TRO/TD

Sherry & David

"The first time we talked on the phone I felt like we had been friends for years but had been apart."

A woman is in a local karaoke bar hoping to find a little happiness. Her marriage is going through a ruff patch and she needs some inspiration. While listening to the local armatures belting out Barry Manilow hits, she sees a happy couple sitting together. They look like they have never been apart a day in their lives. Seeing their contentment with each other’s company, she can’t stop herself from going over and speaking to them. “I just want you two to know that seeing the two of you together gives me hope for my marriage.” To which Sherry replies “Well, he has not asked me yet!”

When Sherry was preparing for her first “The Right One” match, she was terribly nervous. It had been more than 17 years since she was in the dating scene. Feeling that she should warn her match of her overwhelming nervousness, she gave David a call. “Are you nervous because I am?” David still reminds Sherry of that call. “The first time we talked on the phone I felt like we had been friends for years but had been apart” said David.

The couple met at a TGI Fridays. Sherry dressed in head to toe pink and looked for a man she never met before. After a search through the restaurant she turned around and there was David with roses and a wooden cross that he had made himself. Sherry turned pinker than her outfit. The couple dined together for two and a half hours. They discovered that they had so much in common that it was entering the realm of being scary.  The date went so well that David immediately asked Sherry out on another date. Of course Sherry said yes but she already had planned for David to come back to her house that evening to play board games. The evening was a great success and did not end until 1am.

When David returned home, Patches (his Chihuahua) was not pleased with him and let him know it in liquid form right on his foot. Thankfully Sherry, who has pets herself, wanted to make peace with Patches. Both David and Patches came over for a spaghetti dinner. Eventually Patches came around and now is more Sherry’s dog than David’s. Patches knew the relationship was meant to be. She’s a smart little dog.

It did not take long for David and Sherry to know they wanted to get married. Over the course of only a few months the couple fell in love and got engaged. A special trip to see Sherry’s mother was planned and together the couple asked for her blessing. Sherry’s mother was very pleased to give it and to her surprise David dropped down on one knee and proposed right there.

The wedding is set for May and the couple is planning for a special wedding in which all their grown children (Sherry has three boys and David has one girl) will play a part. David’s friends would often tease him about pampering Sherry. He feels so strongly about it that he included it in his wedding vows “I promise to protect, defend, and pamper you.”

When David moved his things into Sherry house, it did get a little confusing. The couple is so well matched that even their furniture styles were the same. They could not tell what belonged to whom? Fortunately after Sherry’s kids moved out they had plenty of rooms.

David and Sherry are both spiritual people. They are both an answer to each other’s prayer. Sherry told David “God knew I needed you.”
While planning her wedding Sherry found the perfect song to walk down the aisle to. “God Knew I Needed You” of course. The couple is proof positive that prayers are heard. They look forward to a long life together and lots of traveling.

Melissa & Mike

”There is no way that Mike and I would have met without Together, because we lived 40 miles away from each other. We’re totally different. Our backgrounds are different. Our paths would never have crossed.”

Melissa, how was your dating life before you joined Together Dating?
We’ve been together for a little over a year, and I was single for about two and a half years before I met him. I have to tell you that this is the first time that I’m going to be married, at 53. I was engaged previously, and my fiancé passed away suddenly. I had never online dated. How I had met people in my life was blind dates through friends. And I had a lot of really bad blind dates.

Were you initially skeptical of matchmakers & dating sites?
I never thought that I would try this. Every time I tell someone about how we met, that it was through a dating service, everyone I talk to has some story about meeting someone this way, via a matchmaking service or an online site. But online dating was not for me because I never really trusted it as a safe way to meet people.

What inspired you to try Together Dating?
I heard about someone who had joined Together and had met her husband. A friend of a friend, I never actually met this person but I heard about her, and that’s why I tried it.

How did you like working with them?
I loved the person who I worked with, Jill. She’s extremely intellectual. She inspired me to think in ways that I had not thought before. There was one thing that she pointed out to me. She was very gentle about it, but perhaps thought that I was going in the wrong direction - she was amazing. There is no way that Mike and I would have met without her, because we lived 40 miles away from each other. We’re totally different. Our backgrounds are different. Our paths would never have crossed.

