Mix & Match in Fine China

Why Your Wedding Registry China Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Your wedding registry china choices are more diverse than ever. With colors and patterns from different designers, you now have the creative freedom to mix and match! The wedding registry consultants at Bailey’s Fine Jewelry can help you modernize traditional favorites. You might be thinking, what’s wrong with my current collection of plates and silverware? Nothing, but having one cohesive set of fine china can elevate your home decor and impress friends and family at special lifetime events (Think Thanksgiving, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays etc.).

Like your wedding dress, you might want to give your wedding registry china to your kids one day! Let’s start with the basics. There are two types of wedding china: formal and casual. Formal wedding china is an investment, a keepsake to pull out of the cabinet on special occasions, typically bone china and porcelain. Casual china is not as expensive and usually made from less fragile material. The couple can decide whether they wish to include both the formal and casual china sets on their wedding registry (nothing is required!). Today we are seeing a major shift if how couples use their wedding china. Once seen as “dust collectors”, wedding china is breaking with tradition and is now popular for everyday use.

Pictured Below: The Lynn Chase Jaguar Jungle is set with an Anna Weatherly charger, Waterford wine and Austin champagne paired with Michael Aram candy dish, vase and banana leaf. Try Jaguar Jungle as a salad choice with other dinnerware.

Exotic Jungle Cat Pattern Bailey's Fine Jewelry Your Wedding Registry China Doesn't Have to Be Boring Jillian Knight — WEDDING CHINA Bailey's Fine Jewelry | PHOTO Jillian Knight Photography

How to Mix & Match Wedding Registry China Patterns

Forget about your mom’s all-white wedding china. Modern china is all about patterns and how to mix and match them to create a beautiful tabletop. Here are the top four wedding registry china patterns:

Floral Wedding China – flora and fauna

Geometric Wedding China – crisp lines and shapes

Banded Wedding China – white china with a gold or platinum rim

Oriental Wedding China – Asian-inspired patterns and artwork

We love it when couples mix and match among the four main wedding china patterns. Don’t know how to mix and match? Pick one color and mix different or patterns or pick one pattern and mix different colors.

Yellow Flower Bird Floral Pattern Bailey's Fine Jewelry Your Wedding Registry China Doesn't Have to Be Boring Jillian Knight — WEDDING CHINA Bailey's Fine Jewelry

Above: An exciting Herend hand-painted charger and collectible bird makes a complimentary and eclectic statement topped with Anna Weatherly dinner and nature-inspired gold rim soup bowl.

Below: A favorite Southern pattern is this colorful Mottahedeh Tobacco Leaf dinnerware shown here over one oof their lace patterned chargers with Sambonet flatware and Richard Ginori glassware.

Pink Blue Floral Pattern Bailey's Fine Jewelry Your Wedding Registry China Doesn't Have to Be Boring Jillian Knight — WEDDING CHINA Bailey's Fine Jewelry

How Many Place Settings Do I Need In My Wedding Registry China?

Before you decide how many place settings to order with your wedding registry china, it’s important to know what comes with each set. Place settings come in 4- or 5-piece sets, 4 for casual china and 5 for formal china. The 5-piece setting includes a dinner plate, salad/dessert plate, bread plate, and a cup and saucer. The 4-piece set includes everything that the 5-piece setting includes except instead of a cup and saucer, a soup bowl and mug.

Most wedding industry experts recommend buying 8 to 12 place settings. However, this number largely depends on the couple’s lifestyle and family size. In addition to your wedding registry china, you might want to consider adding on a few essential items: large and small platter, serving bowls, gravy boat, cream pitcher and sugar bowl, teapot, small serving dishes, soup bowls and chargers.

Gold and White Bailey's Fine Jewelry Your Geometric Banded Pattern Wedding Registry China Doesn't Have to Be Boring Jillian Knight — WEDDING CHINA Bailey's Fine Jewelry

Above: Go timeless gold and white with this combination of Anna Weatherley Antique Polka salad plate and Simply Anna dinner plate ooo a Herend charger, pictured here with a Waterford goblet and wine. All placemats shown are by Deborah Rhodes.