Archive for the ‘Success Stories’ Category

We’re celebrating more than just the beginning of the Jewish New Year. A new study confirms that JDate is responsible for more Jewish marriages than all other dating sites combined. Of course we already knew this was true, but now we have the facts to back it up.

We recently commissioned an independent research company, ResearchNow, to survey nearly 1,000 married Jewish internet users. One of the most compelling findings: JDate is responsible for 52% of the marriages that started online, while only 17% of those surveyed met on Match.com® and 10% on eHarmony®.

Those who were surveyed were more likely to find a date on JDate than on any other online dating site. In fact, 63% of all online dates came from JDate. That’s three times more than Match and nine times more than eHarmony.

We couldn’t be happier about JDate’s success and contribution to the Jewish community, and are thrilled to share the good news!

Additional Highlights

·         5 out of 9 Jews married since 2008 used online dating during their search

·         63% of online dates amongst Jews originated at JDate

·         76% of Jewish online daters use JDate

·         Match.com’s President even used JDate

Over the weekend I attended one of those rare (by today’s standards) weddings where the bride and groom are still excited about their relationship. The couple met three years ago to the day, meaning not so long ago that the nuptials were merely a legal formality. These guys are clearly still in love, and the pair made it clear in their vows that they believe their union, which began at a Purim party, was fated.

While I don’t know if my philosophies on life jive with pre-ordination, I do know that it was at least a terrific coincidence (or perhaps intelligent design of the bridal variety) that seated me at dinner next to the bridesmaid and her boyfriend. She and I got to talking, and I learned that we share a love of writing about love, particularly of the online Jewish variety. An exchange of emails means we may do so in a collaborative fashion in the future. To top off this excitement, she and her boyfriend are a match made in JDate heaven.

Meanwhile, during the reception, I conducted a textual flirtation with a coworker I’ve discussed here, with whom I’ve made amends, making jokes in a style terrifying to men about the gathering of tossed bouquets. When this traditional game of catch arrived, as always, I lost out due to my physical timidity, lack of hand-eye coordination, and perhaps lack of will. Because I do not have a real boyfriend, I was happy enough to be pushed aside by the bridesmaid, who is pretty serious with her doctor beau. I hope the very tasteful flower arrangement yields good things for this JDate duo.

It is very common for women to dismiss all men as being afraid of commitment.  It seems they use this reasoning whenever they want to diagnose any problem they see in men.  If a guy doesn’t want to take a morning jog at seven a.m., he’s afraid of commitment. If a guy doesn’t want to go department store shopping for the better part of a weekend, he’s afraid of commitment.  If a guy has been dating a women for ten years, and still won’t propose, he’s afraid of commitment.  Okay, I concede on that one.

I may not speak for all men.  I may not be speaking for many men.  I may be speaking only for myself.  I don’t see anything wrong or scary with spending the rest of your life with the woman that you love.  I don’t even see anything wrong with spending the rest of your life with the woman that you tolerate.  Seriously, dating is hard.  The constant fear of rejection and the relentless pursuit of self-perfection gets tiring.  They can wear on you until you become irrationally afraid of weekends and of any restaurants that have valet parking.  Sometimes, we just want it to be over.  I am very much looking forward to becoming fat and apathetic about life.  Complacency is my ultimate life goal.

Though I don’t think I am afraid of commitment, I know for sure that I am scared of crazy women.  I think that if a woman becomes so sure that any man she dates is scared of settling down, she may work herself up so much that she can come off as insane.  If I’m on a date, for example, and the woman starts asking me how many kids I want before our bread arrives, I get scared.  This is not because I don’t eventually want kids.  This is because we have literally known each other for five minutes and I spent all week obsessively getting ready for this dinner.  Right now, I am completely committed to making this dinner as pleasurable as possible for the both of us.  You can’t just skip to us having kids.  Right now, I’m too focused on trying to figure out how to fill the next two hours with inane small talk to produce another life with you.

I spent this last week in Greensboro, NC.  It’s the city I grew up in.  My sister was getting married, coincidentally enough to a guy she met on JDate 3 1/2 years ago in New York City.  The wedding was a smashing success, and everyone had a lovely weekend.  I spent some time with my brother-in-law Chris, and while we were shooting hoops in the backyard, we discussed JDate.

Chris had dated a few girls from JDate before he met my sister, Miriam.  He said the same  thing I have been experiencing; he would meet a girl, they dated for a bit before they both realized it wasn’t working, and then he went back to browsing profiles.  Eventually he came across my sister’s, and after reading her profile that stated how much she enjoyed Broadway shows, sent her an email.  In it contained a well-written and thought-out letter, which included a less-than-true statement about his own passion for musical theater.

Lo and behold, it worked!  My sister was intrigued, and they met for coffee later in the week.  He gladly went to Broadway shows, and in return she was willing to give professional hockey a chance, a sport that Chris enjoyed.  Of course, later in their relationship, Chris admitted that he wasn’t a Broadway enthusiast, but by then it didn’t matter.  His willingness to embrace a passion of my sister’s was enough for her, and in return she did the same for him.

What does this teach us?  That you should lie about your interests?  Not quite.  But I don’t think there is a problem with embellishing them slightly to catch the interest of a certain JDater®.  Who knows, maybe you can impress upon them an interest of yours!

The most gratifying part of our jobs here at JDate are the thousands of phone calls, emails and letters we receive every year from JDate success stories thanking us for connecting them with their beshert. We never tire of hearing stories and testimonies from Jews all over the world about how JDate has influenced their lives and, in the process, helped build the Jewish community.

Two weeks ago, we had the unique opportunity to turn the tables and thank the “products of JDate” for being such loyal alumni, brand ambassadors and prime examples of JDate’s success.

