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Best Wedding Gifts 2023 – Eater

by newsconquest0105


Putting together a wedding registry is an overwhelming and uncomfortable task, right up there with making the guest list and keeping track of all the deposits. But while you can’t guarantee the happiness of your guests when it comes to the seating arrangement or dinner music, you can rest easy that if your wedding includes the tradition of gift giving, your registry can actually be great, especially when it comes to food-related gifts.

Whether you already live with your future spouse or are combining lives and furniture for the first time, the registry gives you the opportunity to finally ask for the items you’ve always wanted in your kitchen, dining space, and beyond. Maybe it’s time to replace those hand-me-down wine glasses that never quite matched your aesthetic or settle down with a Vitamix.

Eater surveyed its staff for the best wedding gifts that have stood the test of time. Some are things we still use today. Some have turned into favorites to give to others. There are also a few splurges, because when else would you be wholly comfortable with asking someone to buy you an outdoor pizza oven? More than anything, these items likely won’t get shoved to the back of a cabinet or pop up only during a move or deep-cleaning session. These are things we would ask for if we had to do it — plan a wedding, put together a registry, argue with family, panic all the time, actually get married — all over again.

The Basics

A blue Le Creuset Dutch oven

Owning an iconic item like the Le Creuset Dutch oven is a two-step process: 1) Upon receiving it, follow restaurant editor Hillary Dixler Canavan’s footsteps of letting it live permanently on your stove, and 2) use it all the damn time. Whatever signature color you choose, from red to ganache, know that your Le Creuset will probably be around long enough to witness your marriage’s golden anniversary.

With options to make silky congee, oatmeal, and sushi rice, among staples like white and brown rice, the Japanese-made Zojirushi rice cooker is the Cadillac of rice cookers. The “perfect machine” also sings a cute jingle every time you hit the “cooking” button. (You can turn that feature off, but why would you?)

A coupe glass with some pink-hued Champagne

Coupes are a worthy addition to any glassware collection. (Champagne or daiquiris, anyone?) The Wolcott Optic coupes are sturdy, dishwasher safe, and just really nice to look at. The price point also means you’ll likely end up with a large-enough set to bust out at cocktail parties and other at-home celebrations.

A lightweight Zyliss salad spinner will remain a loyal member of your kitchen for years to come, thanks to its BPA-free plastic, non-slip base, and sturdy pump. It’ll be in your weekly rotation so much, you won’t even bother locking the handle in place (another standout feature).

A white KitchenAid stand mixer

No registry is complete without the classic KitchenAid mixer. It’s really the gift that keeps on giving (it whips cream, kneads dough, spiralizes produce, and makes pasta if you have the right attachment) and one that people haven’t stopped giving since it became a wedding gift standard in the mid-20th century.

In addition to making it possible to always have hot water available for tea and coffee, the Panasonic thermo pot is clutch for recipes that call for hot or warm water. Blooming yeast? No problem. Need to thin out your soup but don’t have time for a reboil? Just hit the “Dispense” button (or “Slow Drip” for even better precision).

A stack of clear plastic storage containers containing various cookies.

This 10-piece container set lives full time on executive editor Erin DeJesus’s kitchen counter, holding everything from rice to flour to dog kibble and treats. She notes “they’re also hardy enough for popping open multiple times a day.”

The one registry item deputy editor Monica Burton uses the most, to this day, is her Simple Human trash can. Yet even more proof that a registry is the perfect place to ask for everyday items that aren’t all that fun to buy yourself.

A stack of lidded plastic bowls.

These bowls, which come with matching lids, are freezable, microwaveable, dishwasher safe, and leakproof. Plus, they’re stylish enough to double as serving bowls, and they nest easily when not in use.

Perhaps one of the secrets to a long-lasting marriage is owning a dish rack that actually works. With KitchenAid’s model, excess water seamlessly drips into the sink instead of pooling on a tray, while the rack itself holds a ton of stuff, from wineglasses to pans.

Surprisingly Useful Add-Ons

A burnt orange jug with lid and handle


A Designer Vacuum Jug

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Correspondent Jaya Saxena treasures this elegant vacuum jug, something she says she never would have purchased herself: “It’s useful but also not quite a necessity, which is the sweet spot for gifts.”

This solid granite mortar and pestle will surely vie for the spotlight on your kitchen counter. It will also make grinding whole spices and herbs the most pleasant part of your cooking.

