life when people want to celebrate your milestone with a significant gift,” she says, adding that group gifting—when several people chip in for one higher-priced gift—is widely acceptable and even encouraged.
At the same time, you don’t want to list too many items that are out of reach for many budgets, or you’ll wind up getting less expensive items that aren’t on your list.
“Start with the must-haves and then layer in a variety of price points,” Lee says.
Below, you’ll find top lab-tested products across a variety of gear every new household needs, listed alphabetically in groups that include kitchen necessities, bath items, outdoor products, and more. In addition to this list of our best wedding registry picks, CR members can access ratings and reviews of all of the products we independently buy and have our experts and engineers evaluate, from home appliances to tech to cars and more.
For the Kitchen
A drip coffee maker is a great option if both you and your partner are coffee drinkers, and Cuisinart makes several that rank at the top of our ratings. The best is the Cuisinart PerfecTemp 14 Cup Programmable DCC-3200. You can expect excellent brew performance for the best-tasting coffee from this machine. It’s simple to clean and convenient to use, and the carafe is easy to hold and pour from. As a coffee maker brand, Cuisinart earns an excellent score for owner satisfaction in CR’s member surveys, which means that owners of these drip coffee makers are likely to recommend their model to friends and family.
See our list of the best lab-tested drip coffee makers for more great options.
A single-serve coffee maker is ideal if you just want one or two quick cups, and the Nespresso CitiZ EN267BAE is the top one in our ratings. It has a flashy stainless steel design with a clear, removable water reservoir, and produces every cup quickly. With brew-strength controls, you can make your cup weaker or stronger. This coffee maker also comes with a milk frother, is programmable, and has WiFi connectivity. The Nespresso brand has an excellent owner satisfaction score but a middling predicted reliability score, based on CR’s member surveys.
For more single-serve coffee maker options, including K-Cup machines, see our single-serve coffee maker ratings.
At least one nonstick frying pan is a must in many kitchens, and when we tested the Caraway Ceramic-Coated nonstick frying pan, eggs fried without oil easily slid out one after another, and the surface heated evenly with no hot spots. The handle is super-sturdy and stays cool to the touch as you cook. The nonstick ceramic coating, which the manufacturer claims is made without PTFE, stood up very well in our durability test. This pan is also induction-compatible and is claimed to be oven-safe to 550° F.
For more great options, check out our list of the Best Nonstick Frying Pans.
A Dutch oven is a versatile piece for braising, baking, and making stews, and the popular Our Place Perfect Pot is a top scorer in CR’s ratings, with excellent performance across our speed-of-heating, cooking evenness, sauce-simmering, and bread-baking tests. It’s also the lightest Dutch oven in our ratings and exceptionally easy to clean. The only test it fell short in is our handle-temperature test, so you won’t want to use this one without a potholder. Notably, this Dutch oven has only a 30-day warranty, while some other models offer a lifetime warranty.
See our new ratings of some of the best Dutch ovens in our tests, including the iconic Le Creuset Traditional Round Dutch oven and the Staub Enameled Cast Iron Essential French Oven.
Oxo may be a favorite brand for kitchen gadgets and baby gear, but the company also produces sturdy cookware. The Oxo Tri-Ply Stainless Mira Series stainless steel cookware set excelled in our tests for cooking evenness, speed of heating, and evenly simmering tomato sauce. Four eggs cooked consecutively with oil slid out easily. It also earns a very good score in our ease-of-cleaning tests. This set shows excellent performance in our handle stress test, where our engineers use a machine to push down on the handle to determine how much force is needed to make it bend or break.
Check out our ratings for more stainless steel cookware set options and nonstick cookware set options.
Stylish and stainless, the Breville A Bit More BTA720XL 2-Slice toaster garnered an excellent rating in our ease-of-use tests, meaning the controls are clearly presented and easy to set. Its scores for one-slice, full batch, color range, and ease of cleaning are also excellent. This top-scoring toaster has wide slots and settings for cut bagels and frozen bread, which defrosts the bread and then toasts it. What if your toast turns out too light? Press the button labeled "A Bit More," and it will toast a little longer.