How does the process work?
You go to their office and fill out all of these forms, and they are very enthusiastic. You leave feeling extremely excited that this is going to work immediately. And it took a little bit of time. Actually, for me, it took joining at a VIP level, where I actually had a person working for me, like a personal shopper. Jill was like an old fashioned matchmaker, and she’s the one who found Mike. She had set me up with a few others, but it didn’t work out. I was ready to give up. I remember thinking to myself, ‘This isn’t for me. I’m not the type. I’m too picky. I’m not in a good place in my life. I’m not ready. I hate dating.’ I was going through this whole grieving process over losing someone that I loved deeply, and I just told my matchmaker to let me get old with my dogs, to become a stereotype. I renovated a condo, put way too much money into it, I figured that this is where I’d live for the rest of my life. And she contacted me and said ‘There’s this one guy… how would you like somebody who is a gentleman?” And I said okay. I had only met two men through the service. Mike had a different experience than I did. He had gone out with more women who were not his type.

What’s really interesting to me is that, to this day, my matchmaker and I have never met. We’re actually talking about it now that this engagement has happened. She was totally responsible… I mean, she really did this; she put two people together who are going to spend the rest of their lives together. And so we have to meet her. I called her to tell her about this last week and she started screaming, which is so funny because she’s one of the calmest people I've ever met in my life and I would have never expected it. She was very excited.

Their matching system is done by computer, in terms of the many questions that they ask, and apparently Mike and I came up by a point, which is very strange, because we don’t have a lot in common. We’re different politically, religiously, he’s athletic, I’m artistic, but I have to say, just knowing that he’s around, I feel like I’m home. I’ll tell you what has happened. My condo, which is only 30 miles from here, I’m there only one night a month and I don’t like going there anymore. I don’t like being away from him. It’s really strange how that’s happened. Yes, sure, I like my time alone during the day and I don’t need to be tethered to him, but there is something about seeing that face when he comes through the door that just makes me happy.

Who made the initial contact? I hear that these blind dates are really blind.
That’s right! Absolutely no photos! The no photo thing was so frustrating to me, whenever I had been fixed up with someone in the past I always wanted to know what he looked like. I don’t remember exactly who called whom, but my gut tells me that I made the call. I felt uncomfortable having to make that first move, but Jill talked me into it. She possesses the rare art of leading you to make a decision so subtly that you think it was your own idea.

Describe your first date. How did it go?
It was really funny actually because he had described his car and I described mine. We met for lunch at a nice restaurant that he had chosen. I remember thinking “Lets just get this over with because obviously I just want to get it done because it’s not going to work.”
He walked up to me and he said the wrong name, <laughing> and I walked into the restaurant, and he got back into his car, and he realized that he had totally blundered and that of course I was the person he is meeting, and I am realizing the same thing, and I can’t believe this is happening. Obviously he is the guy. What do we do? So the two of us kind of realized what had happened, we laughed about it and had lunch. I had no recollection of what we talked about, but apparently we did a lot of talking. I think the first thing that we had in common was that he had lost a woman that he’d been with for fourteen years a year before, and that was a commonality at the beginning. We bonded over loss.

What was your first impression of Mike?
I thought he had beautiful blue eyes. I thought he was really nice. I thought he might be too nice. He doesn’t know that, but it’s okay <laughing> I know the date was good enough to agree to a second date before the first one was over.

Can you describe when you fell in love?
Defining moment – It was because of the Golden Globe Awards!  He asked me out and I said, “Oh, I can’t do it because the Golden Globe Awards are on and I never miss the Golden Globe Awards!” and he said “Would you mind if I came over and watched them with you?” and that was how he got me. He had me at the Golden Globe Awards, and that was our third date. 

What do your friends think about how you two met?
Actually, they think it’s great. When we first started sharing with people, Michael said ‘blind date.’

How would you describe your life together now?
It’s totally a compromise. Because we are so different, we both have definitely met in the middle in terms of lifestyle. I watch a lot of sports now, and he goes to a lot of movies. He also adopted two dogs of mine. He has two kids, I have two dogs, and so it’s a big family. A lot of our life is doing what the other one wants to do.

