Dear JDate,

I can’t remember how many times I had suspended my Premium Membership on JDate, but in November 2005, I decided to go online “one more time.” Although I wasn’t looking for someone 500 miles away, I would often browse to see who was online at the same time as me. On the very first day of my “return” to JDate, I found Jonathan’s profile and, after reading more about him, thought we could be a match. I sent him a Click and he quickly responded. Jonathan had a friend in my hometown of Toronto, Ontario and jokingly asked if he should be paying his friend a visit. What really impressed me about Jonathan was his eagerness to travel from his hometown of Brooklyn, New York to see me. Up until this point, I had met a number of guys on JDate that lived outside of Toronto, and they all wanted me to visit them first. It was refreshing to finally meet someone that was willing to go the distance for me from the start.

Within a couple of days, we were corresponding by JDate instant messenger and making phone calls, and within a week, we decided it was time to meet. Although Jonathan booked a flight to Toronto to visit his friend for his Thanksgiving weekend, I couldn’t wait to meet him. So, I booked a flight to New York to attend a closing party for a photography exhibit that Jonathan both curated and participated in. This happened the weekend before Jonathan’s arrival in Toronto. After a great weekend together, which included meeting his family and some of his friends, Jonathan and I started to travel back and forth between Toronto and New York. Within the first few months, we spent over 20 days together and knew that it was meant to be.

On July 21, 2006, Jonathan’s flight to Toronto was cancelled. He was coming to Toronto to attend my grandparents’ 60th anniversary, but unbeknownst to me, there was more than just the party that was bringing him to Toronto. As quickly as he could, Jonathan jumped in a taxi and headed to the New York Port Authority, where he purchased a one-way Greyhound ticket to Toronto. Tired from the 10 ½ hour bus trip, Jonathan fell right asleep. When he awoke, he surprised me with the perfect wedding proposal morning. Being a photographer, Jonathan proposed on his photo-blog, and when I saw the proposal, he was right behind me on one knee, waiting to ask me to be his wife. Since we met online, Jonathan thought it would be fitting to also propose online. My response to his question, of course, was, “Yes!” Three months later, on October 22, 2006, we were married at Giando on the Water in Brooklyn, New York. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, and both the wedding ceremony and reception overlooked Manhattan. We couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect day. After the wedding, we were contacted by the “New York Daily News” and were featured on the front page of the wedding section on November 10, 2006, the same day as my birthday. For Jonathan’s birthday in February, we went on our honeymoon in Mexico. We are looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays and happy occasions together, thanks to JDate!

Tips for other JDaters:
Be patient; distance shouldn’t be a burden.

Lesley & Jonathan
Toronto, Ontario and New York, New York