Gail Frankel (Secaucus, New Jersey) of JRetroMatch
& Jason Reiser (New York, New York) of JRetroMatch
Success Story
I belonged to a speedating web site that had a partnership with JReto.
At first I thought it was just another dating site, but I figured I had nothing to lose. I was SO tired of other Jewish dating sites, the same people on them, and the lack of communication and basic respect that I frequently encountered. But I knew I wanted to marry a Jewish man. This was the most important thing to me. My heritage was important, and I wanted to be able to share that with a life partner, and my future children someday.
What really made me see that JRetro was different was my matchmaker, Ms. Nechama Koren. We spoke on the phone for at least an hour. I was able to tell her what I was looking for, my dating past, and what was important to me. I am not typical where I have a whole laundry list of "must have's". But she LISTENED to all my concerns and my dreams. I also felt that she ‘got’ me. There are so many things we look for in a partner; things you cant articulate but want. She just listened to me and really understood what I wanted in a man. I also give her a deep amount of credit for picking up on things I spoke about, and using that to find me someone.
So I went on a few dates over about 8 months. I made a very open choice to trust her. I also told her that if she felt someone might be right for me, but they fell outside of what I was looking for, I would trust her judgment and just go for it.
Well, some of the matches were misses. But I think that's what made her a better matchmaker for me. You have to start somewhere, and we were able to talk about what worked and what didn't…
And then she matched me with Jason :)
Jason and I first started communication through JRetroMatch in September 2007. He always has joked that at that time he had 3 "Gail's" on his list. I remember looking at his profile and thinking he and I had a lot in common. Within 3 days of approval Jason called me. I still remember that first call. Jason had a VERY sexy voice and way of carrying it. He really seemed intelligent, and we clicked. So we decided to go on a date.
The date was October 6th, 2007 at Ruby Foo's in Times Square. I walked up to the restaurant and he had brought me flowers! Big check. Our dinner was wonderful. We spoke about our mutual love for technology and electronics. We found out we had a great deal in common and just had lots to talk about. Then after dinner we walked around, found a Starbucks, and closed it down at midnight. He walked me to my car and we had a sweet kiss goodnight.
Immediately I knew I wanted to date him again, and we did. He was the kind of guy who called me to say hello. He texted me to see how my day was. He was the kind of man who shared himself and was not afraid to put himself out there. I found out a few days after our second date that my job was going to take me to California for 8 weeks! Jason wasn’t phased by it, but I couldn’t help but think it could be a problem…
It actually showed me the wonderful man he is.
When I arrived at my hotel, he had flowers delivered and waiting for me in the room.
But this is what changed me, and made me realize I would marry Jason:
That January, my sister was killed in a car accident. There was black ice and another car hit her car. My brother-in-law decided he wanted to bury her remains, and the ONLY way I would be able to make the burial was to take a red eye from California back to NYC, get off the plane, get my car, and drive to Connecticut with no sleep.
Jason told me he would not let me do it alone. He met me at my apartment at 7 a.m. and drove me to Connecticut so I would not have to. He also knew that he would be meeting my whole family, and not in the happiest of circumstances. At this point we had only known each other about 5 weeks. He was a true gentleman, but more importantly, a great support.
On October 7th 2008, 3 days before my 20th High School Reunion, Jason proposed to me.
On October 24th, 2009 Jason and I were married at Temple Israel, in Lawrence, NY. I remember signing the Ketubah and thinking that I found an amazing Jewish man to share my faith and life with. We both view our Ketubah as our bond in Judaism and our commitment to our Jewish faith.
Jason has made my life a blessing, and all my dreams come true. I cannot imagine living my life without him. Our wedding was a dream day. But even more importantly, I get to spend the rest of my life with him. And even better...his parents are the best! I hit the in-law jackpot!
What all this means is we are happy. We have families that adore each other, we have our whole lives ahead of us to share a home and children…
And we have JRetromatch and our matchmaker Nechama Koren to thank for it all!