Two ceramic bottles with corks.

This porcelain bottle is an elegant water vessel for dinner parties, but it’s particularly ideal for bringing along for meals on the patio, thanks to the cork that makes it more portable than a regular ole pitcher.


If you’re someone who doesn’t need more stuff unless it’s drinkable and arrives on a monthly basis, consider adding an Eater Wine Club subscription to your registry. You can think fondly of the gift giver every time you sip. Each month is curated with a theme (past themes have included natural wines, Chilean wines, and togetherness), and subscriptions range from two bottles per month for one month ($70) to four bottles per month for six months ($660).

A round ceramic serving platter.


A Ceramic Serving Platter

Prices taken at time of publishing.

A serving platter lets you amp up your dinner party game, and one with “heft and personality,” like the one from East Fork, is never the wrong move, according to Eater publisher Amanda Kludt.


There’s nothing over-the-top about this salt cellar, which is exactly the reason it makes a very reasonable registry request. It’s easy to use with one hand, tucks neatly into a counter, and goes with just about any kitchen decor.

A sous vide cooker

Eater Portland editor Brooke Jackson-Glidden uses her sous vide cooker on a weekly basis, from prepping breakfast eggs to slow-cooking big proteins to infusing liquors. “It’s definitely a splurge I wouldn’t have bought for myself,” she says, “but I’m so glad someone else did.”


Weighing dry ingredients with a scale as gorgeous as the one from Escali almost feels like you’re cheating on all those measuring cups you’ve accumulated over the years. But nothing beats precision. And nothing beats the feeling of not having to wash measuring cups.

A simple metal prep cup holding a brown liquid.


Stainless Steel Prep Cups

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Again, not the most exciting thing to ask someone to buy you, but managing editor Jess Mayhugh attests that these stainless steel cups bring her joy on a daily basis. Use them to make spice blends, as dip cups, for housing nuts on charcuterie boards, and general mise en place.

Splurges

If you’re getting a set of flatware for the first time or need a serious upgrade, go big with this 24-piece set designed by Italian architect and industrial designer Achille Castiglioni. This is the same Castiglioni who, with his brother Pier Giacamo, designed the iconic curved Arco floor lamp for Flos in the 1960s.

An Ooni pizza oven.

The Ooni Koda 16, a DIY-pizza fan favorite, is a dream to cook with. In addition to baking 16-inch pizzas in 60 seconds, it serves up beautifully seared steak, focaccia, naan, roasted chicken, and fruit pies.

There’s a reason Zalto remains a household name when it comes to wine glasses. The mouth-blown Denk’Art collection was designed with the tilt angles of the Earth in mind, which explains why full-bodied and powerful pours like chardonnay, Chianti, and riesling taste so good in these glasses.

A linen napkin with floral embroidery.

Elevate tea time or brunch at home with these 100 percent linen flower napkins inspired by 19th-century Ottoman samplers. Each one is hand embroidered by the women at the Malaika Embroidery Training Centre in Cairo.

In her time giving gifts for weddings and other occasions, cities director Missy Frederick has found that the fish spatula is something that most people tend to not have, or are happy to receive a second one if they do. And it’s been her pleasure to give them over and over again.

Two steel bread knives.

If you want to own something truly luxurious and rare, add this high carbon steel bread knife to your registry. Created by Eatingtools founder Abe Shaw in collaboration with Swedish knife company Andersson & Copra, the bread knives were made in a limited batch of 40.

The Vitamix is a star of any kitchen it enters. As both a food processor and chopper, it’s great for making soup, ice cream, hummus, margaritas, smoothies, pesto, pancake batter, and muffin batter. All that, and it’s incredibly easy to clean.

Two colorful, marble-patterned round discs.

Editor-in-chief Stephanie Wu’s meals at home always feel more festive thanks to her lazy Susan. This handmade one with dreamlike splashes of purple, orange, and pink would be a striking addition to your table and a gift well worth asking for.

Peggy Truong is a food and culture writer based in Seattle.
Ria Osborne is a Brooklyn-based food photographer by way of London.
Liberty Fennell is a London-born, New York City-based food stylist and recipe developer.
Sonny Ross is an illustrator based in Manchester, U.K. They love drawing food as much as cooking it but not as much as eating it. They work across editorial, publishing, textiles and packaging and in their downtime enjoys such hobbies as: sleeping.
Copy edited by Leilah Bernstein

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