#4 Arielle Wilen (New York, New York)
& Elliot Kwestel (Flushing, New York)
Success Story
We live in a busy world and everyone is on the fast track of life. Trying to find that special someone can be quite challenging. I had the opportunity to interview two people who found love, and can you guess where they found it? Online through SawYouAtSinai.com!
My interview with Arielle and Elliot:
Q: What made you go on line to look for your spouse?
Arielle: I was serious about wanting to find someone and I wanted to use all avenues that were available.
Elliot: I knew the matchmaker and she encouraged me to join.
Q: What other things did you do to meet people?
Arielle: I looked at other web sites and was fixed up by friends
Elliot: I went on many blind dates. This was the only web site that I joined.
Q: Did you date a lot of people before meeting each other?
Arielle: Very few people.
Elliot: I was looking for nine years and must have dated over 120 women.
Q: What were the biggest challenges that you faced while dating?
Arielle: Breaking off bad relationships
Elliot: Figuring out what to do on a date.
Q: What was your impression on the phone?
Arielle: It was not that memorable.
Elliot: I remember that she showed an interest in me on the phone and I liked that.
Q: What did you do on your first date?
Arielle: We went to a café.
Q: Did you know right away that this was your match? Or did the relationship grow to the point that you realized this was the right person?
Arielle: After the fist date I did not want to go out with him again. However, my matchmaker persuaded me to see him again. After the second date I knew if I gave him a chance I would marry him. I knew after the third date that I wanted to marry him.
Elliot: For me the process was longer, it took me a few months to know that she was the right one.
Q: Sometimes we think you know exactly what you want but when you find the right person you realize that this person is actually different than what you thought you wanted. How does your spouse compare to the image of the person that you thought you’d marry?
Arielle: Elliot was everything I thought I didn’t want but as it turns out he was everything I really wanted. My motto is toss out the list! I now realize that I would have been miserable if I married the guy who met all the criteria on my list.
Elliot: Arielle did not match my list of what I thought I wanted in a person.
Q: How long did you date before becoming engaged?
Elliot: Six months
Q: Tell me about the proposal
Arielle: We went to a nice restaurant then he took me to a park. He gave me a beautiful bracelet and asked me to marry him.
Q: What did you find most helpful about the matchmaker?
Arielle: Tova was our matchmaker. I found her easy to talk to, she listened and she gave me personalized attention. Tova ignored my list. She understood my personality. She encouraged me to go out with matches that were right for me, even though at the time I thought she was wrong. She also gave me a lot of good advice.
Elliot: Tova didn’t just make a match for the sake of making a match, she spent time trying to figure out what was the right match. Her help and guidance was instrumental in getting us to go out, connecting and getting married.
Q: What advice would you give to those who are still looking for their beshert?
Arielle: Don’t reject those that don’t have the things that you are looking for. You may not really want them. By using a list you may be eliminating your beshert.
Q: What would you say to encourage others to try online dating, specifically SawYouAtSinai?
Arielle: I found it hard to get to know people at a party or in social situations. It just seemed to take longer to get beyond the small talk. With a matchmaker you cut right to the chase. I do think that dating online is romantic.
Elliot: Having a matchmaker helped us in the process of dating. Without her sound objective advice we would not be here today.
We’re happy to report that Arielle and Elliot have been married since 2004. They are proud parents of boy named Abraham.