Our President and Chief Operating Officer, Greg Liberman, and his wife Jessica hosted an elegant dinner party at Geisha House in Hollywood, inviting several JDate success stories of all ages (ranging from 23 to 77) as the honored guests of the evening.  The party kicked off with a toast and, less than halfway into the delicious four course menu, it was as if everyone at the table were old friends. Check out the photos below for highlights of the evening and stay tuned for news of our next success story dinner party in NYC!

Avi & Margarita drove down from San Diego to attend!

The entire group of JDate Alumni with Greg and Jessica Liberman

Erika & David are expecting their first JBaby. Mazel tov to the happy couple!

What happens when you put a group of attractive and single JDate members together in a room with a half dozen JDate success story couples of all ages?  JDate Photo Shoot 2009, of course!

Two weeks ago, the JDate marketing team organized a professional photo shoot at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles where JDate members and success stories were invited to receive the fashion plate treatment and pose to be the next “faces of JDate.” The photos, to be used in marketing campaigns both onsite and off, were to capture real moments in relationships and the authenticity of the JDate experience.

Once the ice was broken (which took all of about 5 minutes), it was time to hustle our models into hair and makeup, wardrobe, and lastly, in front of the flashing lights of the camera. Our models blew our expectations out of the water and posed as naturally as if they had been born to smile and strut their stuff.

In between shooting, singles mingled (a few even exchanged numbers!) over delicious food and success story couples traded anecdotes of how JDate has changed their lives.

Here are just a few of the beautiful photographs that resulted from the shoot:

Barb & Larry came all the way from Scottsdale, AZ to participate!

Haleh & Itai are getting married in September! Mazel tov to the happy couple!

Lorraine & Marv met as childhood friends and reunited several decades later via JDate!

Don’t Nicole & Max make the most adorable couple!?

As I mentioned previously, one of the best parts of my job as Founder of JewishWeddingNetwork.com is hearing all about how people meet.  This next story is by far the best JDate success story that I’ve heard.

Artist Maya Escobar was a senior at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, when she attended a performance art class in which she discussed how differently she was perceived by Latino men, as compared to Jewish men. Jewish men thought she was exotic and labeled her a Latin sex symbol, while Latino men would be impressed with her accomplishments and goals.  Her professor suggested that as part of her studies, Maya set up profiles on a Latin dating site and a Jewish dating site, and document the process.

Maya joined JDate as part of a performance art piece, but that only lasted until she received an email from a guy named Loren. Loren had his profile up on JDate for two years, but didn’t pay for an active membership until he saw Maya’s profile.  Ironically, Maya had seen Loren’s profile a year before when she was just perusing the site, and thought to herself that if she were to meet someone on JDate, he’s the guy she’d want to meet.  Maya was attracted to Loren on many levels – he’s a musician and an artist like herself and it turned out that Loren had been head of UIC’s Hillel, where Maya’s brother went to school. The couple went on to graduate school together at Washington University in St. Louis, where Maya got her MFA and Loren is getting his law degree.

Loren and Maya, Photo Credit: Marv Chait

Yes, Maya broke the code of her project, but in a sense she didn’t.  Maya’s soul mate turned out to be the one guy who didn’t treat her in a stereotypical manner.  

Maya and Loren recently wed in a ceremony that incorporated both the Jewish traditions and the Guatemalan traditions of Maya’s heritage.  You can read more about Maya and Loren’s wedding story at JewishWeddingNetwork.com.

One of the best parts of my job as founder of Jewish Wedding Network is finding out how couples meet. I never tire of hearing the stories! I know a lot of people meet on JDate, but I don’t think I really realized how many couples meet on JDate until I launched a Jewish wedding planning website.

Mara and Adam are one such couple, but their online meeting was anything but ordinary. In 2003, Mara was just out of college and decided to dabble in JDating. She signed up for a subscription, but two months later let it lapse –and that’s when she received an important email from another JDater. When she looked at the sender’s profile, she thought he looked familiar. The subject line of his message? “You look familiar.” As it turns out they went to the same college, at the same time, were amongst only a handful of Jewish students, and had loads of friends in common, but had never actually met! Doesn’t fate work in mysterious ways?

Adam and Mara

Mara and Adam are an official JDate Success Story and are now planning their November 2009 wedding. You can follow Mara as she blogs about her wedding planning journey at JewishWeddingNetwork.com

My friend Polina and I go way back–all the way back to the 10th grade. When you’ve known someone this long, you’ve really experienced life’s ups and downs together. And in our case, we’ve been there for one another through the ups and downs of dating.

Polina and Sara at their 15 Year High School Reunion

Last year, Polina called to tell me the great news – that her little sister was engaged. At the time Polina was single. I had a funny premonition and told Polina that I bet she’d be engaged by the time her sister’s wedding rolled around. She laughed at the mere thought of it.

Just a few months ago, I had the satisfaction of saying “I told you so.”

Soon after our conversation, Polina met Jake on JDate. From the moment she mentioned him to me, I had a really good feeling. They are both Russian and come from the same cultural background, and neither one of them had seriously dated other Russians. Also, she loves outdoor activities. He loves outdoor activities too.  Um…did I mention I had a good feeling?

Jake and Polina

Fast forward eight months later and Polina and Jake are engaged. Their wedding is planned for September 2009 – three weeks after Polina’s sister’s wedding. Of course, her parents couldn’t be more thrilled with having a b’nai mitzvah – two daughter’s getting married within a month! As I predicted – Polina will be bringing her fiancé to her sister’s wedding.

Follow Polina’s story on Jewish Wedding Network as she plans her September wedding to Jake.