Has the search for your soulmate stalled out? Are you convinced love is not in the cards for you? We have some expert advice to share.
A mistake many people make when they're looking for someone to date is that they don't first take a good look at themselves.
Kailen Rosenburg, a relationship counselor and matchmaker in the Twin Cities for many years, stands by the belief that if you're not emotionally healthy, you'll have hard time finding someone who is right for you.
"Check in with yourself, make sure you like yourself, that you know what you want in a partner and how you see your roles playing out," she said. "Then check in with your friends and family and say, 'This is how myself. Is this what you see too? Do I have an accurate picture of myself?'"
Kailen said it's crucial to first make an assessment of your own personal matters because it's no good trying to unite two "broken people" together, as she put it.
That said, even if you do have it all together, it can still be difficult to meet someone. But if you're willing to spend some money, you can hire a professional matchmaker to help you.
The matchmakers at It's Just Lunch meet with clients face-to-face, have them fill out a questionnaire and then try to match them up. They schedule a lunch date for you at a restaurant.
Stephanie Kluver, a matchmaker at the Minneapolis office, has many success stories to tell.
"We don't do dinner. We want it to be casual and low pressure. We want you to sit down and have a drink or lunch and have there be a short time to see if there is chemistry," she said.
After each lunch date, the matchmakers contact their clients to see how the date went. That debriefing helps them determine what it is clients are really looking for. They say people request a second date about 80 percent of the time.
Kluver said most of her clients simply don't have time to get out and socialize, which is why they come to them for help.
"I think people are at work, in front of a computer, and they are not meeting other great singles. They are not meeting other great people who are a match for them," she said.
The membership prices for It's Just Lunch are on the high end -- $1,800 for six months, $2,200 for a year. But if you join before Valentine's Day, you can get one month free of charge.
There are several locations in the Twin Cities and many more nationwide. And there are more than a dozen other matchmaking services in Minnesota, as well.
~WCCO
