First Dates

Modern dating happens so fast. We rule people out online before we’ve even met them or we check to see if anyone new has liked our profile on the way home from a date. At this hectic pace, how do we decide whether to see someone again after a first encounter or move on to the next?

I remember my first date with my (now) husband very clearly. We had been chatting online for a couple of weeks and decided it was time to meet up. I suggested dinner but he preferred lunchtime drinks. We ended up having a memorable lunch followed by coffee.

If you’re planning to meet up with someone soon, here are some tips to make sure that first date goes as smoothly as possible.

First impressions do matter and if you want to make a good first impression, here are some tips to follow.

Even when I got to the stage in my dating adventures when I was positively blasé about first dates, there was always one point in the proceedings that was guaranteed to raise my blood pressure. The moment the bill arrived. It wasn’t such a stress if we’d just met for drinks – we might even have taken it in turns to buy rounds. But if we’d gone the whole hog and had dinner, I’d dread the waiter approaching with that ominous piece of folded paper on a silver plate. Should I go with tradition and leave it to the chap to pick up the tab? If I tried to go Dutch, would I offend him? If I didn’t, would I look like some gold-digging prima donna?

‘How will I ever get together with someone, HopefulGirl?’ wailed my friend. ‘Last time I accepted a date, I was so nervous, I cancelled at the last minute!’

Many of us struggle with first date nerves, especially if we haven’t been on one for some time. When I joined the Christian singles scene after the end of a long-term engagement, I hadn’t been on a first date for nearly a decade. I couldn’t even remember how the whole dating thing worked, and I was pretty sure the rules had changed since I was last single.