Just when you thought getting married couldn’t be any more exciting, the packages begin to arrive at your doorstep. Wedding gifts! The custom of bridal registry has been around for decades. Engaged couple creates a list of the items they hope to receive and their guests and friends purchase gifts for the couple from that list. At first glance it might seem awkward, impolite and demanding. However, bridal registry is a great convenience for couples and for those who wish to give them gifts.
For most couples, the wedding gifts they receive will constitute key elements of their every day living, their home décor and the special events they host for years to come. But if you’re like most brides and grooms, your knowledge of the classic registry items might be limited. Sterling Silver? Lead crystal? What does it all mean?
We’re here to help you get it all sorted out with definitions of the common terminology used to describe categories, items, and materials. (We’ve even alphabetized the list, so you can find the terms you’re befuddled by, quickly and easily.) Keep in mind that different manufacturers and stores might categorize or name items somewhat differently; this guide is approximate.
Get yourself up to speed on all the lingo, so you can create your registry and put together the home items that are definitely you.
Aluminum is often used in cookware and bakeware items. It heats quickly, but if the metal is thin and warps, the heat can be quite uneven. Still, the durability of aluminum makes this a popular material.
Anodized Aluminum is aluminum that has been treated to make is denser and harder than regular aluminum, thus less given to warping and the uneven heat distribution that can result. Other plusses: it is easy to care for and lightweight.
Appliances includes items, usually electrical, such as coffee makers, espresso or cappuccino makers, mixers, juicers and blenders.
Bakeware includes the key items used in baking, including baking sheets, cookie sheets, loaf pans, pie pans, muffin tins, cooling racks and mixing bowls.
Bath Linens refers to linens for the bath, including bath towels, bath sheets, rugs, hand towels, guest towels and washcloths.
Bed Linens includes all the linens for your bed, such as fitted and flat sheets, pillow cases, pillow shams, duvets, duvet covers, blankets, bed skirts, and quilts.
Black or Blue Steel is often used to manufacture pans. It is similar to plain steel but absorbs heat better and is less given to corrosion due to the special treatment it receives.
Bone China is the combination of kaolin clay, feldspar, quartz and bone and is considered the finest (and today, rarest) kind of china. It is fired at high temperatures to produce a very white china whose delicate look belies its durability. Today, bone china is primarily produced in the United States and England.
Carbon Steel is used in creating the best, sharpest knife blades. However, this kind of steel requires good care.
Cast Iron is perhaps the strongest and must durable cookware material, although it is very heavy and some cooks find it hard to handle. It is very good for high temperature cooking and is excellent at conducting heat evenly, despite requiring a long time to heat up. It is also reactive; you can actually increase the iron content of the foods you eat by preparing them in cast iron cookware!
Casual Dinnerware is appropriate for everyday use, and feels less precious than formal china. It is composed of heavier materials for increased durability, and is often brightly patterned. Generally, casual china is made of porcelain, stoneware, or ironstone. It is most often sold in 20 piece sets made up of four, five-piece settings or 16 piece sets made up of four, four-piece settings. Casual dinnerware is also sold widely as single pieces called open stock, giving you the option of creating your own place settings. Open stock is also very handy for replacing broken pieces. Causal dinnerware is generally microwave safe and difficult to chip. Earthenware casual china is made of softer clay and often chips easily.
China is the term commonly used to describe various kinds of tableware, including earthenware, stoneware, porcelain and bone china. This fine translucent or semitransculent tableware is probably most accurately called porcelain, but became known in common vernacular as china after the country where it was first made.
Completor Set is a selection of serving pieces sold as a set. The set generally includes a platter, an open vegetable bowl, a sugar bowl and a creamer.
Cookware includes items typically used for any kind of food preparation on top of the stove or in the oven, including saucepans, roasting pans, frying pans, omlette pans, woks dutch ovens, skillets, kettles, stockpots and double boilers.
Copper is considered by many to be the best material for cookware, despite some clear drawbacks: it is reactive (especially to acidic foods) and thus should be lined (usually with steel or tin), and it tarnishes easily. If you plan to own copper, plan to spend some time polishing. Still, it is a an excellent heat conductor and the choice of great chefs everywhere.