You two were recently engaged. Tell me about the proposal.
It was his birthday and we had been out to dinner with friends, and we came home, and while upstairs, his daughter said to me “I have one more present for Dad, could you take it downstairs?” but she stayed upstairs so I knew what was going on at that point, and that she was totally in on it. I have to admit, when I saw the bag, I thought it was a little frilly to be a present for him. So it did occur to me that this might be about to happen. So… I brought the bag down, and I said “Here’s your last present from KJ.” And he said “Well, actually, you have given me so many birthday presents, I have a present for you.” So I asked, “Is this what I think it is?” And he said, “Just open it!” And I opened it, and it was a ring, and I looked at him, and he said, “Will you marry me?” That’s when I burst into tears. And he said, “Aren’t you going to answer me?” So that’s how it happened.

Do you have any advice for others searching for love via the Together Dating service?
Yes. I think the thing that Jill at Together taught me the most was to look a little bit away from my priorities, and rethink what I thought I wanted. For me, it was all about power. I wanted a powerful man. That was my first priority. And I think using the word power wasn't the right way to describe it. I had it all wrong. I guess the way I looked at it, I had always responded to men of power, who took control of situations. But apparently using that particular word conjures up a lot of the wrong attributes. And Jill was able to figure out what I was saying. She really moved me away from it. Mike has tremendous confidence. But what makes him special is that he doesn't shy away from taking control of a situation, he just does it in a quiet, low-key manner.

Beverly & Dennis

Beverly’s life changed forever when she got a phone call from The Right One dating. She was unfamiliar with matchmaking services but she thought she would give it a try. She went through the interview process and after a few dates she met Dennis.

Dennis was a true gentleman. “Before, I always called the guy first. This time he called me.” That first phone call lasted for three hours. During that time Dennis and Beverly got to know each other before the first date. Dennis is a hunter so it was no coincidence that they met at the Fin-N-Feather for dinner.

The evening went very well. So well that Dennis wanted Beverly to meet his daughter the next day “I guess he was so impressed with me.” Beverly and Dennis’s daughter hit it off as well and a beautiful relationship began.

The couple discovered they were very well matched. They both enjoyed the same music and started to buy CD’s together. They both like to fish and Beverly (who will bait her own hook) can cook them better than anyone. Beverly soon found out that she would love dancing as much as Dennis. The couple took up Ballroom dancing and is looking forward to continuing the new hobby together.

Beverly and Dennis got even closer. They complemented each other. Dennis enjoyed making a birdhouse for Beverly and she enjoyed painting it. Dennis would call Beverly from his hunting trips and Beverly looked forward to hearing all about it. It was time for the relationship to move forward.

Beverly knew that Dennis was going to propose she just did not know when. Dennis chose the same restaurant where they first met. He proposed on a bridge close by. Beverly has taken on a lot of the wedding jobs herself in order to make it extra special. She is even making all the dresses including her own. And where would they choose to have there special June wedding? The Fin-N-Feather of course! A place that will always be special to them.

Milton N. & Mary D.

“I feel at peace when I’m with her. I just worship her”

After Milton lost his wife he was feeling down (as anyone would). After a period of grieving he decided that he wanted to try dating again. Milton was a little out of practice since his last date was 60 years ago so he looked for some help. He eventually found The Right One and on his first date he found Mary. “I was just taken with her from the moment she opened the door. She had that twinkle in her eye.”

Milton took Mary to a quiet restaurant for their first date so that they could talk. After an evening of great conversation Milton began to tell Mary how much he liked her. Mary who had already had a few matches with The Right One had to slow Milton down although it did not take long for Milton’s charms to win her over.

Mary was looking for three things in a man. She wanted him to say grace, she wanted him to dance, and she wanted him to be tall. Unfortunately Milton was three inches too short for her, but because he was a member of the local yacht club she took that in trade:). As it turns out Mary and Milton had a lot in common. They both love to dance, listen to jazz, and travel. They both have grown children and, after some time in the relationship they discovered they had mutual friends. Milton has several friends from work that Mary grew up with.

