Couple meets on Boston.com, recognizes connections, and hits it off
Erica McCorry, 28, met Brian Feldman, 30, through the Boston.com Personals in July 2002. The couple, who now lives in Hudson, soon realized their family connections and hit it off immediately. They became engaged on April 06, 2003 and will be married on May 15, 2004. Congratulations!
Getting started
Erica: I tried a few different online personals services a couple of years ago. I met a few people and went on a few dates here and there. It was basically a "trial and error" thing.
In June 2002, I decided to give it one more shot and signed up for the Boston.com Personals. On Boston.com, there were more people from my area and I went on a few dates.
I was doing a search one night and pulled up Brian's profile in the beginning of July 2002. It turns out that as I was emailing him, he was looking at my pictures! He responded about two minutes after I first e-mailed him
We talked for a couple of weeks before getting together and discovered that our parents grew up in the same city. My uncle and his cousin went to school together and were neighbors. So we decided to look at our first date as a reunion, which made things a little easier.
Brian: In June 2002, I came across the personals on Boston.com. At first I was hesitant to buy the credits to contact the people. I basically waited until people contacted me.
I met one or two other women before I met Erica, and I was getting discouraged. When I came across Erica's profile, I decided to send her an e-mail. Just as I was about to write her, I got flashed that I had a message and it was from Erica. Needless to say, I responded right away.
Just like Erica said, we recognized some connections with our backgrounds and families. My grandparents owned a bakery that her grandparents would go to often. With all these connections, it made it a little easier to be ourselves when we first met in person. And then we hit it off from there.
What did your friends and family think?
Erica: When I told my grandparents about online dating they became concerned and asked me how I knew he wasn't a mass murderer, or a maniac. I told them it's the new millennium. I always met in a public place with lots of people around.
My aunt, mom, and friends just told me to be careful. I was hesitant at first because I didn't really want to say, "Oh, I'm meeting all these guys online." But that's how the majority of people are meeting these days. My friends and family were all just being protective of me.
Brian: My family is not as old school as Erica's. My father, who's now remarried, once belonged to a dating club where you look at videos in an office and then make matches that way. Online dating is just a more convenient way of doing the same thing.
The pros and cons of online dating
Erica: I think online dating has become much more normal. Society is accepting it. Granted, though, I did have a couple of nightmare dates. Some folks used old photos in their profiles and didn't let their true personalities shine through. That made meeting not ideal face-to-face meetings.
Brian: I didn't have any nightmare experiences, but there were definitely some people out there who misrepresent themselves and think they can get away with it online.
Online dating tips
Erica: I encourage all my single friends to at least try it. We're all close to 30, and I don't know if they're just waiting for Mr. Right to walk to their doorstep. It was actually a friend of mine who encouraged me to try it.
Brian: Don't give up too easily. Meeting someone is not going to happen over night, but if you're persistent, you'll find your match. There is a match for everyone.
But you can't sit there and wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right to come knocking on your door. Take a proactive approach to it. I guess my tip is to buy credits. Sitting and waiting and being alone every weekend weren't working for me.
Do you know of another Boston.com Personals Success Story? If so, we want to hear from you! Please e-mail personals@boston.com. Also, please feel free to contact us about any other online dating issues you'd like to see us cover. 