Table Settings

When registering for table settings there are two types to choose from. You will need formal table settings and everyday flatware. You and your fiancée should spend an afternoon at a local department store or home goods specialty store and decide which table settings are right for you. Your everyday flatware should be something durable and timeless. If your plate breaks five years from now you will want to be able to go back to the original retailer and replace it. Your formal dinnerware can be made of more fine china, but do go with a reputable manufacturer so that the same rule applies when a piece breaks.

Proper table settings include a dinner plate, salad plate and bread plate. A formal table setting may also require a charger for under the dinner plate and a bowl to accompany the salad plate. You will also need to register for flatware so you have silverware and serving ware to match you plates. Sometimes you will want to get two different sets of flatware, but of your budget is tight then only register for one multi-purpose set to do double duty.

Proper table setting etiquette can be found in any etiquette guide or by talking to the table top expert in your local home goods store. The associate will walk you through what you need for table settings for the most basic to the most elaborate of table settings. There are things you may have never thought about like the different wine glasses and drinking glasses you will need to accompany your table settings. You will want to look in to serving dishes and platters as well. When deciding on all the bits and pieces think back to what the table looked like at grandma’s house on Thanksgiving.

When you have figured out proper table setting etiquette and gone over table setting diagrams the fun begins. You need to pick a pattern for your table settings. Do you enjoy medieval styles of hand pounded metal? Would you like setting the table with square plates to create an Asian theme? What kind of atmosphere do you want to have when setting the dinner table? Do you want a specific color scheme to penetrate your kitchen or are you more open?

The table settings you register for during your wedding should last you many many years. Look in wedding magazines, home decorating magazines or online for inspiration on how to choose table settings.