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Back in his pre-Times days, some of David Brooks' best-known writings were about the Times wedding page. "Unabashed elitist, secretive, and totally honest, the 'mergers and acquisitions page' (as some of its devotees call it) has always provided an accurate look at at least a chunk of the American ruling class. And over the years it has reflected the changing ingredients of elite status," he wrote in Bobos in Paradise. "The Times emaphasizes four things about a person — college degrees, graduate degrees, career path, and parents' profession — for these are the markers of upscale Americans today."

How will an imaginary couple — let's call them "Emma and Chris" — fare under this system?

The two met as undergrads at Princeton (college degrees, check). They're each getting dual master's degrees at Harvard (graduate degrees, check). The graduate degrees are MBAs and master's degrees in public administration, so their career paths are presumably some sort of business/government mix (career path, check). And, as for parents professions, they're both children of CEOs — and her father just happens to be the billionaire CEO of a media company (the weddings pages love the media) and, oh yeah, the mayor of New York (parents' professions, check check check).

By Brooks' standards, then, these kids are shoo-ins for the featured wedding, no?

Actually, no. They were trumped by Valerie Merahn and Michael Simon. And what makes them more worthy, did they perhaps meet as undergrads at Harvard, rather than merely at Princeton? Oh, no; it's even better. They met at a singles party. In Hoboken.

Poor Emma.

Valerie Merahn and Michael Simon [NYT]
Emma Bloomberg, Chistopher Frissora [NYT]