Matt and I owe our marriage to JDate, although we did not meet the way other JDate couples normally do. In February 2004, I held a Tu B’Shevat seder for some friends at my apartment in Baltimore. One of my friends asked if she could bring a guest, Matt, and of course, I didn’t mind. I talked to him, but never even considered him as a potential date. In May, I went to a party at my friend’s house, and he was there again. She later told me that they had met through JDate and gone out, but they had decided to just be friends.

By October, I was beginning to give up on finding someone. I had been on several dates, but none of them had gone anywhere. I was getting frustrated and considered ending my JDate membership. Giving it one last chance was the best decision I ever made. Matt contacted me, re-introduced himself, and suggested he take me out to dinner to celebrate my graduation (I was finishing my master’s degree at the time). I contacted my friend, who by this point had moved, and she said it wouldn’t hurt her feelings if we went out.

We met for dinner in mid-November as we both had crazy schedules, and violated every patron etiquette rule you could think of–we were too busy talking to read the menu and order, and we were the last ones out of the restaurant as they were closing. The conversation flowed and was so natural. I knew right away something special was happening. I invited him over for a Hanukkah party as I love to celebrate the Jewish holidays. After everyone left, we talked into the wee hours of the night and agreed to date each other exclusively. We both knew we had found someone special. I had been out just the night before with another man I met on JDate, but I called him after Matt went home and told him that I was seeing someone.

I don’t remember when we began discussing marriage, but it didn’t take long. The pieces of our lives just seemed to fit together. We both valued Judaism and wanted to create a Jewish home. We loved to travel and really enjoyed just hanging out. He also cooked, cleaned and did all the things I hated doing. So, the fact that he proposed while watching “The Simpsons” five months later may not have been the most romantic thing, but it didn’t need to be. While it might sound so cliché, we’d been talking about marriage since we began dating.

We married on October 29, 2006. The rabbi who performed our wedding told us that 70% of the weddings he does now are couples who have met on JDate! I’ve talked to other rabbis and cantors, and they all say similar things. JDate does work! I tell all my single friends to be patient. I went on several bad dates, but never gave up.
Thank you,

Lisa & Matt
Baltimore, Maryland