Even though there are a zillion dating apps and dating websites, meeting someone you click with can still be a challenge. And while you choose a match on an app based on their photos, information, and messaging with them, there's still a chance that they could be completely different in person. If you've been frustrated with dating in the past and find yourself wishing there was an easier way to find someone you want to spend time with, maybe you've considered hiring a matchmaker. Although I've never actually done it, I'm curious about what hiring a matchmaker is like.
Recently, I was talking to one of my best friends who is a lovely single gal, and she said she had just gone on a great date with a really funny guy. I was so excited for her and asked how they'd met. She lowered her voice, even though she was home alone in her apartment, and said, "I hired a matchmaker!" IMO, the concept of hiring a matchmaker feels a little old-fashioned somehow, and even though she was hesitant to admit she was paying someone to help her find a boyfriend, she was loving the process. And it made a lot of sense for her! After all, she's busy, she wants to meet someone, but is done with going on a bunch of first dates with guys who aren't interested in having a real relationship. Her matchmaker cut out those guys, and set her up to connect with people who wanted what she wanted. Read on to hear from more women about their experience with professional matchmakers!
"When the matchmaker asked if I would meet someone younger than me I said 'Yes, but to be honest, I want a husband and family. And I’ve avoided dating younger guys because I they tend to not be in the same place.' She said, 'Oh! All of my clients want a wife and most want kids. No one pays this much to work with me to meet a girlfriend!'" Kim, 32, tells Elite Daily. She continued, "After dating a lot of guys who didn't really want anything serious, this was really refreshing!"
"I have used two different matchmaking services over the past year. The first one introduced me to a guy who I ended up being in an exclusive relationship for five months with and the second introduced me to a guy who I got along with amazingly but I wasn’t attracted to him," Poppy*, 30, tells Elite Daily. "I wouldn’t use the service again as I do like to meet people organically and for me, the physical attraction and chemistry is key, so as well-matched as people are on paper, I don’t think anyone can match chemistry, which is fundamentally what I want. I also now think that if a guy pays a company to match him with people, he is in some way kind of weird. Either socially or works so much they don’t have time to date or be in a relationship anyway."
"We all know that finding your soulmate is like finding a needle in a haystack these days with all of the online dating apps and distractions out there. As a busy career women I don't have time to sort through the hundreds of app profiles. I knew there had to be a better way," Laura said in a Yelp review of The Real Matchmaker. "I was lucky to get introduced to Jessie through another matchmaker and couldn't be happier to meet her. Jessie was so easy to talk to, really took the time to understand what I'm looking for and set me up with a few great guys. Her follow-up was great and the guys definitely met my expectations."
In a Yelp review of matchmaking service Stef And The City, Melissa said, "It's a structured process that takes the click-click-next-next element out of dating. Wouldn't you rather meet a few qualified, hand-picked dates than go on a bunch of random dates with people who may or may not be looking for the same thing you are?"
Zoe*, 29, tells Elite Daily, "A lot of matchmakers don't charge the women they work with, but they do charge the men. At first that felt weird to me, knowing that a guy was paying to be set up with me. But then I realized that paying money for a matchmaker meant he was actually going to be paying attention on our date, and really wanted to be there. So that made me feel better about it."
So while it seems like hiring a matchmaker could be a useful way to avoid some of the stressful parts of dating, it could also present challenges like discovering a great guy on paper actually has less than great chemistry in person. But since meeting that one special person can be truly challenging, why not get all the help you can? While you pay up, hiring a matchmaker just might pay off.
*Name has been changed.