Take a look at our toaster ratings for more options, including 4-slice models for a household of toast enthusiasts.
When it comes to food processors, Cuisinart is a widely popular brand, and the Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 DLC-8S is at the top of CR’s food processor ratings. It aces our slicing and shredding tests and is very good at chopping. It’s not so great at puréeing, but that’s a task best reserved for a blender anyway. It comes with separate slicing and shredding discs, and its parts are dishwasher-safe. Its capacity is a generous 11 cups, so it’s fit to prep veggies for a dinner party dish. This model didn’t do so well in our Parmesan grating test, however. It earned a mediocre score in that test.
For more food processor options, check out our food processor and chopper ratings.
If you haven’t already jumped on the air fryer bandwagon, now’s the time. Air fryer users are a loyal bunch, and many use them several times a week. The Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260, with a measured capacity of 2.4 quarts, is perfect if you’re cooking for two, plus it’s one of the most compact air fryers we’ve tested, making it a great choice for a smaller kitchen. This no-frills model doesn’t come with any accessories, but it’s the highest-rated air fryer we’ve tested. It earns high marks for its controls and ease of cleaning, and it excels in our noise test.
See our list of the best air fryers, small air fryers that are great for two, or large air fryer options for a crowd.
A stand mixer is practically standard on wedding registries. It may not be the most iconic model, but the compact Hamilton Beach Professional All-Metal 63240 is equally good at whipping egg whites and kneading, earning excellent ratings that indicate it can handle both light and heavy tasks. And it’s almost as good at making frothy pancake batter and airy whipped cream. Our testers found this mixer very convenient to use and clean, but it earns just a mediocre score for noise. The head of this mixer tilts, and, like many mixers, it comes with a flat beater, a dough hook, and a wire whisk.
If you’d prefer a KitchenAid stand mixer, check out the KitchenAid Artisan Mini KSM3316XWH. Or take a look at our stand mixer ratings for other options.
The top-scoring Hamilton Beach 31156 has a novel design: two bread slots for toasting, as you’d find on a dedicated toaster, and a small oven cavity underneath. For those who prioritize toast but want basic toaster oven features, this model may be the right pick. It’s the only toaster oven in our ratings to excel in all of our tests for toast, plus it does a solid job when our testers bake cookies and corn muffins in it. Like most toaster ovens we test, this model earned a mediocre score in our reheating test.
Check out more of the top-scoring toaster oven models in our lab tests.
The KitchenAid KCO255BM is a toaster oven with a larger oven cavity. It does an excellent job of turning out perfectly browned toast, though you’ll be waiting a while to get it on your plate. The push-button controls and digital display are user-friendly, and our experts found that the interior doesn’t take too much elbow grease to clean. This KitchenAid has a host of functions: bake, broil, convection-bake, keep warm, bagel, reheat, and proof. This oven can also fit up to two whole chickens or a 9x13-inch pan. Plus, it comes with a built-in temperature probe.
Find more toaster ovens with great oven capacity.
For Bed and Bath
Pollen, dust, and off-putting odors are no match for the portable Blue Pure 311i+ Max from Blueair. On its higher setting, it’s excellent at removing dust, pollen, and smoke, but expect some noise. It still performs very well on its low and quieter setting. This air purifier has an indicator light that lets you know when it’s time to change or clean the filter. CR members find Blueair air purifiers to be highly reliable, and they’re very satisfied with their purchases.
For more options based on room size, check out our air purifier ratings.
To find out how well bidets clean, we spread Nutella on plexiglass, then spray it with water from the bidet for 30 seconds and determine how much Nutella was cleaned off. The Luxe Bidet Neo 320 Plus bidet attachment aces our test for cleaning, as well as our ease of installation and ease of use evaluations. Plus, you’ll spend less on toilet paper. It has a warm-water option and a self-cleaning function, and you can mount it without removing the toilet seat. And once you have a bidet, you may feel like you can’t live without one.
