They had never given up hope, although there were days…Jim and Catherine were both 62 in 2009, their birthdays only five days apart. They were both single and living on Vancouver Island, only two hours apart, and even though they were meant for each other they had never met. Catherine was an office administrator in Victoria and Jim worked up-Island. He’d been on his own for three years, she’d been on her own for a year after a relationship turned sour.
“There were a lot of guys playing the field in Victoria because of the number of women available,” Catherine says, “and I’d had some bad experiences.”
Both had pretty well given up looking for a soul mate, but a friend of Catherine’s kept encouraging her to talk to Jane Carstens at Matchmaker for Hire. As for Jim, he was flying back to the Island from Edmonton when he read an article on the plane about finding a soul mate. He decided to make the phone call to Matchmaker for Hire as soon as he got home.
Jane worked her magic for them and set up their first date. They talked for hours, and actually found they had a lot in common. “He’s a really nice guy,” Catherine told Jane afterwards, “but there isn’t any chemistry there.” Jane pointed out an important fact — the guys Catherine did have immediate chemistry with turned out to be not so good for her — and she urged Catherine to try again. “Jane provided the coaching and the encouragement I needed,” she said. “Jim had already sent a follow-up email to me, wanting to stay in touch, so at Jane’s urging I told him I would go out with him again the next time he was in Victoria.”
“Over the course of the next few months,” Catherine recalls, “he arrived with a huge box of chocolates and a nice Christmas card. Things continued to progress slowly, although I still wasn’t sure.” Jim turned out to be a really great guy— an old fashioned gentleman. He started coming down to Victoria for weekends, she went up-Island to see him.
Fast forward to Halloween 2010, and the event that’s now part of their family folklore. “I always spend Halloween with my family, handing out treats,” Catherine told us. She didn’t know that Jim had called her son earlier in the day to orchestrate a little surprise of their own. At one point, her son insisted that it would be her turn to answer the door when the next ‘trick or treater’ arrived.
The next trick or treater was a very large kid in an ill- fitting Darth Vader costume. “I reached for a treat,” Catherine says, “and then I saw his shoes. They looked awfully familiar. It was Jim of course, and as we laughed together he got down on his knees and proposed to me. He had a ring, and I guess I got the treat!”
Jim and Catherine were married in Mexico in December 2011. They got all the kids and grandkids onto a plane and stayed at a beach resort. Both are now retired and just turned 65 together in Saanich.
Both credit Matchmakers for proving that hope indeed springs eternal. “If it hadn’t been for Jane’s coaching,” Catherine says, “I probably wouldn’t have seen Jim again. It was like sitting down with a girlfriend and talking things out. She was right — you’re not always going to click with someone on a first date.”
Jim adds: “We both sold our properties after the wedding and we were driving around with a realtor one day, looking at new houses, and she asked how we met. I told her that we’d used the services of a matchmaker. She asked: “Why did you do that?”
“I looked over at her and said: Well now, why did we hire a realtor to find a house?”
We are getting ready for our Real Housewives of Vancouver Viewing Party
We are getting ready for our viewing party tonight, with this being our second appearance on The Real Housewives of Vancouver on Slice at 9pm. We are so excited to share so watch for our comments tonight on Twitter and Facebook when we can finally talk about it and share some behind the scenes photos!
I am pleased to welcome to the Matchmaker for Hire Team -Rhonda Ceci
Rhonda Ceci
Rhonda has been in the matchmaking business for the last 5 years. Past clients have told her they feel and immediate sense of trust on first meeting her. For Rhonda, integrity is not just a catch phrase; she lives her life around her core values of sincerity and honesty. Rhonda will not rest until her clients are happily involved fulfilling, romantic relationships. Matchmaking gives Rhonda a real sense of accomplishment; to her the rewards of matching someone that then leads to love, and then marriage are priceless. Rhonda is a great addition to the Matchmaker for Hire team.
To Contact Rhonda email [email protected]
Twitter Buzz updates from Real Housewives of Vancouver
…just some of the many tweets we saw from fans of the Real Housewives of Vancouver Reality TV show after last week’s episode aired. Many fans seemed to enjoy our interaction as matchmakers with Mary Zilba and Robin Reichman when we visited Mary in her home!
