In this edition of The Gift, our newsroom shares a few of the best wedding gifts they’ve received. Plus, more buy-it-for-life presents.My husband and I are not fancy people. When we got married nearly 26 years ago, we were really not fancy people. At the time, we shared a 15-year-old Subaru and enlisted the help of our friends to paint and sand the absolute dump we’d bought using every last penny we had between us. We thanked them with pizza and beer.When we registered for wedding gifts, I felt like my 9-year-old self carefully planning her dream bedroom, complete with a mauve eyelet-lace canopy bed (my childhood idea of perfection). I gleefully registered for all sorts of things, including claw-shaped lobster shell crackers (what?) and a set of tiny espresso cups, but sadly, no espresso machine. We weren’t interested in china or silver, but to this day, I regret not registering for a set of good everyday dishes, like these beauties.Nearly three decades and two kids later, very little of those gifts remain. The towels, wine glasses, and sheets that served us well for a time are now long gone. But a few things have stood the test of time to become either daily workhorses or lovely reminders of Aug. 12, 2000 — which remains one of the most spectacular days of my life.We still use our simple stainless flatware for every single meal (our set is discontinued but nearly identical to this). We’ll pass our All-Clad pots and pans down to our kids, and you’d be surprised how often this giant cutting board comes in handy, often as a handsome serving platter. This set of ice cream dishes still comes out for fancy desserts. But our most cherished wedding gift is the 3-foot-tall outdoor lantern that our friend crafted from sheet metal and then carved our vows into with a torch. It lives in our garden, rusted and rickety and utterly one-of-a-kind.As a wedding guest, I believe in shopping the registry (unless guests have something personal, unique, and emotionally resonant planned). Once there, choose items that have a chance of lasting forever. They can be utilitarian, like kitchenware, or they can be little luxuries, like a lovely vase or an exquisite throw. But they should be as close to heirloom-quality as your budget allows. Oh, and always write a nice card.Whether you’re attending a wedding this summer, building a registry of your own, or simply making a few upgrades to your house, the journalists in our newsroom recently shared with us the very best wedding gifts they received:When writer James Austin got married six months ago, he and his wife got this rice cooker. According to him, “it absolutely rips.” It’s become such a staple in their kitchen that they use it once or twice a week for easy dinner prep. A sweet bonus? “The little song it sings when it’s done,” says James.For her 2023 wedding, editor Hannah Rimm’s mom’s best friend (we call these aunties) gave Hannah and her wife this custom serving plate with their wedding venue painted on it. Says Hannah: “It’s one of our most prized possessions.” Heads up: This particular artist is on summer break, but if you can’t wait, you could probably find something similar on Etsy.Long before she worked at Wirecutter, our outdoorsy beauty editor Jennifer Sullivan and her husband received an unexpected but delightful Wirecutter pick. The matching set of outdoor blankets — along with a sweet note about how the couple would keep each other cozy for life — is still a much-used gift seven years later.While style editor Ingela Amundson and her new husband were celebrating at their 2008 reception, she says that two of their guests were busy “scurrying around the venue, secretly swiping stuff — a spoon, a sample of red wine, flower petals.” These ingenious and sneaky friends then took the mementos to the late artist Barton Lidice Benes, who used them to create a shadow box. “But,” Ingela adds, “I’m sure crafty types could pull off a fully DIY version.”In July 2022, Abigail Keel, who produces The Wirecutter Show, and her husband got married at their local City Hall and then threw a party in their backyard. “My high school bestie made us an old-school style needlepoint with our names and wedding date,” says Abigail. “It brings me a lot of joy, and it’s something that will last forever.”