Wishful Dishing

Over the weekend, I had a chance to play dress up with the dining room table and go through the china cabinet.

With the current wedding season frenzy at Posts on Post,  I've been hearing a lot about registries - the good, bad and ugly. I'll put a disclaimer on this post that if you don't formally entertain often or particularly care about dishes that you have to wash by hand, don't drive yourself nuts and go with this classic and traditional pattern at Crate & Barrel:

Buuuuut if you're registering anyway and someone else is going to foot the bill, why not have another pretty thing in your possession?

My mom's wedding has been the spotlight of our Thanksgiving, Easter and fancy dining tables since, well, obviously predating me.

My grandmother's is similarly themed, but with fewer flowers and some simple stripes.

There aren't right and wrong selections because, but if you have panic attacks at the mere thought of selecting dishes that you'll be stuck with for-ev-ever, The Knot provides some simple benchmarks to help you in the process:

"Formal or Casual

China, a catchall term often used to describe dinnerware and dishes, is either formal or casual. Formal, or fine china as some call it, is usually more expensive and made of a higher quality. Formal china includes bone china and porcelain. Casual china, such as earthenware and stoneware, is often less costly and a lower quality.

Some bridal gurus advocate buying two china sets: one formal, one casual. But there's no real need to buy two sets if you don't want to. True china, once reserved for special occasions, is now making its way to everyday use.

Patterns

In addition to all-white, there are four basic categories of china patterns:

• Floral china, as you might guess, features flowers and perhaps even fauna.
• Geometric china has strong, geometric lines and patterns. 
• Banded china is white or ivory china with a gold or platinum rim. You'll sometimes see blue or green rims too. Banded china requires hand washing.
• Oriental china, as the name implies, has an Asian flair.

Today it is absolutely acceptable, even hip, to mix patterns. An easy way to mix and match is to vary different prints or colors of the same pattern. Or blend different types of china to create a funkier look.

Place Settings

Bridal experts recommend buying 8 to 12 place settings. And while dinner parties are most successful with six to eight people, if you have a large family and plan on entertaining during holidays, you may want 

more.

Place settings come in either 4- or 5-piece sets. The 4-piece place setting, usually found in casual china sets, includes a dinner plate, salad/dessert plate, soup/cereal bowl, and mug. The 5-piece setting, typical of formal china, includes a dinner plate, salad/dessert plate, bread plate, and a cup and saucer.

Special Touches

To complete your china set, think about registering for a large and small platter, two to three serving bowls of various sizes, the gravy boat, a cream pitcher and sugar bowl, a teapot, some small serving dishes of various sizes and shapes, cereal bowls and/or soup bowls, and chargers (a.k.a. service, buffet, or chop plates)."