Cotton is a popular material for many kinds of linens. The four main kinds of cotton used in bed sheeting items include: American Upland, a good basic cotton used for 85-90% of all cotton products; Egyptian, a finer cotton from, of course, Egypt; Pima cotton, the next to best kind of cotton, popular for fine bath towels; and Sea Island cotton, the best of the best.
Crystal is finer than simple glass; the addition of a small amount of red lead oxide causes the glass to have greater clarity and brilliance than normal glass.
Cutlery is generally defined as anything used for cutting in the kitchen. Be sure to register for several knives, as good knives are one of the keys to becoming a good cook. Also included here are sets of steak knives, a carving set, and kitchen sheers.
Dinnerware is the term traditionally used to refer to the five piece place settings , including a dinner plate, salad/dessert plate, bread plate, cup and saucer. Dinnerware may be formal or informal (casual). More casual, four-piece settings are also offered, including a dinner plate, salad/dessert plate, a soup bowl and a mug.
Earthenware, a popular kind of contemporary dinnerware, is made of clay. It is solidified by being fired at a low temperature, and the resulting material is quite heavy, but deceivingly fragile. Common varieties of earthenware include delftware, majolica, faience and slipware.
Electroplating is the process utilized to create gold plate and silver plate; a metallic coating is adhered to a surface by the action of an electric current. Electroplating performs a protective as well as decorative function, making silverware both durable and beautiful.
Enameled Cast Iron is cast iron that has been enameled, and is thus nonreactive. It is a popular material for cookware used for long, slow simmering, such as stew pots.
Enameled Steel, or Porcelain Enamel, is one of the best cookware material available. It is light and conducts heat well. Look for cookware of this type with multiple coats of enamel (three is ideal) and a stainless steel rim. The surface has a nonreactive, nonstick quality that professional cooks love.
Flat Ground knife blade edges feature a distinctive wedge shape created as the blade is ground to a taper at the point and edge; they are long-lasting and perform well.
Flatware or silverware refers to the utensils used to set a table. The typical five-piece set includes a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a dinner knife, dinner fork and salad fork. They are usually made of stainless steel, silverplate or sterling silver.
Flannel is a warm and durable sheeting fabric with a napped finish; particularly popular in cold climates.
Forged knife blades are hammered out of a thick piece of steel.
Formal China or fine china are terms commonly used to refer to the most formal kind of dinnerware or china. Porcelain and bone china are the kinds of china most commonly found in this category. Formal china may be monochromatic or richly detailed and may feature ornate scalloping and gold, silver or platinum rims.
Full-lead Crystal (see Lead crystal)
Glass has most humble origins: it is created when sand, ashes and ground limestone are melted together. When you think of glass, you probably imagine it in its clear, colorless state; however, while glass is still molten, pigments or metallic oxides can be used to tint it, creating beautiful colored hues.
Glassware includes the different sizes, shapes and types of glass items you should consider registering for, including, but not limited to rocks glasses or tumblers, iced tea or tall glasses, champagne flutes, red and white wine glasses and water glasses.
Gold Plate, a very elegant (and expensive!) kind of flatware, is created through a process called electroplating (which is also used to create silver plate). Gold plate flatware starts from a base metal - usually stainless steel, sterling silver, or a metal alloy - and then, using electroplating, a thin coating of 10 karat gold is applied.
Heatproof Glass is a familiar cookware material, but is generally not a popular choice with experienced chefs, as it is not a good heat conductor and is given to chipping and cracking. Nonetheless, it is a nonreactive material and, needless to say, works with any color scheme.
Hollow Ground knife blade edges feature a slight concave curve in the sides of the blade and is generally a less durable kind of knife blade than flat ground blades.
Insulated Aluminum is often used for cookie sheets; it’s two layers of aluminum with air in between, and professional bakers swear by it.
