By Kelly Gaudreau, founder of HOSTED in Locust Valley, NY
Fall is my favorite season to set a table. The light gets low and golden, the candles come out earlier, and suddenly every weekend has a reason to gather: apple picking, the first fire, the game, and of course, Thanksgiving.
It's also the season our couples start asking for something new. Most HOSTED registries are built around two edits: an everyday edit for real life and a party edit for entertaining. Lately, more and more couples want a third, a holiday edit. And in the last two weeks alone, two of our couples asked for a Thanksgiving edit all their own. So this month, here are all three, built for fall.
What should you register for if you’re hosting Thanksgiving?
Start with the table: dinner and salad plates for every guest (layered on a charger if you love a dressed-up setting), wine glasses and flatware. Then add what the meal needs: a platter big enough for the turkey, a gravy boat, a carving set and a tureen for soup or sides. Finish with candlesticks, a vase or two and a few pieces for the bar. At HOSTED in Locust Valley, Long Island, NY, we've set it four ways below, from a classic pheasant table to gold-rimmed glass that carries you right through New Year's Eve.
Why We Build Registries in Edits
An edit is a small, complete collection built around one part of your life. Instead of scrolling through 400 plates, you see a whole table: the plates, the glasses, the serveware, the candles and the napkins that go with them.
It's how I've always shopped for my own table, and it's how our couples end up with a registry that actually looks like them. Each edit below is ready to register for as is, or to borrow from.
Set for the Holidays: A Little Festive or All In?
Let me be clear: nobody is putting all of this on one table. (Well, almost nobody.) Our Set for the Holidays board is really four tables side by side, and every couple who sits down with us lands somewhere different.
Some couples just want a little sparkle. They've already chosen their everyday pieces and their party pieces, and for Thanksgiving they only need the hardworking extras: a platter that can actually hold the turkey, a gravy boat, something to carve with and a few glasses that feel like the holidays. Done, and done beautifully.
Then there are the couples who go all in. Pheasants on the plates, a pumpkin on the table, foxes holding the martinis. When their guests walk through the door, there's no question what day it is. These are my people.
Most couples land happily somewhere in between: one special place setting that comes out for Thanksgiving, birthdays and New Year's Eve, plus a few holiday pieces that show up every November like old friends.
There's no wrong answer. The table is where the everyday happens, and where the big moments happen too, so build the one that feels like yours. Here are our four favorite ways to set it.
The Woodland Table: The Classic Thanksgiving
For the couple hosting the whole family, and the in-laws, and the neighbors. This is Thanksgiving at its most classic, and it's the table two of our couples have asked for in the last two weeks alone. Spode's Woodland pheasants, serveware big enough for the whole meal, tall candlelight and a little amber bar for the cocktail hour before everyone sits down.
Shop the look
Spode Woodland Pheasant Octagonal Platter : A 19-inch platter, which means the whole turkey fits. That's not a given!
Spode Woodland Pheasant Dinner Plate and Side Plate: The pattern that says Thanksgiving before anyone sits down. Easy to register for in twelves.
VIETRI Large Pumpkin Tureen: Soup to start, then a centerpiece for the rest of the fall.
Gourd Gravy Boat: Yes, you need a gravy boat. This one is pretty enough to leave out all season.
Berlingot Laguiole Carving Set: Hand it to whoever is carving and watch them stand a little taller.
Pewter Pheasants Salt & Pepper Set: The little detail guests always pick up and ask about.
L'Objet Prism Wine Glasses: A warm amber goblet at every seat. It glows by candlelight.
Mepra Raffaello Mirror 5-Piece Flatware Set and Brown & Gold Twist Napkin Rings: Classic Italian flatware and a warm brown finishing touch at each place.
Sancia Extra Tall Taper Candleholders: Height and candlelight down the middle of the table. Thanksgiving dinner starts in the dark, so lean into it.
Calinda Tall Vase and VIETRI Onda Glass Tortoiseshell Large Tulip Vase: Rich chocolate brown and tortoiseshell glass. Fill them with branches now and greenery in December.
L'Objet Prism Decanter and Ice Bucket + Tongs: The cocktail hour, handled. Faceted amber glass that matches the goblets on the table
The Aviary: Ginori for Thanksgiving and Beyond
For the couple who wants one setting that does it all. Ginori's Volière collection (it means "aviary" in French) is hand-painted birds framed in gold, and it's the most versatile fine china on this page. It's right at home on Thanksgiving, and just as right in your party edit: a birthday dinner, an engagement party, Christmas Eve.
