date

Once upon a time, a young woman who liked jellybeans, sundresses and travelling decided she wanted to get back in the dating game. She was a little apprehensive of just jumping straight back in after a long relationship had turned sour and a friend recommended FreeAndSingle.

 

Nervously, she created a profile and started browsing through other peoples. Then came the time to reply to the first message. Flattered and pleased by the message (from an attractive man who liked dinosaurs, curry and action movies) she replied and they started talking.

 

After a week of excitedly checking her Free and Single mailbox, they decided to try a phone conversation. They didn’t stop talking until 1am and they both had work the next day!

 

This success and the chemistry they felt led them to arrange an actual date. With butterflies in their stomachs, new outfits and friends filling their ears with tips and advice they both set off to Leeds Castle in Kent for a trip around the grounds and high tea in the café.

 

Over scones, tea and jam they felt a connection, something worth pursuing. More dates were arranged, and three years later they remain happily together.

 

Have you had success with online dating? Has Free and Single given you a new lease of life in some way? I want to know if you have rediscovered a love of dating, thrown yourself into the arena for the first time or if you are just adding online dating to your repertoire of meeting people?

 

Here at FreeAndSingle, we are really interested in finding out about those lucky individuals who have found someone special using our website. Not just because it looks good for us either – we really believe that, at the end of the day, it’s better to have someone to connect with on some level. That’s just a basic human instinct, right?

 

So, if you have a success story you wouldn’t mind sharing…would you let me know? I would love to interview some of you to find out your tips for internet dating, or see a video of your favourite date?

 

I’m Caroline and you can find me on Twitter and Facebook – I’d love to connect with you and find out more about your dating experiences! I’m always on the look out for dating hints, awesome FreeAndSingle profiles to feature, funny dating videos and recipes that would be perfect to make for dinner a deux, not to mention good ideas for interesting dates!

So, you have a date. The venue is decided, the time is set, now remains the question…what to wear? First impressions count and once made, cannot be undone so this question is rightly one that strikes fear into the heart of daters everywhere, man or women (but especially women).The most important thing to consider is comfort. Obviously, you don’t want to rock up to your date in your PJ’s (unless you are going to some mad, night-time themed rave, in which case that would be a nifty outfit choice) but pouring yourself into the skinniest jeans you can find – and this goes for man or woman – just because it is a trendy choice would be wrong. So very, very wrong. Comfort shows in your stance, in your baring and will make your whole date less nerve-wracking.

 

Next to consider is what you plan to do on your date. No use buying a stunning dress to wear if you are off to the beach for a surfing lesson. Obviously, you want to look good for that first meeting, but at the end of the day you will feel silly for the entire duration and a good long time after if you are unable to enjoy the date because you wore something entirely unsuitable. If the date venue is a surprise, ask for a dress code from your date organiser.

 

With comfort and practicality sorted out, you are then free to fully express yourself. After all, the practice of dating is to find out if you and the other person like each other and feel a spark – no point dressing head to toe in pink to impress someone whose profile says they love the colour if you hate it with a passion. They will forever after assume you like pink as much as they do and you will ruin any real chance of connecting.

 

While expressing yourself however, it can sometimes be a good idea to reign back a little and let them get to know you before you hit them with your penchant for wearing a Mohican made of forks to 5-star restaurants. Self-Expression is all very well, but it is often unnerving in those we don’t know very well or at all and the last thing you want to do is scare off someone you really like just because they weren’t prepared for all the intrigued stares that come from wearing a purple top hat to the local spa. Thereby, make it your mission to put your date at ease and make them comfortable. Apart from anything else, concentrating on another person’s wishes is a surefire way to win a second date and stop your own nerves in their tracks!