Here Comes the Tide

I’d just completed my wedding vows at Santa Ana’s brick courthouse when the marriage commissioner handed me a festive pink plastic bag and said, warmly, “This is for the bride.” I could only imagine its contents! A chilled bottle of Veuve Clicquot? A Frederick’s garter belt? No, inside my “Newlywed Sampler” awaited an unusual wedding present: household samples (could the honeymoon be over this quickly?), including a “Mr. Clean” brochure proclaiming “Till dirt do you part” that stressed the importance of shiny countertops in keeping a marriage together.

“What’s in them has to be appropriate,” says an employee of First Moments Inc., the New York-based company that provides 1.5 million gift packs a year to courthouses around the country. My Newlywed Sampler contained a paper towel, (yes, just one, though the company now has plans to include a whole roll), laundry softener, deodorant for women, a shower sponge, cleaning liquid and body soap. Officials at the courthouse say most couples are excited upon receipt of the gift bag, though judging by the contents, the groom’s needs seem to be poorly looked after.