In June my future in-laws hosted a BBQ that was a reunion for my future father in-law’s side of the family, and was intended to be my introduction to all of them. Well Mr. Onion’s aunt couldn’t wait 3 months, so she gave us our wedding present on the spot. I present the coveted Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer:
And over a month later we finally “broke it in!” I’m so proud of us. We made a lemon meringue pie, which I’ve never done before, and it came out beautifully and tasted great too. Here is our handy work:
Any other brides out there using wedding gifts you’ve gotten already pre-wedding?! What’s your favorite gift so far?
You are a lucky lady to get the coveted stand mixer so early.
We are exactly six months out from today and have received small gifts and cash so far. We haven’t used any of it yet.
I am hoping we get the internal frame backpacks we registered for in the coming months so that we can take those with us for the wedding and the minimoon we will be doing afterwards.
::keeping fingers crossed::
Yesterday we got our 3rd present (wedding isn’t for 3 months) and it was…the Kitchenaid Mixer! The one thing on our registry that I was most excited about. My parents’ Kitchenaid was such a big part of cooking for every holiday and ‘nice dinner’, so I can’t believe we have our own. I only wish that my fiance had captured my happy dance when I opened the box so we could send it as our thank-you note. Anyway, to answer your question I am planning to use this gift ahead of time (Miss O, your meringue is gorgeous and very inspiring), but the china and other tableware we are going to save until we have a complete set - then we’ll host a big formal ‘yay, we have grown-up dishes’ dinner party.
Miss Onion, I got the exact same mixer from my grandmother. She had attached a note that said, “Don’t you dare let this sit in the box for the next 10 months. Use it and send me some of your chocolate chip-pine nut cookies that I’m not supposed to eat.” (She’s diabetic, hehe.) I figure if my grandmother says it’s ok to open and use a gift pre-wedding, it’s not as much of a taboo as it once was. 
I am not using my presents, and we got tons from the engagement party. I also heard it’s against etiquette to.
we did cash the checks we received.
my friend just broke off her engagement and she opened her presents. makes it very interesting when returning them!
The KitchenAid is on our registry list, but no one has bought it so far. I even found a website that has different color KitchenAids, and since our kitchen will be red and stainless steel, I put both on my list and am crossing my fingers.
Lemon merenge pie is my favorite- yours turned out great with it golden brown on top! I registered for the same mixer and hope we get it. You bet I am using the presents as I get them, I figured why wait? I am sure the gift givers would want us to go ahead enjoy their present. If I gave someone a gift early I would be happy to know they were getting use out of it. (there is no threat of breaking off an engagement here!)
I’m using my stuff too. I was going to wait, but all of my family (grandma especially) told me to start using it. I LOVE my new dishes from my grandma most so far, but my shiny new pots and pans are a close second!
I feel like if you’re not going to open presents from early-on festivities, then you shouldn’t cash checks either.
We live together, and have for the past 2 years. We had our shower Memorial Day weekend, and we are getting married in 4 weeks from tomorrow. We are using most of our shower gifts (Includes curtains, sheets, pots & pan, plates, etc). If we had separate residences I could see waiting until you lived together, but we have an apartment together, and that’s the intended purpose of these gifts.
I got a KitchenAid mixer for my graduation present from undergrad. Because I decided I would start being practical my last year of college. So just from previous birthdays, Christmases before getting engaged, I acquired half of our dishes, and some nice small appliances. Worked out well - because now we can focus on things we want for our registry, and too bad if it’s not enough, we’ll cross our fingers for cash.
I say if you get it, you should use it! We got so many wonderful gifts when my hubby and I got married nearly 5 years ago. It was VERY overwhelming at times. I vowed to never want to open another gift again….that ended once Christmas rolled around! ; )
We just got a kick-a#% cooler and I am hosting a co-ed shower in 2 weeks. You better believe we are using it!!
We are saving the silverware until we get the whole set…but we have 4 place settings so far, so here’s hoping!
the problem with not cashing checks is that they expire after a certain amount of time! so I feel like that is just different.
we just put in our savings account.
We opened ones from people who didn’t mind us opening them…
Favorites so far: Keurig Coffee Maker. Everyone who drinks coffe, tea, or hot cocoa should have one of these.
