An autumn wedding registry built for cosy nights and cooking season

Marry in October and your first months as a married couple are spent with the heating on, the curtains drawn at five and the family coming over for dinner. A registry built for that season fills up with things you use every week from November on, which is more than a July registry can say for its picnic set.

Warmth for the house once the heating goes on

Put one proper wool throw on the list, and only one. A Klippan or a Pendleton blanket is not cheap, but it lives on the sofa for the next twenty years; the acrylic chunky knit in burnt orange is on the list because it photographs well. Add brushed cotton sheets for the winter bed and a duvet in the tog that suits your bedroom, which your guests cannot guess, so put the exact one on the list.

Candles in cinnamon or woodsmoke are cheap and change a room in a minute; put two on the list for the guests with a small budget. Skip the humidifier. It turns up on a lot of autumn lists, and in most homes it ends up unused at the back of a cupboard.

Cookware that earns its cupboard space

The centre of an autumn registry is one heavy enamelled casserole. A Le Creuset or a Staub, 26 cm, is expensive, but it cooks the stew, the braise and the Sunday bread and sits on the hob between uses without embarrassing anyone. It is exactly the item a group of colleagues chips in on together.

Around it: two wooden boards, a ceramic oven dish for the gratin and a slow cooker for the weekdays when even the casserole is too much effort. A KitchenAid stand mixer belongs on the list only if one of you actually bakes; otherwise it is a very expensive ornament. Copper-bottomed pans look good and are a chore to keep looking good; leave them off.

Hosting through the winter

An autumn wedding leads straight into a run of dinners: the in-laws in November, friends in December, both families in one room at some point over the holidays. What that needs is a table for twelve. A linen tablecloth, twelve cloth napkins, twelve of the same plate and a large roasting tin that fits a bird. Candlesticks and a couple of hurricane lanterns handle the light once the evenings start at five.

A cheese board with two knives gets used every weekend from October. A wine decanter gets used if you drink wine that needs decanting, which most people do not, so be honest before adding it. Add six good glasses and a set of storage jars, because autumn produces jam, chutney and leftover cake in quantities nobody plans for.

Keeping the outdoors usable once it gets cold

A fire pit keeps the terrace open until December and gives guests a reason to stay out with a blanket. It costs less than a gas patio heater, needs no bottle and makes a better evening. Add a basket for the firewood and two outdoor blankets that can be left out in the damp.

Outdoor cushions in autumn colours and an outdoor dining set for the winter are the items that get put away in November and stay put away. If the budget for the outside is small, spend it on the fire pit and a string of lights.

Small things that make the place feel like yours

Guests with a modest budget want something specific to pick, and this is the section for them. A stoneware vase in a dark glaze, a wicker basket that holds the throws when they are not in use, a set of brass picture frames for the wedding photos, a cookbook for the season (Nigel Slater's Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter is the obvious one).

Choose affordable versions of all of these. They give the cousin and the colleague a way in that does not involve contributing to the casserole.

Build the list around the casserole and the table, and leave the decorative filler off. You can create a wedding registry in a few minutes, and your guests see a list that fits the home you are actually setting up this season.