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It Turns Out That Getting Married At IKEA Can Be Romantic
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2013
Modified Jun 12, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 12, 2013
Modified Jun 12, 2013
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When we hear IKEA, we think of horse meatballs, monkeys, and that hilarious Louie episode—but we don't normally associate the Swedish domesticity warehouse with romance. Not so for Shirley and Berkely Smith, who originally met at an IKEA in New Jersey over seven years ago. The two tied the knot this past weekend, and they did so at the most romantic place they could think of: IKEA.
The two met in 2005 at an IKEA in Elizabeth, N.J.—their meeting was facilitated by Shirley's then 14-year-old daughter Jashirele Stewart: "My daughter had gotten suspended from school so we were in there doing some shopping," Shirley Smith told Good Morning America. "He was in there. I saw him right when he came in, and I checked his finger to make sure he wasn't married. I followed him for about an hour."
Jashirele approached Berkely on her behalf: "He said to her, 'I don't give my number to little kids,' so she brought him over to me," Shirley Smith said. "I was thinking, 'Oh, my God. I'm going to have a heart attack.' But we've been best friends ever since." When they decided to get married recently, they knew they wanted to at least get a photo in the aisle where they met.
"I called and explained we wanted it to be just him and I in that section, and just take a picture and that's it," said Shirley. "I didn't want to distract the customers or cause a big fuss, but they said they'll do it even better." So in the end, IKEA was the location for the wedding, and they gave the couple a heap of gifts as well.
"It came out to be so beautiful," Shirley Smith said. "It was better than I ever hoped." All this time, we've been arguing about whether corporations should be considered people, but maybe we've been asking the wrong question—we never stopped to consider whether corporations can feel love.
Tagged
classy swedish imports
ikea
love
marriage
new jersey
nj
romance
wedding
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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