Everybody loves Mary, too. They’re rooting for her to find love, and they sure got a kick out of Robin’s pointed questions…
It was gratifying for us to share (on national television!) the process of listening carefully to our clients, and showing the attention to detail that’s required when you’re trying to put the right people together. We found Robin’s questions a little off the wall, although we have heard just about everything, they sure made the episode a memorable one
I can now tell you that we did find a match for Mary, and you’ll see how it happens in tomorrow nites show (Slice TV Tuesday April 9 @ 9pm)
Behind the Scenes – The Real Housewives of Vancouver
I’m very pleased to announce that tonight, April 2nd, Matchmaker for Hire will be part of a story arc on the popular reality television show Real Housewives of Vancouver, (Slice TV@ 7pm & 10pm), helping one of the ladies find Mr. Right.
Knowing of my romance and dating expertise in Western Canada, RHOV approached me and my team to find a match for Mary Zilba, a.k.a. ‘the Good Housewife’. Next Tuesday, April 9th, Mary’s dream date will be revealed on the Season 2 finale.
Behind the Scenes
We were first approached by the producers of RHOV last August to see if we might play a role in finding Mary happiness. We made two appearances on the show on two different nights, and that’s quite unusual for the hit series.
Part of my service is that I interview people in their homes, so my right hand Jill and I went to Mary’s Yaletown Penthouse to get to know her, determine what kind of partner she was looking for and meet her friend and fellow Housewife Robin Reichman who was there for support.
*And I should point out that, normally, I will NOT show up at your house with a camera crew to do the consultation!*
You’ll see much of that initial process on tonight’s show. Of course I’m certain that even though they filmed for three hours, our part in the program will probably be only about five minutes long. We left Mary’s home with all the information we needed to find her true love on national TV — no pressure at all!
Jill and I looked at each other in the elevator when the session was over and decided we needed a regroup, and we went over to the Cactus Club for dinner. Now that’s where they should have had the cameras rolling, as we discussed what just happened!
To be perfectly honest, I was nervous and excited to be a part of this reality TV star’s search for love. Not finding her a suitable candidate in front of millions of TV viewers could be slightly embarrassing!
It was fun to be part of the drama, let me tell you, and it gets even better next week! In the meantime, I’ll be tweeting about the many media events we’re participating in this week, so check us out on Twitter @matchmaker4hire for a full schedule. There’s a lot of terrific buzz about our involvement in this show!
-Jane
oxoxoxoxoxoxo
Must Love Horses-Calgary
This Cowboy needs his angel match! He’s tall, dark, handsome, uncomplicated, and unpretentious and he’s Looking for Love in Calgary!
And he’s hired me to look for you. If you are 35+ – 45+ and share some of his interests, contact me [email protected] before he is taken!
#MustLoveHorses
Victoria Times Colonist Article- Love in the golden years!
This was published in Victoria Times Colonist, February 14, 2013
Matchmaker proves that hope does spring eternal!
Published in the Victoria Times Colonist, Sunday February 17, 2013
Our thoughts at Matchmaker for Hire go out to Jane today.
Jane’s father, Carl McGibbon has passed away. Jane, her sister Ann, and her brother Jeff were at his side.
Jane held a special bond with her dad, as daughters do, and he is now reunited with Jane’s mother Marjorie, who passed 25 years ago.
We are sorry for Jane’s loss and extend to her our deepest sympathy during this difficult time.
Jill, Alexandra, and Rhonda
ASK JANE: Valentine’s Day ideas for Singles Hint: Chocolate Binges and Pity Fests are not on the List!
Being single doesn’t mean that you need to find Valentine’s Day a depressing occasion. You can still treat yourself and feel good about your single life. Here is a range of ideas for doing things to participate “in the spirit” while keeping up your spirit; or, you can simply treat it like any other day!
1. Indulge in yourself. Since Valentine’s Day is all about love, spending the day loving yourself makes perfect sense. Play hooky from work (or just leave an hour early) and do whatever you want, be it pampering yourself with a massage or staying home, ordering take out and marathoning every movie your celeb crush has ever been in. After all, you have no one to please but your own darn self.