For more options, check out our bidet attachment ratings.
Blankets
Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket
If you or your partner sleeps hot, a cooling blanket may be the bedding you never knew you needed. And of the brands we’ve tested, the Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket was a top performer. One side is made with a heat-dissipating material that feels smooth and cool to the touch. The other side is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton (tested for harmful substances and made in certified production facilities). It feels soft, thin, and lightweight, and it can make for a comfortable and cooling experience on warm summer nights.
For more cooling blanket options, check out home and trends writer Lisa Fogarty’s at-home cooling blanket evaluation results.
Buffy Cloud Comforter
Our bedding expert, Tanya Christian, evaluated the Buffy Cloud Comforter in her own home and found it soft, smooth, and silky. “Next to my Labradoodle Duke, it’s truly the cuddliest thing I’ve ever slept with on my bed,” she said. Buffy says it upcycles about 50 plastic bottles (depending on the size of the comforter), to make its 100 percent BPA-free, recycled PET fill, which is uniformly layered into the shell, unlike the filling in other comforters that’s stitched into boxes. The Buffy isn’t expected to clump or shed, even when machine-washed.
For more comforter options, including those made with down or down alternatives, check out Tanya’s evaluation of the best duvets for every kind of sleeper.
The Coop Sleep Goods The Original pillow is made of shredded memory foam and excels in our tests for support, no matter your size or sleep position. It also comes with extra foam so you can adjust the filling to what’s most comfortable to you, and it keeps its shape well. Our lab testers say it’s easy to keep a back sleeper’s spine aligned using this pillow. Based on our tests, it may not allow air to circulate effectively, so it can sleep a little warm. Impressively, it’s fully machine-washable. You’ll probably want to add two to your registry.
For other pillows made of memory foam, down, polyester, or materials for cooler sleeping, check out our full pillow ratings.
Out of all the synthetic and blended sheets we test, the Bare Home Poly Satin set is the only one to excel in our strength, fit, and shrinkage tests. It’s also among the softest. Plus, this is one of the least expensive sets we’ve tested. These sheets receive a middling score in our wrinkling assessment, however, and they are a bit shiny. But if that doesn’t matter to you, these Bare Home sheets may be worth a spot on your registry.
Or check out our ratings for more synthetic sheet options.
If cotton is more your style, The Company Store Legends Hotel Premium Supima Cotton (450 TC) may be right for you. These sheets’ fit, shrinkage, and strength impressed our testers. The set is best for mattresses up to 14 inches deep, and we found that the sheets hold their shape after a year’s worth of washes. Plus, they’re soft to the touch and receive a very good score in our wrinkling assessment. Directional tags on the fitted sheet make it easy to put it on.
Check out our ratings for more cotton sheet options.
Sleep Buds
Ozlo Sleepbuds
The Ozlo Sleepbuds will be worth adding to your registry if one (or both) of you snores. Courtney Lindwall, a CR tech expert, says they’re thoughtfully designed and effective, plus they’re comfortable. “The lightweight, bendable buds tuck perfectly into my ears and remain in place, virtually undetectable, for the entire night,” Courtney says. “This is true even as a side sleeper who moves around quite a bit while dozing.” The Ozlo app comes with a library of sounds, including ocean waves and a crackling fire. You can also stream your own audio via Bluetooth and set alarms.
For four more popular options, check out Courtney’s evaluation of the best sleep headphones.
For the bathroom, the top-scoring Quince Organic Turkish Waffle towels handily beat other towels in our tests. They’re exceptionally soft, and that softness doesn’t change after washing. We found that they dry quickly, which means your dryer can use less energy, but they shrink slightly after washing and drying. They’re sold in sets of two and come in a wide range of colors, including ivory, terracotta, and soft rose.
For more lab-tested options, including waffle and terry cloth towels, check out our full bath towel ratings.