Shop the look
Ginori 1735 Tangara du Canada Charger and Padda Flat Dinner Plate: Two different birds, layered. It looks collected, not matched.
NUDE Vintage Bourgogne Glasses: A simple, classic glass that lets the china shine.
Mepra Dolce Vita 5-Piece Place Setting: Matte gold flatware that picks up the gold on the plates.
The Collector's Table: Birds, Mushrooms and a Little Mischief
For the couple who loves a table with personality. This is the setting for anyone who'd rather mix than match: Royal Crown Derby's exotic birds, a botanical mushroom plate, a pink scalloped charger and a pair of dapper fox martini glasses. Nothing matches, and everything goes.
Shop the look
Royal Crown Derby Olde Avesbury: Exotic birds and gold on an English classic.
Anna Weatherley Anna's Palette Dinner Plate:The soft pink and gold edge that pulls the whole setting together.
Botanical mushroom plate: Hand-painted in Hungary and sourced through our partners. We add it to your registry for you.
Tulip Wine Glass: Delicate and a little bit vintage.
Hunting Dressed Fox Martini Glasses: A dapper little fox on your martini. Completely charming and a little bit cheeky.
Mepra Dolce Vita 5-Piece Place Setting: Gold flatware ties all that pattern together.
Golden Hour: The VIETRI Edit
For every couple, honestly. If there's one setting I'd add to almost any registry this season, it's VIETRI's gold-rimmed Rufolo glass. It's easy, it's pretty and it's priced so guests can grab a few. It's equally strong at Thanksgiving and on New Year's Eve: under the turkey in November, then holding Champagne and passed bites six weeks later.
Shop the look
VIETRI Rufolo Glass Dinner Plate and Salad Plate: The ruffled gold edge catches candlelight like nothing else. Layer them over any china, or use them on their own.
NUDE Vintage Bourgogne Glasses: Clean and classic, so the gold does the talking.
Mepra Dolce Vita 5-Piece Place Setting: Gold on gold, made for a holiday table.
How the HOSTED Registry Works
We keep it personal, and we love to have a little fun:
- Fill out our questionnaire so we can get a feel for your style and how you like to host.
- Choose how we meet: a Zoom call, an in-store appointment at our Locust Valley shop, or we'll send you a design board first.
- We build it together, edit by edit, around the way you actually live, including pieces from artisan partners outside our shop.
Nothing ships until after the wedding, and every HOSTED registry couple gets a lifetime 10% discount, so you can keep adding to your fall table for years.
The first holiday you host together is a big one. Let's set the table for it.
Fill out our Registry Quiz & Book your complimentary registry design session
Fall Wedding Registry FAQ
What should we register for if we're hosting Thanksgiving?
Start with dinner and salad plates for everyone at the table, then add a platter large enough for the turkey (18 inches or more), a gravy boat, a carving set, a tureen or serving pieces for the sides, wine glasses and flatware. Tall candlesticks and a vase or two finish the table.
What is a registry edit?
An edit is a small, complete collection built around one part of your life, like everyday dinners, parties or a holiday. It shows plates, glassware, flatware and serveware together, so you register for a whole table instead of picking pieces one at a time.
Should we add a holiday edit to our registry?
If you know you'll host a holiday, yes. A holiday edit covers the pieces you only need a few times a year, like a turkey platter or a tureen, and keeps your everyday and party edits focused on what you use most.
Can we mix patterns on a fall table?
Yes. Pick one common thread, like gold rims, birds or a warm color, and repeat it across different patterns. The table will look collected, not mismatched.
Will our Thanksgiving pieces only come out once a year?
Not if you choose well. Gold-edged glass like VIETRI's Rufolo works for Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, and Ginori's Volière plates are just as right for a dinner party or engagement celebration. Save the true once-a-year pieces for the ones you love most, like a turkey platter or a pumpkin tureen.
We're getting married in the spring. Does a fall registry make sense?
It does. Your first Thanksgiving together comes around fast, and a HOSTED lifetime 10% discount means you can keep adding pieces after the wedding.
Can HOSTED build our registry if we don't live on Long Island?
Absolutely. Many of our couples work with us entirely over Zoom. In-store appointments are available at our shop in Locust Valley, NY.