Cuisinart Griddler- Awesome. The plates come off and can go in the dishwasher (too bad we don’t have one) or are just easier to wash by hand than a George Foreman grill. Plus we can make pancakes on it
I probably won’t break into the wedding gifts, but we did open our engagement presents. My FBIL & FSIL got us a coffee maker and we were just really anxious to try it out. Other gifts were more decorative (candlesticks, a crystal bowl, etc.) so I just decided to put them out and display them since they were so pretty :o)
We received a ton of gifts at our engagement party, like the KitchenAid, etc. We’re still 10 months away from the wedding, and our registry is almost depleted. Truthfully, as excited as I was to receive it, I haven’t even used it yet. I’m a avid baker, but I’ve gotten by my whole life with the KitchenAid hand mixer, and I just keep turning to it. Sure, it’s a little harder, but it’s so much easier to clean. Why use a bigger tool with more cleanup if something smaller and easier gets the job done?
As far as what I have used the most… the mini food processor. I never use the big one because it’s too big to drag out, but since I am only cooking for two, the mini sized one is perfect!
But… I don’t know, I’m a little disappointed about my lack of use of the KitchenAid stand mixer. I need to start baking some heavy breads. Last night, I made a banana cream pie, lemon meringue pie, and key lime pie, and they all turned out perfect with just a hand mixer.
Awesome looking pie Miss Onion! I have a question about the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer because I really want to put one on our registry, but I was talking with my mom the other day and she warned me about the stand mixer she got when she got married 30 years ago. (Granted, she did so with the caveat that she knew the features might have improved somewhat in 30 years, so that’s why I’m asking!) She said that she got her stand mixer, but that she ended up never using it because the mixers were not quite long enough to reach the bottom of the bowl (presumably so they wouldn’t scratch the bowl) so therefore whenever she would use the mixer, the batter at the very bottom of the bowl would never get mixed properly and she would waste it.
Did you notice this problem at all? I’m wondering if it might be better to just register for a handheld mixer even though I LOVE the look of the Kitchenaid stand mixer.
In response to Laura -
There is an adjustment process for the mixer to make sure it is aligned appropriately. I’ve had a kitchenaid mixer for about 8 years and I’ve only had to adjust it once. It’s easy enough to do with the manual. The beater shouldn’t hit the bottom of the bowl, but it should come so close that you don’t have to do it by hand.
your pie looks soooo awesome! what an inspiration for us kitchen-impaired folk. i was gonna register for a mixer, then my FI was like, why?! you’d never use it and it’d just collect dust… darn him for being right!
AGHHH!! I JUST checked my registry and someone bought my RED Kitchaid stand mixer sometime between last night and today!! SO EXCITED. Doin the happy dance…
And I bused out my brand new Cuisinart blender the same day I got it (on Wednesday), and made yummy watermelon smoothies!!
Laura - to answer your question, I don’t know about the Kitchen Aid stand mixers, frankly I find them annoying, but my Sunbeam Mixmaster (the basic model that is only $100, and sometimes on sale for $75 - comes with two metal bowls that double really easily as mixing bowls for other purposes and don’t have an obnoxious handle on the side…) never leaves anything on the bottom of the bowl, and because it has two beaters instead of one enormous one, you can scrape down the sides with a spatula while you mix, meaning nothing clings to the sides (a problem I have with the KitchenAids and a hand mixer).
Also the Sunbeam weighs about 15lbs less then the KitchenAid. Don’t get a KitchenAid unless you are planning to keep it out on the counter most of the time, because they are HEAVY, and it will outlast your ability to lift it.
We received TWO KitchenAid mixers, both tangerine, due to a mixup on our registry. (I think they were bought at about exactly the same moment, and Amazon paid for the shipping back on one.) I love my KitchenAid mixer, although I haven’t used it much as it’s been too hot for baking. What we’ve used more than anything else are the amazing Japanese Global brand kitchen knives. They’re incredibly sharp, well-balanced, and feel great in the hand. Love them. My husband picked them out.
Laura-
We haven’t had any problems with our Kitchenaid Mixer leaving stuff on the bottom of the bowl. I’ve used it for cookies and cakes so far (I know it can be done by hand, but I have to justify owning it). Actually, the mixer did come in handy when I had to turn cream into whipped cream for a black forest cake I made!
Miss Onion, NYC/Burlington, VT
Age and Occupation: 26, PR & Marketing and Jazz Singer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Data Analyst
Engagement Date: April 2, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: July 11, 2007
Venue: Restaurant in Burlington
About Me: I didn't think I'd be "that girl," but I am having so much fun planning our wedding (mostly by myself). I'm a PR and Marketing Director for a major jazz festival and camp by day, and by night, a romantic jazz singer and bride-to-be! I hope all my research can help other brides in their planning.
My Maid of Honor said its bad luck to use gifts before the wedding….which I think is a throw-back to living together is living in sin days…then again my maid of honor told me to call off the wedding because one oh-so-normal “what am I doing!?” moment…so I say yay to gifts.
We’ve used glasses and bowls and we’re lovin all of it!