Oops--looks like I missed the info you posted initially about the 17-50mm lens shooting wide open.
Do you have some type of photo editing software? I used the Gaussian Blur (2.0 if I remember correctly) in Photoshop Elements 10 to blur the background just a tad which helps keep the focus on the couple as the subject. I, too, like the sign that was cropped out, but when including it, it takes some attention away from them. Found my eyes wandered around the photo a little too much with the sign there since it was in sharper focus. Glad to hear you'll continue to hang around. This is where a lot of the real learning comes in. You share a photograph and pay attention to the constructive criticism while disregarding comments that aren't important.