Their overall experience with The Right One was very positive. The background check made them feel like everything was on the up and up. Milton was impressed with the personality test and came away feeling very confident.

When Milton describes their relationship now you can actually hear the love he has for Mary in his voice. “I feel at peace when I’m with her. I just worship her” Milton also brings to the relationship his ability to have a good marriage and the willingness to make it work. “I feel that when you compromise you have to go further than halfway.” The couple plan on having a very intimate wedding with just one other couple in attendance. Mary helps to plan weddings and has had to do six in the last five months so she does not wish to have any fuss. The newlyweds will spend their time traveling, dancing, and living their lives to the fullest.

Beth M. & Jack C.

”We’ve both had our challenges, but we see the good in each other and in life, and we’re determined to enjoy it together.” ~ Beth

Beth, how was your dating life before you joined Together Dating?
I didn’t have a lot of time to date, and frankly, I needed a jumpstart. I had tried popular online dating sites without a lot of success. It basically came down to a lack of chemistry.

What inspired you to try The Right One?
Rather than place less emphasis on a gut reaction and chemistry this time around, going forward I had decided that the smartest choice for me would be a widower, because I believe that a widower might have a successful track record in marriage, and could be someone who would have enjoyed being married, as opposed to someone who’s been divorced and might come with unresolved negative emotional baggage. I myself have never been married. An important – but not essential - criterion for me was finding a Catholic or a Christian.

How did you like working with them?
To me, what initially stood out about The Right One was that they didn’t try to plug me in to a rigid computer program or profile. They were flexible, and they really were able to get a sense of who I am as a person. I felt that I had a better chance of fine-tuning my search by using TRO and while I didn’t limit myself to only widowers – I definitely prayed for a widower and I think TRO did a very good job. Before I met Jack, some of my previous introduction/contacts and I became friends, going out socially, playing tennis, hiking, etc. 

Where was your first date? How did the date go?
Before meeting, we spoke on the phone for about an hour, and we could easily have talked all night. Our first date, we went out for dinner and spent the evening talking. We definitely shared a spark, but I still had my guard up.

What issues were concerning you?
Jack had a wonderful thirty-year marriage, and based on what he has shared about his first wife, I am sure we would have been great friends if we had known each other. I really liked Jack when I met him, but I knew he needed more time, and so did he. So basically, I "forced" him to date other women because we both needed to be sure our attraction was really to each other and not just to the notion of being married. You know, you can be in love with being in love, or you can be in love with someone, and it takes time to tell. Our strategy worked, as Jack dated a few other women, but in the end, he came back to me.

Can you describe your connection?
I believe God (and Jack’s first wife) each had a hand in our meeting. I believe that if people go into marriage truly understanding what marriage is about in all it’s dimensions, when we actually let God in to the equation, God does a much better job with us than we could ever hope to do alone, on our own.  I can't say enough about Jack.  We both regularly thank God for having found each other.  Jack is a wonderful combination of common sense, intelligence, compassion and understanding. He also has a great sense of humor, which is another “must have”  in any healthy relationship.  We feel very fortunate. We've both had our challenges, but we see the good in each other and in life, we're determined to enjoy it together. We help each other laugh at life and ourselves because there are way too many difficulties in life to take any of them too seriously.

What are your future plans?
We’ve been together for 1 ¾ years, became engaged on Christmas eve 2007, and we’ve just set our wedding date for August 23, 2008!

Do you have any advice for others searching for love via The Right One’s services?
Maybe the stars have to be in alignment. Maybe you have to be in the right place at the right time. But can you be happy? Can you have fun? Absolutely, as long as you are open and you put yourself out there. Be very clear about what it is that you’re looking for. Be proactive, and be open to new experiences. You never know what might happen!

Party Animals

Kathy Zoll and Jerry Rapoza

Kathy: When I first talked to my Together Dating matchmaker, Paula, she told me, 'I have the perfect person for you. Everything you are looking for, this man has.' But two weeks after he hadn't returned my call, I moved on to my third introduction. It didn't go well.

