  So, we went looking at china patterns yesterday. Lots of very similar looking white-with-metal-band plates, with the main difference in the basic set being the teacup shape. Pretty much all the china is dishwasher-safe, but metal decoration generally prevents you from putting it in the microwave. (Not that I'd generally want to do that, but you could picture someone trying to reheat a cup of tea without thinking or something. ) Apparently, the technology to make microwave-safe metal-decorated china now exists. Buck located urlLink an example of this sort of china and can also explain how they probably make it work. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of getting brand new dishes, but I suppose some of that is a combination of "don't be greedy", "just make do with what you have", and a tendency to get decent hand-me-downs.
I had some of the same issue with registering in general, but somehow the china, etc. bothers me more. Maybe it is because the general registry seems to be giving general guidelines for the kind of stuff we could us, while picking a china pattern dictates a specific product. Maybe part of it is that a whole set of dishes is a such big item. If someone bought us some sheets that we didn't pick, we could still use them just fine, but if someone bought us a couple of place settings in a different pattern it would clash on a holiday table. Maybe part of what bothers me is that it is such a public item. No one is going to know if all of our towels match, or if our sheets are strange colors, or if the cookware is all the same brand, but if you are having a fancy dinner with fancy plates, you know that is one thing people will see.
(They still probably won't care , considering that Buck and I had dinner with a couple who were impressed that we had cloth napkins, but still...) I'm probably just channeling some wedding anxiety into a silly area right now. Better I get oddly introspective about plates than become all freaky and controlling, I suppose. 
