Today: After weeks of carefully curating, testing, and vetting products, we invited newlyweds-to-be into our office to test them out and add them to their Food52 registries.
This past Wednesday, the office was buzzing as engaged couples, brides- and grooms to-be wandered through with cake and cocktails in hand. While we wish we could say three-tiered cakes and bubbly drinks are part of our everyday work day (well, sometimes they are), the sweets and drinks flowed this time around to celebrate the launch of our new wedding registry (!).
The night before, we carefully hung up the laundry rack just-so, set out a motley collection of beautiful dinnerware and flatware, and placed collections of our favorite products throughout our office for couples to peruse—but those were just the final touches. For months leading up to the event, the Shop team has been meeting with small makers and producers to find objects that reflect our own tastes while providing enough options for any couple. The result is a versatile registry that also feels personal—with over 3,000 kitchen and home products to choose from—though we could only display our top picks at Wednesday's event.
The team hand-chose long-time favorites like this handblown decanter and brand new additions to the shop like Mauviel cookware, which our Art Director Alexis hung from a pegboard inspired by one of our favorite chefs. Guests were invited to choose their wedding style (Classic? Luxe? Indie?), then grab a corresponding drink (whiskey punch, Negroni Sbagliato, or Tom Collins) and choose everything from basic essentials like dinnerplates to home details like trivets and cake stands. Members of the Food52 team guided each couple through the products, pointing out our own personal favorites (hello, hand-thrown teardrop tumblers).
The party picked up in the evening when couples visited on their way home from work—one bride-to-be had been creating a Food52 wedding registry for months by bookmarking items on her browser and came with a list of items she couldn't wait to add. Other couples started fresh, taking in each of the products and envisioning their future homes.
Once they'd walked through (and had their fill of cake and drinks), couples were invited to grab a gift bag full of goodies that included a Zwilling bread knife and receive haikus from The Haiku Guys, or in this case, gals. The two women writing haikus asked for either single words or events to write about. Some couples went the sentimental route (one was celebrating the anniversary of their engagement at the event!) while others said the first word off the top of their head (options included "seltzer," "sand," and "cutlery").
We had them write a haiku about the registry, of course! Here's what they came up with:
like summer berries
wedding gifts are more fruitful
when they are handpicked
We couldn't agree more.
Photos by Hannah Wilken
See what other Food52 readers are saying.