Two weeks later, I got a call from Jerry. He apologized and told me he had been out of town. His son hadn't given him the message. Would I meet him for dinner at the Rose Wharf, in Bristol, Rhode Island? I was impressed at his choice.

The evening was excellent. It was a wonderful place to go for a lobster dinner and drinks and we learned we had a lot in common. We even knew some of the same people and were both members of the Elks Club. We dated a few nights a week for a few months and then began dating every day.

We're both sports freaks and big Patriots fans. About 30 of us went to see the Patriots and Buffalo Bills game in Buffalo, NY and then we took a side trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with two other couples. He told a friend to get her camera ready and then found a beautiful spot. He told me to stand with my back to the rail so the falls would be behind me. Then, he got down on one knee and proposed. Jerry told me I could take all the time I needed to answer, as long as I answered within five days! It didn't take me nearly that long. Both of us are business people and know how to make quick decisions. This one was easy. Both of us lost our spouses a few years ago and we felt we didn't have much time to waste.

With us, it's all about family. Each of us has three kids. I have five grandkids and he has three. Had it not been for both families embracing us, the engagement never would have happened.

We became officially engaged on in front of our families – at his house on Christmas Eve and my family's on Christmas day. We'll marry in January onboard the Princess Caribbean. When we get back, we'll have a celebration for our family and friends at the Elks Club.

Jerry is a very special man. He has a great sense of humor and he's a great dancer. He makes me laugh and is absolutely kissable. I think everything I love about him he likes in me. We make one another laugh and are party animals.

How Things Change

Jo Larson and Keith Bailey:

JO: When I first saw Keith, I thought he was a redneck with a beard. And I hated beards. But then we started talking, and we had so much in common! We walked around outdoors downtown and started holding hands. We were going through art galleries and every little shop in the old market. We both like to read and we talked about books. I have three kids and he has two. We made a match and we are getting married Oct. 27 of this year. I feel guilty: the women at work complain about relationships and I have nothing to contribute!

After a year, we moved in together. I had been keeping his kids on Saturdays while he worked, just to get to know them. Then, we all started missing each other on Sundays. When my apartment lease came up, we moved in together and integrated our families.

God had a lot to do with it. His little boys needed a Mom. She abandoned them five years ago and they have never seen their Mom. Here he was, taking on three more kids and a house full of cats. There are a lot of families that are blended. I am a social worker and I hear a lot of stories. My kids, two of them go and see Dad every other weekend,but he has been in Iraq for last year. So our kids needed parents.

I just thought we'd live together, but on Valentine's Day, he proposed. It was a big secret and he had bought a ring and everything. When he went down on one knee, I thought, 'wow, this is for real!"

I am so happy. He is truly the love of my life. We do not disappoint each other; we are just soul mates we are truly, truly in love. I was in a marriage before where he was so busy with his own life and neglected me and our life. Keith wants me to be around. We are pasionately, emotionally, physically, and spiritually connected. Every day feels like a honeymoon for me and he feels the same way. It is very fortunate we took that chance, that risk of going to The Right One. We recommend the Right One to people all the time. He worked for 20 years on Saturn cars right beside where my Mom and Dad lived. At some time in our lives we have stood in a grocery store line next to each other, yet we would have never met without The Right One.

By the way, now I love beards.

Found Love, Lost Closet Space

I am 41 and have never been married and this is what I really want. November 10 is the BIG DAY for us. I can't wait it just seems like we are more and more in love each day.

I've just never met anyone I had so much in common with. We have the same dry sense of humor, and sarcastic, too. Both of our families are like that. It's fun doing things with them. I went with her family on a big annual camping trip. It is just so comfortable. It felt right. We both have strong family ties.

She and her sister-in-law have birthdays within three days of each other. Her brother and I took them out to a steak house for their birthdays. They all expected me to do it then. I had the ring, but I didn't want to interfere in that celebration. Actually, the next day, out on the deck, I gave her a card and dropped to one knee. And she said yes.

It's interesting how many times we say the same things or are thinking the same things. We just have a similar outlook on life.