Lead Crystal (or full-lead crystal) is one of the finest and most delicate kinds of crystal. The process of creating lead crystal involves combining molten glass with a small percentage of lead oxide. The result is a softer, brilliant glass that is easily etched with patterns. The soft glass is very fragile, prone to scratching and chipping, so it is not dishwasher-safe. Etching and frosting of crystal is done either chemically or by hand. Hand-decorated crystal is sold at a much higher price.
Luncheon-sized Flatware, which is smaller than the standard dinner-sized flatware, is not commonly used and rarely seen in this country today. Heirloom collections of flatware sometimes include these smaller utensils, but today it is completely appropriate to use the dinner-sized any time of day.
Muslin is a simple sheeting weave used for bed linens.
Nonstick is a much-touted attribute created by the application of a coating, most often to aluminum pans, that makes it easier to clean.
Oxford is a heavy, soft, porous sheeting fabric commonly used in bed linens.
Percale is a closely woven, finely combed bed linen sheeting that is easy to care for and thus very popular today.
Porcelain China does not contain bone ash; otherwise the composition is similar to bone china: kaolin clay, feldspar and quartz. Firing at high temperatures renders a product that is vitrified and nonporous, with a beautiful glass-like surface. It is typically white and translucent, and although it appears delicate, it is strong and chip resistant.
Porcelain Enamel (see Enameled steel)
Serrated knife blade edges feature scalloping or teeth, and is the ideal kind of knife for cutting bread. Serrated knifes remain sharp longer than other kinds of knife edges, but can not be sharpened.
Silver Plate flatware is created by laying down a coating of 100% pure silver over another base metal, usually nickel, copper or brass, in a process called electroplating. The process produces a less expensive, more durable utensil, barely distinguishable from its more costly cousin, sterling silver.
Silverware (see Flatware)
Stainless Steel, an alloy of steel, nickel and chromium, is the preferred material used to make everyday flatware. It is exceptionally durable, stain resistant, and the price is right. The best quality is "18/8", which indicates a steel base of 18% chrome, which resists corrosion, and 8% nickel, for a beautiful luster. Stainless steel is also often used in knife blades; although less sharp than carbon steel blades, stainless steel blades are easier to care for than carbon steel blades.
Stamped knife blades are die cut from a sheet of steel.
Steel, also commonly referred to as untreated, plain, mild or rolled steel, is an ideal light metal for cookware like crepe pans and woks. The thin metal is strong and conducts heat well.
Stemware typically refers to more formal crystal glassware, including water goblets, red wine glasses and white wine glasses. If your entertaining is typically less formal, select only one wine glass. You collection can be augmented over the years with champagne flutes, and glasses for martinis, brandy, and liqueur.
Sterling Silver is often referred to as solid silver, though there is usually a little copper in the alloy for durability. This valuable flatware feels heavy in the hand and wears well over time, though it is considerably softer than silverplate. There is a substantial price difference between costly sterling silver and the less expensive silverplate. The world "Sterling" should be stamped on any genuine sterling silver item.
Stoneware is, like earthenware, made from clay, but a fortified clay, fired at a high temperature. The end product is strong, safe for both oven and dishwasher.
Table Linens includes the textile items you use to set the table: tablecloths, undercloths, toppers, runners, napkins, and placemats.
Tempered Glass is glass that has been treated to make it resistant to sudden temperature change or breaking.
Terry is a kind of highly absorbent and popular towel textile. Although most terry bath towels are made of American Upland cotton, luxurious (and expensive) Pima and Egyptian cotton towels are a popular registry choice.
Thread Count refers to the number of threads per square inch in a sheeting fabric and is a good indicator of quality. 200 thread count is a good baseline standard; the highest thread count made in the United States in 310; and sleeping on 400 thread count sheets is like living in heaven.
Appliances includes items, usually electrical, such as coffee makers, espresso or cappuccino makers, mixers, juicers and blenders. 
Stemware typically refers to more formal crystal glassware, including water goblets, red wine glasses and white wine glasses. If your entertaining is typically less formal, select only one wine glass. You collection can be augmented over the years with champagne flutes, and glasses for martinis, brandy, and liqueur. 
Stoneware is, like earthenware, made from clay, but a fortified clay, fired at a high temperature. The end product is strong, safe for both oven and dishwasher.