As matchmakers, we ask you to do one of the hardest things possible – trust us to manage your love life and let us send you on dates with potential matches you’ve never seen. The concept of “blindly” going out with someone is a difficult pill to swallow for many clients in this digital dating age. But, at Kelleher International, we’ve spent over thirty years fine-tuning the art of matchmaking, and there’s a method to the madness.
With years of experience under our proverbial belt we can assuredly say that when it comes to people, they can’t be summed up in a photo. It is impossible for the depth, nuance, and energy of a human being to translate through an image. Kelleher’s CEO Amber Kelleher-Andrews explains, “Photos don’t represent people accurately online or on dating apps. But when you work with Kelleher International, we individually meet our clients and explore their personality and values and learn about their lives face-to-face, so our description of them when we match you is accurate.”
Don’t let the obsession with needing to see a photo before you’ll go out with someone hold you back from finding your person.
Kelleher matchmaker Erin Soskin says, “So much gets lost when you try to ‘skip a step’ in dating by determining beforehand if you’re attracted to each other. A photo doesn’t contain a person’s energy or personality which is a huge part of attraction between two people. The fact is, no one is perfect. In a dating app world, you look for one flaw in a person’s picture and swipe left when you find it. When you go on a date without having seen a photo, you have an opportunity to authentically meet someone and discover if they’re the right romantic package for you. Chemistry is mysterious and requires in-person interaction to ignite.”
KI National Director Kristine Givas adds, “In the days of ‘swipe right and left’ so many clients have admitted if they had first seen their last relationships on an app or via a photo they would never have said yes. While we recommend no photo sharing, clients often do so after we pass off phone numbers. So many don’t realize what a disservice they could be doing to the potential match.”
Imagine missing out on the love of your life because they’re not photogenic. Kelleher Matchmaking’s Ellen Shmunis remarks, “It is such a shame when someone judges a person off of one or two pictures and misses the chance to see if there’s chemistry in real life. Given our access to data and images through Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc., social stalking is easy to do. It is so worth it to meet someone in person and to give yourself the chance to see them dynamically. At the end of the day, it’s just a date! Go out, have fun, and try to see the best in your match. Since blind dates are so rare these days, try to appreciate our process by not searching online to figure out who a person is. Don’t create a story based on their social profile. Instead, I encourage you to suspend judgment and get excited about the possibility.”
Sometimes the stars align and give you another chance. “We had a male client that turned down an introduction after seeing a photo of the woman and then met her six months later at a party, and they got married. I guess a picture isn’t worth a thousand words after all,” says Kym Galloway, Kelleher National Director.
Since we’re not always lucky enough to get a second chance, we hope you’ll be inspired to focus on energy over images. And you can only do that if you say “yes” to the date! KI Matchmaker Patty Russells adds, “Showing up not knowing takes a certain level of vulnerability, but it can also be like opening a gift. Meeting someone new and slowly unpacking who they are and how they fit into your world is one of life’s greatest joys. Slow down and savor the waiting. Allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised!”
We’re all guilty of judging a book by its cover at some point. Is there a time you made a decision not to like someone based on an image or social profile only to be blown away by the person in real life? Share your story and inspire others to change their mind about the importance of pictures when it comes to finding love.