She has moved in now. And I have no more closet space. There are so many more things in the house now. She's been steadily putting stuff up. I used to have empty closets, now they're overstuffed. I am amazed at how many more items there are in the house now.

I'm just not going to think about how much that stuff probably cost. You can't put a price tag on happiness. This is what I want.

Jon T.

Of Paramount Importance

Jason & Jamie

Jamie:
I would always tell parents: I will never get married. I will  never find someone. But I did! What Jason and I have is true love. It is not settling and not for convenience. I’ve been in those relationships, where it’s “Oh, we get along… so maybe it will work…”  What we have is really special. Jason has brought me so much happiness. It has changed our lives. I am so grateful to The Right One. A lot of good has already come from this relationship.

Jason was my third referral and I was his third. I received the letter first and I called first. After we talked, he said he was happy his letter was on the way. We talked on Tuesday and then we talked throughout the week about every night. We talked until we had made plans for Good Friday.

We debated,  should we or shouldn’t we email pictures? You are supposed to wait! Well, he sent me these horrible pictures!I was thinking, o no! I wasn’t very interested at all. But I said to myself, keep an open mind, give it a shot, get to know the person. Meanwhile, he loved my pictures and was intimidated by them. He was thinking, “She is too good for me.”

He came to my house with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He was a lot cuter in person than the picture!
He drove me around to a couple of different restaurants and had a hard time as it was Good Friday. We settled on the Paramount, an upscale restaurant. By Monday, we had both emailed The Right One to put us on hold.

(Jason:  It was such a good conversation, we spent together eight or nine hours. We went to church together. I knew she was planning on it and I wasn’t as it was so far into the day. But I went just to stay with her a little bit longer. Now I have joined her church. It’s Lutheran, but I am not doing it just to please her.)

I am pretty religious. We are both originally Catholic. Now we are both members of the church I was attending.

I knew right away that Jason was the one. How did I know ? Jason has the most beautiful, kind-hearted soul. His spirit and his aura are something you don’t find very often. He is unbelievably caring and he puts others ahead of himself. I have been treated very well and very badly in the past. But I have never been treated like Jason treats me.  He is everything I was looking for and more.

And romantic. For the proposal, he recreated our first date. He brought me the same bouquet of flowers. We went back to the Paramount. We sat at the same table. He ordered champagne. And he got on one knee and proposed in front of the whole restaurant!

That was two months after we started dating. We have been inseparable.  I moved in probably shortly after we got engaged and we have been extremely happy ever since.

(Jason: I have never been in a relationship before where we were best friends. We have a great time together.)

We adore each other. It is a beautiful great relationship.  I am 110 percent pleased with The Right One.
I didn’t expect it to happen so fast though! I am so grateful. I am very, very happy I met my best friend.

All of the people I met at The Right One were quality people. They were there for the right reason and were kind-hearted. Hard-working people. The people I met on the Internet seemed to be out just to get as many girls as they could without having relationships.  As a female, I appreciated the national background check and the security of it.

Of all of the people I have dated, Jason is the best. He called my Dad and asked permission before he proposed. He is the first boyfriend my Dad ever approved. And his approval is important to me. It’s a big deal. He says it is because of how well we get along. I am 25 and Jason is 31, neither of us has ever been married and the fact that our families get along so well means a lot to us.

We have so much in common. We went camping in the cold and even had a blast. We had Archie, a basset beagle mix with us. Let’s just say, Archie is a snuggler. He is part of my family, with Jason.

We are getting married next year, September 9. I have my dress and everything.  We are going to have our reception at the Paramount! Won’t that be cute?

Pipeline to Engagement

Margaret Ferreira:

Michael was my last referral and I was his first. We hit it off right away. When he first called me, we talked for three and a half hours! We started out talking a bit about ourselves and our backgrounds. I tried to tell him who I was and what I did, but when I got to the part about my Dad being a plumber, that was it! His father is a plumber and he's a plumber who works with his Dad. He gets his master's license in plumbing this year. Since then, it has been a never ending story.

Still, I was a little nervous on our first date. We met at TGI Fridays and it was a rainy night. He was such a gentleman. He paid for dinner and opened my door when we went to the movies. We had a great conversation at dinner. We just hit it off.

