Matt and I had very different experiences with online dating. I had been online for over a year when I spotted Matt’s headshot on JDate. He’d been there for all of one week, but already knew a JDate Success Story as his older sister, Amanda, had met her boyfriend (now husband) on JDate.

We didn’t waste any time and had our first date at a local oyster restaurant. I loved that he was willing to get oysters with me on a first date as many of the people I’d met before had some serious food aversions. It seemed like neither of us wanted the date to end as we left the restaurant after dinner and strolled down to the water to take in the night view of the city and continue chatting.

We only had a little over a month together in NYC before Matt was to return to Washington D.C. to finish his engineering degree. Quite romantically, before he left, Matt took me to one of my favorite restaurants and asked me if I would be his boyfriend. I excitedly said yes and we embarked on a long distance relationship for the next eight months. As hard as it was to date in two different cities, it actually allowed us to really spend some quality time together. Each trip that I would take to D.C., or he would take to NYC, was like a mini-vacation. We planned intimate dinners, attended shows and concerts, and really just spent each precious day falling in love.

By the time Matt was ready to move back to NYC, I was ready to make a big life decision and asked him to move in with me. He said yes and we quickly found a new apartment in Downtown Manhattan. Moving in together felt like the most natural thing in the world. We both complement each other’s strengths and make a great team when it comes to handling what life throws at you. This would truly be put to the test when Hurricane Sandy struck and forced us to evacuate our building. Unfortunately, the building was shut down for almost five months and we never moved back in. We decided to turn lemons into lemonade and purchase a home together… this time, on higher ground in Brooklyn!

Buying a home was a new adventure; one that was at times exciting and at other times exhausting, but we came out of the experience with a beautiful apartment and an even stronger bond to each other. On the day that we got the keys to our little slice of Brooklyn, Matt sat me down on the floor of our empty space and pulled out a list. He is quite fond of making lists, but this one was special; it was a list of 25 reasons why he loves me. The 25th reason was, “I love thinking about how I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He pulled out a ring box from which he produced his grandfather’s wedding band. Through tears of joy I said yes!

We will be getting married in Brooklyn on October 26, 2014. We are excited and blessed to have the full support of both our families and all our friends. We know that without JDate, our paths never would have crossed and we are truly thankful to the site for helping us find each other!

Marshall and Matt
Brooklyn, New York