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Yeah, I did!
I deleted all the formal china off our registry. Why, you ask?
Because we have no use for it.
When we started registering, formal china was a fairly simple decision to make. Easy, simple, classic, black and white. Done. We loved our choice, and moved on to something else.
The more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of formal china. What do I need formal china for? I don’t entertain people who would even be comfortable eating off my “good china”. We have dinner parties, but they aren’t those kinds of parties.
(source)
That is not something you will ever see at my house. We’re more casual people. I’m usually barefoot (but not pregnant or in a trailer park). One cannot have a formal dinner party when she refuses to wear shoes. We like to sit around with our feet on the furniture and drink beer. I can’t serve beer with formal china.
It just didn’t seem logical or sensible to register for something I would never use. Formal china would become the albatross around my neck. I’d be forced to schlep it around with me the rest of my life. I’d be overridden with guilt for not using it. It would get dusty in a cabinet somewhere (in my likely too small house where I could really put that space to use holding something much more meaningful). I can’t imagine asking our guests to gift us $65 place settings that would get dusty!
So I dialed up Mr. CC at work, which is risky business anyway. He is often busy entertaining Generals and politicians, so interrupting his day for something important is one thing, but calling him for silly things like, “Is it ok if I take the formal china off the registry?” is a little ridiculous. Fortunately, I caught him at lunch. The conversation went something like this:
Miss CC: Do we really need formal china?
Mr. CC: I don’t think so. Why?
Miss CC: I don’t want people to buy it for us, if it’s going to be a waste of money. We’ll never use it.
Mr. CC: Okay, take it off, I don’t care. How is your day?
This was something I was stressed about! He blew it off like it was nothing… wouldn’t it be great to have that ability?
So, I went and did some registry detox and got all that formal stuff out of my way. The place settings, the stemware with the platinum rim, the silver. It was all gone. And it felt soooo good!!
That evening, Mr. CC said to me, out of the blue, “What if we want it later?” Um, well, we’ll buy ourselves some.
What are your reasons for registering or not registering for formal china? As a married person that didn’t register for china, do you regret it?
I just plain wanted it. I would like to have lots of fancy plates to use on Thanksgivings, Easters, and Christmases. Or just regular nice dinners at home! And for things like platters, I won’ut use those often anyway, so they might as well be fancy.
Plus, in my family, you get china as a gift for YEARS after your wedding, and all the women in my family have a pattern that we all know.
I didn’t register for formal china either!!! I am so glad to hear that someone else has the same opinion. I have the same thoughts Mr. CC does, “We will just purchase some later.”
Have you kept your informal dishes on the fancier side of informal or completely informal. I decided on the middle, a bone china for everyday use and we can dress it up with different salad plates, an informal one color or a glass plate to change the mood. What about stemware? Are you registered for crystal?
Thanks for the fun/great/informative post!
I never wanted to put china on our registry for the reasons you said above; it’s just not us and it’d just collect a lot of dust, dust that I would end up having to dust! A few days after we decided not to get it, my grandma called me up and said she had something for us…her china! The second best thing about this is that it’s not so fancy looking that we can use it for everyday occasions and I won’t feel bad about not using it. The first best thing? I LOVE the design! It’s simple, clean and doesn’t have flowers 
We battled with it, and together decide we didn’t really want it, but FMIL insisted and bought 8 settings. So we’ll have it. I am coming around to the idea of it, since it’s not an option, it’s happening. So now, we can entertain the idea of a fancy-schmancy dinner party. But we were totally on your same line of thinking in the beginning, if we’re inviting someone over for dinner, they are coming to see us, we hope, and not to see how fine our place settings are.
Way to go, Miss CC!! I think it’s so strong of you to be honest with yourself like this!
We’re not registering for china, either. I figure, if I want something nice for a dinner party in the future, I’ll just go out and buy it already! Most of our dinner parties aren’t “fine china” dinner parties, anyways.
I worked in the bridal registry at Macy’s for a few years and I am definitely registering for Fine China. I plan on using it all the time, not just for holidays or special occasions. If you register for a good name brand like Wedgwood or Lenox, their china is very sturdy and can withstand day-to-day use. I have nice everyday stuff too that I got while I worked at Macys but I think it is nice to come home and suprise the hubby with a nice candle lit dinner on our fine china (even if I don’t cook and it is just take out! it still gives that nice romantic feel). But I am not registering for crystal or silver. We love Riedel stemware and plan on registering for that instead.
But I definitely understand why couples don’t register for it. It does take a lot of space and if you don’t have the room, you don’t have it. If I hadn’t worked at Macy’s then I probably wouldn’t register for fine china!
