Single women, are you marriage-obsessed? Like an HBO caricature, do you dream of your New York Times wedding photo announcement? Gawker Intern Alexis certainly does. She's a religious reader of the NYT's Wedding Vows section and she detected a curious pattern—lots of investment banker/teacher couples (oh, sweet union of capitalism and public service). Alexis and Gawker Resident Statistician Andrew Krucoff then got all anal on the matrimony issue by recording age and profession for all the couples, approximately 500 of them, in the NYT's Wedding Vows section between June and August 2004. After the jump we look at Part 1 of the analysis: the ugly reality of age.

If you're concerned about your age, the prospect of marriage, and appearing in the NYT, here are some relevant stats: the average age of featured grooms and brides is 33 and 31, respectively. Does that make you feel a bit old and worried? Well, there's still hope for you if you widen the options: same-sex couples in the NYT skew higher with an average age of 45. Wedded gays also have a tendency to be in more May-December relationships: almost one-fifth of the couples have an age difference of 10 or more years and 43% are 6+ years apart.

On the straight side, the demo is more pinched with 46% being within one year of their partner's age and 70% with a 3 years or less age gap. Who takes the "Who's Your Daddy?" prize in the often star-studded wedding announcement section? Score one (or make that 28) for the Fonz — former Senator Alfonse D'amato, 66, married clerk Katuria Smith who is 38. Ew.