2. Go after what you want. If indulging seems a little too…indulgent, go the opposite direction and use the day to finish (or start) something you’ve been meaning to tackle. Secure that promotion you’ve been after at work; go spend some money on yourself doing something you’ve always wanted to do.
3. Find something new to love. Interested in taking up yoga? Want to learn how to be a sommelier? Wish you could cook risotto? Challenge yourself to do something you haven’t done before, or seldom get to do because of your schedule.
4. Send love someone else’s way. Studies show that kindness spreads, so start an epidemic. Give Valentine’s Day cards to those close to you, like your co-workers and friends, as well as those not so close to you, like the barista who serves you your coffee. Not the Hallmark type? Volunteer locally and help those less fortunate than you. Seeing a face light up from your small gesture will fill you with love and make the world a better place. (I’m serious)
5. Use Valentine’s Day as an “actively seek a partner day”. Many places put on singles evenings so get your girlfriends or male friends together and head for a singles party. Who knows who you might meet?
“Hope Springs Eternal”
They had never given up hope, although there were days…Jim and Catherine were both 62 in 2009, their birthdays only five days apart. They were both single and living on Vancouver Island, only two hours apart, and even though they were meant for each other they had never met. Catherine was an office administrator in Victoria and Jim worked up-Island. He’d been on his own for three years, she’d been on her own for a year after a relationship turned sour.
“There were a lot of guys playing the field in Victoria because of the number of women available,” Catherine says, “and I’d had some bad experiences.”
Both had pretty well given up looking for a soul mate, but a friend of Catherine’s kept encouraging her to talk to Jane Carstens at Matchmaker for Hire. As for Jim, he was flying back to the Island from Edmonton when he read an article on the plane about finding a soul mate. He decided to make the phone call to Matchmaker for Hire as soon as he got home.
Jane worked her magic for them and set up their first date. They talked for hours, and actually found they had a lot in common. “He’s a really nice guy,” Catherine told Jane afterwards, “but there isn’t any chemistry there.” Jane pointed out an important fact — the guys Catherine did have immediate chemistry with turned out to be not so good for her — and she urged Catherine to try again. “Jane provided the coaching and the encouragement I needed,” she said. “Jim had already sent a follow-up email to me, wanting to stay in touch, so at Jane’s urging I told him I would go out with him again the next time he was in Victoria.”
“Over the course of the next few months,” Catherine recalls, “he arrived with a huge box of chocolates and a nice Christmas card. Things continued to progress slowly, although I still wasn’t sure.” Jim turned out to be a really great guy— an old fashioned gentleman. He started coming down to Victoria for weekends, she went up-Island to see him.
Fast forward to Halloween 2010, and the event that’s now part of their family folklore. “I always spend Halloween with my family, handing out treats,” Catherine told us. She didn’t know that Jim had called her son earlier in the day to orchestrate a little surprise of their own. At one point, her son insisted that it would be her turn to answer the door when the next ‘trick or treater’ arrived.
The next trick or treater was a very large kid in an ill- fitting Darth Vader costume. “I reached for a treat,” Catherine says, “and then I saw his shoes. They looked awfully familiar. It was Jim of course, and as we laughed together he got down on his knees and proposed to me. He had a ring, and I guess I got the treat!”
Jim and Catherine were married in Mexico in December 2011. They got all the kids and grandkids onto a plane and stayed at a beach resort. Both are now retired and just turned 65 together in Saanich.
Both credit Matchmakers for proving that hope indeed springs eternal. “If it hadn’t been for Jane’s coaching,” Catherine says, “I probably wouldn’t have seen Jim again. It was like sitting down with a girlfriend and talking things out. She was right — you’re not always going to click with someone on a first date.”
Jim adds: “We both sold our properties after the wedding and we were driving around with a realtor one day, looking at new houses, and she asked how we met. I told her that we’d used the services of a matchmaker. She asked: “Why did you do that?”
“I looked over at her and said: Well now, why did we hire a realtor to find a house?”