A cutting board is one of the few registry gifts that gets used from the first week. A Virginia board adds something personal: the state the couple lives in, the city where they met, or the place they just bought a house.
Here's what our Virginia boards are and how to pick one for a wedding registry or a housewarming. They're all in our Virginia gifts collection.
What the board is
Every Virginia board starts from the same blank: solid bamboo, 17 by 5.25 inches, cut in the silhouette of a wine bottle. The design is laser engraved into one face, so there's no ink or paint to wear off. The engraving comes out in shades from brown to near black, so no two boards look exactly alike.
It's long and narrow, so it's a serving and light slicing board rather than a chopping block. It's good for cheese and crackers, a loaf of bread, or a tray of drinks carried out to the porch.
For a wedding
The Virginia wine bottle cutting board comes in our 16 Virginia state designs. A few suit a wedding:
- LOVE Stacked, with the state standing in for the O in LOVE
- Hand-Drawn Love, a hand-drawn state outline with love in cursive
- Home Script & Heart, the state outline with home in script and a heart
These are designs, not custom text, so there's no name or date on the board.
For a housewarming
For a new house, these designs fit:
- Home Sweet Home, with the state shape standing in for the O in HOME
- HOME Outline, HOME with the state outline as the O
- Est. 1788, the year Virginia joined the Union
City boards
For a couple tied to a city, the same board comes with a skyline:
- Richmond: the capitol, the bridges and downtown towers along the James River
- Virginia Beach: King Neptune, the lighthouse and the boardwalk
- Norfolk: a battleship and a Ferris wheel on the waterfront
- Chesapeake: bridges, water and a lighthouse
Each has the city name engraved beneath the skyline.
Make it a set
A board and a coaster set in the same design make a fuller gift. The Virginia slate coaster set comes as a single coaster or a set of 4, 6 or 8, in natural slate with hand chiseled edges, round or square, in the same state designs. Or pair a board with the Old Dominion slate coaster set, which has a cardinal and dogwood blossoms.
Care
Tuck a note in with the gift:
- Hand wash and towel dry. No dishwasher.
- Don't leave it soaking. Standing water warps a board.
- Oil it with food safe mineral oil when it starts to look pale.
- Store it upright so air reaches both sides.
Made to order
These aren't made in Virginia. We keep bamboo blanks in stock in our workshop in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Each board is engraved after you order and ships within 1 to 5 business days in a plain box, so wrap it yourself or have it sent to you first. Add carrier time before the wedding date. See every board on the Virginia collection page.