In less than a month, we were having dinner with our families. Our Dad's love each other! Two plumbers together, what can I say! It was a nice warm feeling. My nieces and nephews love him to death. He is such a family-oriented guy; it is just wonderful.

I come from a huge family, I am the youngest of six. He is the youngest of two. That's a big difference, but we all get along very well. It was Father's Day 2006 when he met the whole, entire family. Ever since, whenever my little niece sees me, it's "Where's Mike?" We have all come together so nicely.

Even our engagement August 31, was a family affair. He called my Dad for permission, which is so romantic and old-fashioned. Then, we went to a restaurant with eight of his family members. He went down on his knee and asked me in front of his family!

We are getting married Nov. 7 of next year and it is going to be big!

I felt like The Right One knew me better than I knew myself. I could have never found someone this great on my own. I work such a busy life in a hospital in patient access. I am 30 and Michael is 31, we are eight months apart, and we have so much in common. He understands me so well. The Right One brought me to Michael and I knew he was the right one to take care of me.

I wanted a safe way to meet someone. My previous fiancé had died suddenly of heart failure. It took me a year to really say, "I need to do something." I don't like to be alone and I believe he would have wanted me to move on. That is why I joined The Right One. That is part of my life, and a phase of my life. I had to be honest with Michael about it and I said "I am not trying to scare you, I just want you to know." Michael totally understands.

I felt very safe with The Right One. I don't trust the online with what this world is now. It is just horrible and I am not taking any chances. I felt comfortable with the people at The Right One and they made me feel better about who I was dating. You can't judge a book by its cover , when you meet people, so it was nice to have them screen for me. Every guy I met there was very nice, just no chemistry, until Michael. I am still good friends with some of the guys I dated and keep in touch. It is a great way to meet people.

What is funny is --- I worked with his cousin for three years. It is such a small world! Yet, she is his first cousin and never introduced us. We laid it on her head because we had to pay to meet each other!

My Wrong Way Turned Out Right!

Peggy Kirby and Gary Birong tried The Right One. Here's what they have to say:

Peggy:
Gary and I met in a restaurant and did everything the wrong way. We broke every rule!

We went out almost every night and spent hours talking to each other. We have lots in common. He had two boys, I have two boys. We were sports oriented as a family, Gary used to coach football. In fact, now, during football season, my boys will call and ask to speak to Gary!

We just hit it off from the get-go. We met in May and he moved in on Father's Day. We plan to marry after my youngest graduates. We are in no hurry because the commitment is there. I am very comfortable with the relationship as it is. We've been together for two years and it is a very open relationship. Gary is a very caring, compassionate person who treats me like I am standing on a pedestal. There is nothing, nothing we can't talk about. I have found my soul mate.

He idolizes my kids and would do anything for them. In fact, sometimes they will pass things through Gary before they bring them to me, to see how I will react. He told me he'd raised two boys and there wasn't anything he hadn't seen.

When you use the service, you need to have a strong idea of what you are looking for. When I joined The Right One, people asked me how I could be so choosy about certain things. I just couldn't accept someone who drank or smoked. Those are two avenues I have been down and I am not going back. I am a widow, but I am not going back to that. You have to be patient with the system. If you stick with it, it will work. It worked for us.

***
Gary:

From the time when I first joined the Right One, I was both tired and aggravated. I just couldn't find someone on my own. I thought their system was a good idea. I was impressed with the way they made matches and how they conducted themselves. Initially, you may not meet the person you are looking for, but they keep narrowing it down. If you keep with it and trust in the system, it will work. It did.

Peggy was my fourth referral and I knew this was as far as I would go. As soon as she got out of the car, it was just one of those things where, I just knew I was done. I did not want to meet anybody else. I knew it the first time I saw her.

We have the same interests. We believe in the same values. Every thing fit like a glove from the first time we were together. I attribute the happiness I have every day to meeting Peggy at The Right One. I have never had the compatibility we both encountered. We started and grew and grew and grew. Each day is better than the one before.