For the Yard
The stainless steel Cuisinart Cleanburn Fire Pit is the top-rated fire pit in our ratings. It’s also fast to light and burns wood more thoroughly than any other model, resulting in less smoke and less waste. Cleaning is simple, too—the ash collects at the center, in part because of its rounded shape, and falls into a dedicated tray that you can remove easily. Its especially deep design holds more wood than some other options, making this model a great pick for larger fires fit for a backyard get-together.
For other smokeless fire pit options, check out our full ratings on fire pits.
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For charcoal loyalists, the Char-GrillerGravity 980, a Lowe’s exclusive, comes with high-end features including a WiFi-enabled digital temperature controller and a hopper feeder to add more coal. It receives an excellent cleaning score and a very good convenience score in our tests. With a measured cooking area of 620 square inches, it’s also the largest charcoal grill in our ratings, and its heating evenness and indirect cooking scores are excellent.
For more charcoal grill options, check out our charcoal grill ratings.
One might argue that a grill is the highlight of a great backyard, and if you and your partner prefer gas, the small, three-burner Napoleon Freestyle 365 F365DPGT delivers strong all-around performance, with a top score for indirect cooking and very good scores for cooking evenness, preheat performance, and temperature range. Napoleon, as a brand, received top-tier ratings for reliability and owner satisfaction for its gas grills in CR’s latest member surveys.
Gas grill enthusiasts can check out our gas grill ratings.
Expect perfectly charred burgers (or try a ribeye?) on the Traeger Ironwood 650 TFB65BLE, a top-of-the-line pellet grill with stellar performance. In our tests of heating evenness and indirect cooking, two of the most important attributes of a grill, it earns excellent scores. This grill has two wheels and two locking casters, and a 20-pound pellet hopper. Traeger claims this grill cooks at a temperature range of 165° F to 500° F.
If you want to compare this Traeger model with other pellet grill options, check out our pellet grill ratings.
The 27-foot-long Brightech Pro Solar Powered Outdoor String Lights offer a romantic ambience for backyard dining al fresco. These are best-in-class in our tests, with above-average marks for light duration and a top score for ease of use. They have a long cord and widely spaced lights, with 20 inches between bulbs. Each of its 12 Edison-style oval bulbs has 24 LEDs, making for exceptionally bright light. They come with an on/off button to preserve power.
For other options, including landscape and solar deck lighting, check out our solar outdoor lighting ratings.
If you’re looking for a great-sounding speaker for evenings in the back yard, consider the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom Bluetooth speaker. Our testers say it has robust bass and a clean midrange. This speaker comes with an optical input, so indoors it can double as a TV soundbar or upgrade the sound of a game console. This speaker has a claimed IPX4 water-resistance rating, meaning it’s splashproof and spillproof but not designed to stand up to a full-fledged dunking.
If you’re interested in name brands like Sonos or other manufacturers, check out our wireless and Bluetooth speaker ratings.
Sensible But Fun
Fun to watch and functional, too, the iRobot Roomba Max 705 robotic vacuum impressed our testers with its ability to clean carpets effectively. Its navigation skills are also impressive, covering a large square footage of our testing rooms while avoiding obstacles that could trap it. The vacuum comes with a self-emptying docking station, and its brush rolls are designed to prevent hair from becoming tangled. According to our member surveys, iRobot robot vacuums earn a middling rating for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
See our full robotic vacuum ratings for more choices.
For booming sound while you’re binge-watching, the LG SC9S is a good choice. It’s a 3.1.3-channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X model that ranks among the top soundbars in our ratings, and it provides very good overall sound. One unique feature is its trio of upfiring drivers. Two are used for Dolby Atmos height channels, while the other pushes dialogue and voices up toward the TV. The soundbar features a dedicated outboard subwoofer and includes LG’s Wow Orchestra feature, which enables simultaneous use of both the TV and soundbar speakers.
Check out our full soundbar ratings for more options.