We’re not registered for fine china. It just seems so useless and since FI wants to live in the city forever, I doubt we’ll ever have the space to store it. Besides, I wanted dishes with a bold, fun pattern- we ended up registering for a mix and match set of plates by Mikasa from Macy’s and some fun bowls and platters from Anthropologie.
I didn’t register for china either, and my FMIL was appalled. My response was also: We just don’t have those kinds of get-togethers. “What about holidays? Thanksgiving dinner?” I didn’t grow up with china, so I’m okay with eating my turkey on the same plates we used the day before Thanksgiving.
We’re going to be moving around a lot after the wedding (mil couple), so we don’t want anyone to spend so much money on something that will get little use and will probably get broken.
Once we finally settle into our last home, we’ll probably get a nice, sturdy set for everyday use. By then, we’ll probably feel grown up enough to use the “fancy stuff” on a regular basis 
We don’t plan on registering for them either (if we ever do register). We’re very casual. And I haven’t really seen fine china that I like design-wise. I like simple contemporary stoneware - something not too expensive so I don’t have to worry handling them. I’m very clumsy.
We didn’t. Like you said, you can’t drink beer while using expensive, fancy china. Plus there are much more useful things on our registry that we really need if our guests want to get us something. My mom and both my grandmothers have a set, so I’ll probably end up inheriting some anyways, and theirs will be much more meaningful to me then something new.
We’re not going to register for china either. I wish I could register at Lowes! It’s home improvement stuff we really need!
I didn’t register for china because my Grandma had a couple of sets and before she passed, she said that my sister and I could choose which set we wanted when we got married. So I had a set of china passed down to me. We registered for things we would use all the time…Didn’t really need 2 sets of china and like you said, I’m a barefoot kinda gal as well and probably won’t use the fancy stuff much.
I look at it like this: If I have it then I have the option to use it. If I don’t have it I don’t have that option. I am a girl that likes options. I know that we are less formal but there have been occasions in my life that I have really wished I could make a dinner at home more special and fancy. Besides after reading all the stories on here of how china has been passed down I would love to do the same with mine one day.
I didn’t (am not going to) register for fine China either, much to FMIL’s protest. I am registering for some plain whiteware that can be dressed up with patterned salad/dessert plates that I can purchase separately later on. I did register for fancy (Riedel) wine glasses though! We’re really into wine, and will eat our food off of anything.
We registered for and received china for our wedding last summer - and I love it! We live in the city and it is stored in pretty quilted containers on the top shelf of my closet. And despite needing a step-stool to get to it - and having wrapped each individual piece in tissue paper and separating the plates with foam padding - I use them quite a bit. Last week I used them because my neighbor surprised me with adorable mini red-velvet bundt cakes - and they just had to be eaten off of china. And next weekend is the hubby’s bday and we are having 6 people over for dinner - and there will be china. I will also be barefoot, no one will be dressed up, and I’m not serving anything super fancy - but I just love using china. It says “This meal is important and we’re making memories,” not “we are fancy people.” We didn’t however register for cut-crystal anything (except champagne flutes) because of storage reasons and the hubby thinks they are silly - but he assures me I can get them when we live in a bigger place.
I whole-heartedly agree. I never got any resistance on my decision to not register for china or crystal, either (thank goodness!). I’m too klutzy and I feel like the money spent on china is better spent elsewhere on items we would really need. If we have a fancy dinner and I feel like decorating the dinner up a little, I’ll put out chargers, which are $2 at Hobby Lobby. Then, I can stow those away in the attic and forget about them until I need them again. No big deal!
We are registering for it, because we both love to cook and entertain, and hope to do so in the not too distant future.
On another note, isn’t it crazy how simple and no-nonsense our fiances can be about things that are stressing us out?!
I didn’t want to register for it either. We are deffinately not at a place in our lives were we have formal dinner parties or would be hosting any family holiday meals. So no china for me. Anyways I always feel like china is something old… there for finding out that my mom has a double set that could be passed down to both me and my sister took what little worries I had about it away.
Don’t regret your decision, everyone is different and lives differently and if you do not need china you do not need china.
You’re post made my day. I have been told often “you should register for fine china.” I feel exactly like you. I have dinner parties but not where fine china is needed. It seems ridiculous to ask for a 65 dollar plate.
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Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GA Age and Occupation: 25, Registered Nurse Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museum Engagement Date: April 6, 2008 Wedding Date: June, 2009 Blogging Since: November 26, 2008 Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry Museum About Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
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