3 Ikea Employees Share the Most Romantic Customer Moments They've Ever Witnessed

Not all relationships thrive on furniture shopping and Swedish meatballs, but it brought these couples closer together. You might think of a couple’s trip to the furniture store as a simple way to spruce up your home, but it can also be a surprising test of your relationship. The joy of finding the world’s most perfect couch can bring you closer together, but decor-related bickering could also drive a firm wedge between you two. One episode of 30 Rock showed just as much when Liz and Criss went on an Ikea quest for a specific table.Even though they have a plan to get through the trip without fighting, it falls by the wayside in favor of lobbing verbal grenades at each other, then getting into a full-blown shouting match. This isn’t a shocker to some relationship experts. “You might go in expecting your partner to love your taste, then suddenly discover they want something that’s, in your opinion, really ugly,” says Jane Greer, Ph.D., New York-based relationship expert and author of What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship. "Suddenly, you’re like, ‘Who is this person and where did his horrible taste come from?’" That can turn into a furniture-based power struggle that spirals into anger and resentment. Add in the fact that furniture’s often expensive and you might disagree about how much to spend, and you could have a recipe for relationship disaster.RELATED: 10 Signs Your Relationship Is Rock-Solid and Going to LastLuckily, that’s not always the case! Browsing potential furniture together can make you even more sure that this is the person you want to be with forever. “Sometimes, when you shop for furniture together, there’s an excitement about making purchases that are a reflection of your shared taste," says Greer. "It’s the beginning of literally building your life together." In case you needed some proof, here are three Ikea employees sharing the awesome relationship moments they’ve seen in their stores.“Over the years, I have witnessed many couples and families shopping at Ikea, and what stands out to me are the stories of couples that feel so attached to the store that they want it to have a special place in their memories,” says Marty Marston, an Ikea product PR manager. Specifically, Marston recalls a 20-couple group wedding that happened at California’s Ikea Burbank in 2008.  “Selected from more than 500 applicants in the Los Angeles area, the participating couples either got married, renewed their vows, or participated in a commitment ceremony,” says Marston of the festivities, which were complete with a disco-themed reception and plenty of Ikea's famous Swedish meatballs.RELATED: 6 Unexpected Ways You're Ruining Your RelationshipIkea's also been host to one of the most popular romance trends of past years: the flash mob proposal. “In June 2013, a man named Carlos Gato approached us to see if we could help him set up a flash mob proposal at the Ikea Sunrise store,” says Chantal Nichtawitz, a local marketing specialist at the Florida location. After running into each other in the pillow section, Gato and his then-girlfriend Rebecca Shackelford had their first impromptu date. They walked through the store commenting on different textiles, trying out various beds and joking around about who had better taste in decor, says Nichtawitz. Then they shared a meatball meal and only left when the store started closing, after they’d spent 10 hours together.Two years later, Ikea employees and members of a local youth dance group teamed up to help Carlos propose to Rebecca. Here’s the adorable moment caught on tape:RELATED: The Best Way to Tell if Your Relationship Will LastThey weren’t the only couple to meet in Ikea and return years later for a momentous relationship occasion. In 2005, Berkeley “Rashid” Smith and Shirley Stewart met in the frames department of Ikea's Elizabeth store in New Jersey. Eight years later, Shirley reached out to Ikea to ask if she could have her wedding there. Ikea obliged, and when their big day arrived, they decided to surprise the couple with a few extras to make it even more special.“When [Shirley], [Berkeley], and about 20 of their family members arrived, we kicked off the festivities by treating them to breakfast in the Ikea Restaurant. After breakfast, we arranged a full-blown wedding procession throughout the Market Hall, which was the same route that [Shirley] took eight years ago to meet her future husband in the frames department,” says Olivia Johnson, a local marketing specialist at the Elizabeth location. Ikea customers and employees cheered them on as they made their way through the store, finally landing in the spot where they originally met. After the ceremony, Ikea sent the couple off with well wishes and Ikea luggage packed with various items.RELATED: The Key Thing People in Happy Relationships Do DifferentlySo the lesson here is that a couple’s excursion to the furniture store is what you make of it. Sure, you can go into the experience dreading it, sure it’ll turn into a fight. But if you reframe  your thinking and see it as a place that could spark even more romance in your relationship, it can make you stronger. “Before you go, have a discussion to prioritize the most important pieces to get and what your budget is so neither of you is blindsided," says Greer. "And when you’re there, approach it as an opportunity to discover your partner’s taste, and be open to sharing it." With that advice, you have a good chance of not only making it through the trip with your relationship intact, but leaving the store even more in love than you were before you walked in.

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