I am really glad I took the time to get involved with TRO. It is a terrific place that does what it says it does. After all, you can't just hang a sign around your neck and say, 'here I am!' You have to be so careful. I tried a couple of different phone dating services and that is a joke. The people I met through there, it wasn't worth the time. It's different when you are actually talking to an individual who is writing things down. And you know the other person has been screened. There is a sense of security. I could be the poster boy for this one! Without it, my life would have continued on its drab way.

You want someone who is looking for the person who is right for them. When you wake up in the morning and look over at that person, it is the greatest thing in the world.

I've Never Laughed This Much!

Alisia Parrett: The Right One Knew Me Better than I Did!

Everything worked out just right. Michael and I met two years ago and we haven't been apart since The Right One set us up. After we got the profiles, we talked a couple of times and went to dinner. We screwed up on what time the movie started and sat outside the theater talking and talking. We have been dating ever since. We plan to get married next October. We will get hitched right after our third anniversary.

It's funny when we met, Michael said he knew right from the start. I wasn't sure at first. I was not used to the "nice guy" approach and was not sure the service was going to work for me. It took me a little bit of time. I had had some bad relationships and had a big wall around my heart. He had to break it down and I finally let my guard down.

Now, we can laugh with each other and just be silly with each other. We can see something on TV and laugh about it for hours on end. At The Right One, they just knew. They know how to do their jobs, I guess that's why they've been in business so long.

I was just at a point in my life when I was ready to find love and just didn't know where to look. I looked at a few services and tried online dating, but it is not safe at all and really scary. Nothing seemed to work when I was searching on my own. I did not know what I was looking for and I had low self-esteem. I just couldn't find an incredible guy on my own. The Right One made it easy for me.

This October will be our first wedding and our last wedding. We are both in our early 30s and waited a long time for each other. We had both been searching for that right person. The Right One did a good job of helping us find each other. We never would have crossed paths if not for the service.

We are just happy and thankful. The biggest thing I could say is thank you. I am very appreciative.

Happy Trails!

Amanda Watts' love story

Dan and I have been dating for a year and a half. We got engaged in January and will marry next June. I couldn't be happier. He is my absolute soul mate. My parents have been married for 32 years and I look at our relationship and they are mirrored images of each other. I couldn't have asked for a better person. He makes me laugh all the time. He brings me flowers if I have had a tough day. He lets me vent and cry, whatever. He is my rock.

Our families love each other. We just went on a cruise with my parents and we shared a room. We weren't ready to come home! His Mom and I get together at Christmas and bake cookies. We go shopping and get together a couple of times a week. All of us get along. We really lucked out.

I met Dan two weeks after I joined! I got fast results. Dan had been in the program longer and he was giving it one more shot with me. He won the lottery! I went there looking for the person to spend the rest of my life with and I got what I wanted.

I joined because I wasn't meeting people through traditional means. I am just 27, but I was sick of being alone. I tried some online dating sites and was not thrilled with them. I was impressed with The Right One because they have been around for 25 years. They have a great success rate for marriage and low divorce rate. I felt I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I believe in fate. We had gone to the same grocery store and the same fireworks display every year, but never met. We were supposed to meet, The Right One stepped up fate.

After six months, I moved in. Today, we love biking every Sunday morning. We go 15 to 17 miles and are working up to 22. We ride the trail to Boston and back. We make time for it. Our life is just wonderful. We are absolutely in love.

Jason & Jamie

Email to: Angie, Together Dating Matchmaker (Omaha, NE)

Hello Angie,
Attached are pictures of my engagement to Jason. It was such a special day. I can not believe I found someone so compatible and caring. Jason is everything I could ask for and so much more. He has become my best friend and soul mate. I knew after the first date that Jason was the one for me. We made an immediate connection and knew we were, "The Right One", for each other.

I am completely supportive of this professional program at The Right One. It was exciting, and effective! I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. Meeting Jason has taught me that true love does exist. If it wasn't for "The Right One", we would have never met. We lived 15 minutes away from each other and would have missed out on the love of a life time. Now that I met Jason and have him in my life, things will never be same. I look forward to our future together as husband and wife!

With great appreciation,
Jaime B. & Jason R.
Wisconsin