Dear JDate,

My husband and I met on JDate in September 2003 and got married in April 2005. I had been a long-time JDater and had JDated a lot while traveling. On the flip side, my husband had only been on one JDate prior to me!

When my travels slowed down, so did my dating. Because of a friend’s suggestion, I decided to check out JDaters from Seattle. I was living in Vancouver, BC, only a three hour drive away. My Premium Membership was due to expire the next day so I thought, “Why not? One last try…”

I found a few profiles that I liked in Seattle and emailed them. I got a reply from a very nice guy, and we spent the next three weeks emailing back & forth. Eventually, he suggested he would “come up to Vancouver for the night and take me out to dinner.” I reluctantly agreed. I was suddenly dealing with an illness in the family and wasn’t really feeling up to it. And, frankly, I had become a bit frustrated with online dating. Luckily, my girlfriends staged an “intervention” the night before and told me that I needed to go with an open mind. I laughed about it, but took to heart what they were saying.

The next night we met for a drink and dinner. As I was on the escalator going up to where we were meeting, I had a strange feeling. Nervous, yes, but also a “pang” of something different than all the other dates I had been on.

The evening was nice; great conversation, laughter and a bit of a spark. The next day, we decided to walk to Granville Island (an outdoor market on the water.) We talked openly, and it was very comfortable right from the start. We had a fun day, and when he left that night to drive back to Seattle, I knew something definitely felt different this time. I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight but, there was definitely something!

We dated long-distance for six months, and then, he asked me to move to Seattle. We lived together for three months before he proposed — on a wonderful, surprise trip to San Francisco. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were strolling on Sausalito. When we sat down by the water, I said that the day had reminded me of our first date when we went to Granville Island. He said that was no coincidence as he’d try to replicate the day. When I looked surprised by this, he added, “Do you remember what I said in my JDate profile about my ideal first date?” I couldn’t really remember (c’mon, it was over nine months ago). He reminded me that he had written: “…the ideal first date — you’ll never want it to end, and with the right person, it never will!” Then, he proposed!

We got married in Maui on April 2005, and we’re very much enjoying life as newlyweds!

Leslie & Marc
British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA