Who knew that when they were shopping for knickknacks eight years ago at an Ikea in Elizabeth, New Jersey that Berkeley “Rashid” Smith and Shirley Stewart would find lasting love?
In honor of the place that brought them together, the Newark, New Jersey natives married on Saturday in the affordable housewares emporium in front of a small bridal party.
“Smith, who owns a cleaning business, says the couple agreed that if they ever got married, it would be where they met,” The Star-Ledger reports.
After Smith returned to the furnishings store a few weeks before the ceremony to find the exact spot, everything was settled. They tied the knot next to stacks of picture frames.
Ikea stores have hosted weddings before in many of its locations internationally, but this was the first for the Elizabeth outpost. The staff was thrilled to be part of the occasion.
“We were here for you when you met,” an Elizabeth Ikea spokesperson told the couple. “So we wanted to be here for you when you exchanged your vows.”
Smith and Steward jumped an Ikea broom to seal the deal in a cherished African-American wedding tradition that hearkens back to slavery, an act of union that was carried out when slaves were not allowed to legally marry.
The nuptials were finalized at the home of Smith’s grandmother, who was too ill to attend the Ikea wedding.
The couple have seven children between them.
Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb.