Weddings: Under-Utilized "Meet Market"?

Name: Weddings

What it is: Where a couple pledges to love each other to death, and throws a big party to celebrate

Cost: However much you want to spend on a wedding gift

The scoop: Although weddings are allegedly a great place to meet people, the only person I know who it ever worked out for long-term is my sister, who met her husband at a friend’s wedding. Neither of them had come with a date. (In fact, my brother-in-law happened to be seated next to a visibly pregnant woman, and he had to make it clear to my sister that they were NOT together!) But usually, single people tend to feel weird about not bringing a guest, especially if they don’t know anyone except the bride and groom, which probably hinders meeting someone new.

My dates: I have been to at least 17 weddings over the course of my life (I just counted). But the closest I ever came to meeting anyone was, coincidentally, at my sister’s wedding. I wasn’t seeing anyone exclusively, so I hadn’t come with a date, and neither had Guy from Four Years Ago. I had met him for the first time four years earlier (hence his nickname) through my sister, and we had gone on two dates back then. He was a nice enough guy, but all he was interested in was career and business and making money. Who wants to date a guy who makes a lot of money?? (Ha ha.) I tried to like him, I really did, but aside from the fact that we both breathed oxygen, we had absolutely nothing in common. By our second date, I had to make up stories in my head to entertain myself. After dinner we ducked into a bookstore, and when he headed straight for the business section and I made a beeline for fiction, I knew it would never work out.

Four years later, Guy from Four Years Ago and I got to talking at my sister’s wedding. He hadn’t changed a bit, except that now he was in law school, further solidifying his fast-track career credentials. We still didn’t have anything to talk about, so we started kissing instead. That was fun. But when we tried talking again, he mentioned that he was going to vote to re-elect President Bush later that year, and my renewed interest in him quickly evaporated. Too bad he didn’t just keep quiet – he might have at least gotten one more date out of me!