'Til death do you 'part or the china pattern do you 'part?

Working at C&B has many benefits--the discount, schtikel, extra $$--but getting up at 7:00 a.m. to be at work at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning is not one of them. Why the insanity when the store does not open 'til 11? There was a special event happening where happily-together couples can come in to register for their big day without the chaos of other customers. To make those early morning hours go by a little faster, while we waited for our grande Starbucks to kick in, my coworkers and I observed the couples and wondered if there is any correlation b/w the registry and the marriage to be...

There was the bride without the groom--will he always be so removed from their life together?
There was the groom that was clearly being dragged through this misery known as registering. We wondered if he's also being dragged to the alter.
A bride came in with her maid of honor--is it a healthy, trusting relationship or is the maid of honor more a part of the marriage than the groom?
A couple arrived with the bride's mother--I wondered how much influence she had on the couple's relationship.
Another couple came in with the groom's mother--did someone say mama's boy?
There was the older couple with a weariness about them...which number are we on honey? Which number wedding, I mean--do they really need more dishes?
There was the threesome--2 girls and a guy. Right in the beginning, after the scanner was handed over, the guy went one way and the two girls the other. Will they meet at the alter?
There was the bride who lost her husband--she asked at least 4 of us if we'd seen her husband. Let's hope he finds his way when it really matters.
There was the overwhelmed couple: "If the goblet is for red wine, and the glass with the longer stem for white wine, what about the glasses with the goblet but a longer stem--what are those for? Should we register for those? Do we need more than one style of flatware? Do we want beer mugs? What's the difference between a double and a cooler and a juice glass? Should we register for knives?" Take a deep breath and count to 10...it will be okay...

And, of course, without fail, there is the happy, healthy couple who was just having a good time with the whole thing--from picking the flatware to deciding on the shower curtain. It's always refreshing to see love at its finest.