A friend of mine told me that I suck at online dating, and decided to take matters into her own hands. While I would argue that online dating is the thing that sucks, she wasn’t exactly wrong. I wasn’t getting anywhere, regardless of where the fault lies. So, she is setting me up on a blind date. (You can hear all about it here.)
She’s quite lucky that I find her trustworthy, as she provided next to no details regarding this mystery suitor before setting up the date. Since this probably wouldn’t fly with many others, I decided it best to list out some ground rules if you want to set up a friend on a blind date.
- Have a describable reason why you think the pair would make a good match, and tell them what that is. (Or if the reason is just that both parties are single, at least disclose that so there isn’t as much undue pressure.)
- Be forthcoming with information. Committing to a dinner with a complete stranger is intimidating. Give both parties some basic information about the other (i.e. job, interests, etc.) so that they have somewhere to start in a conversation.
- Give them an easy way to identify one another. In this instance, my friend suggested that I wear a croissant. (She meant corsage, but said croissant.) I plan on doing just that and let my blind date know via text. He said he would wear an English muffin. (This may actually work out.)
- If either party seems uncomfortable with the blind date scenario, offer to double date! Let them set you up, or bring a date of your own. Dating can be a little more comfortable in groups, especially if both parties know someone else in attendance.
- Don’t show up at the restaurant to spy on the date. (I have a gut feeling this may happen.)
- Let the date attendees reach out to you when they are ready to tell you how it went. Basically: Set it up, and then forget about it until your friends reach out.
- You’re not allowed to be offended, or push for a second date, if either party decides they are not interested (before OR after the date.) People who have been attached for a long time forget the bad memories of their dating life, and tend to only remember the fun of it.
Have you been on a blind date before? How did it go? What rules should I add to my list? I’d love to hear your stories and ideas in the comments!
Soon2BeCatLady 