Hey ladies! We had a brilliant WAF reach out to us asking to utilize this community to help create the perfect wedding registry. All we can do is sit here and think about is how jealous we are that this blog wasn’t around when we were going through that fun yet overwhelming experience! We reached out to other WAFs to get their opinion as well and here is the compiled list of what a bunch of seasoned WAFs can’t live without from our own registries and experiences:)
1.
I fell in love with these plates while visiting a friend in college! Her mom had PB dishes and broke one. Now growing up, when we would break a few dishes, my mom would have to go and buy a whole new set which would inevitably not match our current set because they would have been a few years old. So I really felt for my friends mom when she dropped her beautiful white dish! But then she said “Well, I guess we need to get a new one”…my brain was blown. Yes, I am laughing at myself while typing this by the way! When you register for plates at Pottery Barn, you can register for a set of 4 but also if/when one does inevitably break, you can buy a new one…just ONE! And they don’t trade out styles so you are literally set for years. In my 3 years of owning them (and two moves later) I have only have one break and it was because I dropped it-and promptly bought a new one!
2.
One of our followers, Christine, suggested this item and we could not agree with her reasoning more! There is a high likelihood that you will find yourself in a rental or on base housing…even if you buy your home, its SO nice to be able to clean your carpets yourself instead of scheduling it and paying a lot of dough. Especially if you have animals or that dreaded white rental carpet (WHYYYY?!?), carpet cleaner is a huge game changer.
3.
This one is bittersweet for me to write down. As I am 3 years into my WAF life, I am getting itchy for permanent…but that is just not where we are at right now. This bed frame has been a lifesaver! When we were first married, we didn’t want to drop a lot of money on a guest bed set right away. It wasn’t until we moved from our 4 bedroom home to our current 2 bedroom condo that we realized the beauty of this piece! Our second room is my husbands office and so for the sake of our sanity, we do not keep the bed set up year round. This frame splits into two twins and then packs in half and perfectly stores in our closet! We paired it with an 11″ memory foam mattress, and let me tell ya, my parents are very happy when they come to visit and are without their Tempurpedic! I knew my guests would have to be packed in when they visit but having them be comfortable was very important for me and this bed does just that!
4.
Command Strips and Shelf Liner
These may sound strange but by the time you have finally moved everything in and been to the store 184957 times for cleaning supplies and decoration, the last thing you want is to get hung up again on little things like these! If you do not know the beauty of command strips yet…do yourself a favor, print your fav wedding picture and hang it in a frame with a command strip. Not only do they save you the stress of have to be absolutely spot on with your nail, but you also aren’t damaging the walls and therefore saving yourself more time upon move-out! Shelf liner is a must as well because who wants to put their glasses on some old musty wood shelf?!
5.
The biggest reason that this is a must for a military home is that it is compact. Besides that, it is a must because its so dang practical! We are busy women and the last thing I want to do is vacuum. It is wonderful to come home after a long day of work to see vacuum lines on our carpet:) It memorizes your floor plan and vacuums in different directions each time to really get everything up. It has been a huge game changer for us especially with pets! We are seriously shocked every time we empty out the filter with how much pet hair ours sucks out of the carpet.
6.
This is one of those items that you never want to buy for yourself but absolutely need in your home.
I personally use a Shark because I love it’s durability and the steam mop you can purchase with them for hardwood/tile floors, but I’ve heard a lot of great things about Dyson vacuums also! These are great to have around for deep cleans, which usually happen right before guests are coming to visit me, ha!!
7.
WAF Ambassador, Katherine, told us about these daily glasses and we are SOLD. They are built to last and hold up through wear and tear. I have yet to break one of my PB wine glasses but one thing I can’t seem to stop breaking are my daily glasses. UGH! We love the simple design and the fact that they look just like normal glassware!
8.
Ladies, this may be the most important WAF registry item! Traveling seems to be number one on the job description at times, haha! With friends and family all over the world, we travel often and having good luggage is everything! And don’t worry about trying to keep on the smaller size, bags fly free for military and they usually are more forgiving about the weight limit. Over packers, rejoice!!We love these hard shell suitcases because they are durable, expandable, and glide! I have (overpacked) for two whole weeks in this bad boy, its the best! Another luggage addition that has saved the day multiple times is our garment bag! This thing has been on so many trips of ours I can’t even keep track at this point! It is PERFECT for wedding weekends. Whether your airman is wearing a standard suit or their formal mess dress, it’s packs in so nicely and still has room for your dresses/jumpsuits and shoes!
9.
To keep our sanity, organization is KEY. Having big plastic containers that you can sort your stuff in and out of from big house to small house makes everything so much easier than moving boxes that get gross or crushed over time.
11.
Easy to store and great to use for the inevitable events you’ll be hosting for your AF family or blood family! We registered for one of these and it’s come in clutch for holidays when we needed extra serving space, or just standard parties/events for drinking games (beer pong anyone?!)
12.
KitchenAid and Relevant Attachments
Kind of a pain to lug from move to move, but TOTALLY worth it. So worth it, that we didn’t have the movers pack ours and we moved it ourselves so we would have it with us on our TDY stay. We love the spiralizer attachment and gourmet noodle attachment, both have resulted in delicious meals and fun cooking stories with friends!
Obviously this is not an all-inclusive list. Trust us, if you have yet to go registry shopping yet–our thoughts and prayers are with you! But these have been make-it-or-break-it items that we could not live without! This is one part of being a WAF where we can definitely see the possible downsides. No, you cannot always foresee if you will have a porch or not to register for patio furniture but these items will hopefully be a WAF saving grace!
Xo, J + K
