I had been single for around a year before I met my boyfriend a speed dating event. So I decided to hold my own Speed Dating Washington DC event just for our single friends. It was really easy to organize and turned out to be a huge success.
The first thing I had to do was secure a restaurant and, except for the bar, make sure we had a section cordoned off for our event. We have tons of single friends that I planned on inviting so I created an Evite that stated specifically that these were our single friends, most of whom have tried singles speed dating before.
The RSVPs for Speed Dating Washington DC came rolling in. I was amazed at how many people responded but I was really hoping that my single friends, most of whom had never met each other, would find someone interesting to date and possibly fall in love with.
42 people were expected to show up for the speed dating event and so I worked with the restaurant to make the proper accommodations. On the night of the event we were all prepared. There was a charge of $20.00 to attend which had to do with finances concerning the restaurant.
On the Speed Dating Washington DC invitations we suggested that everyone arrive a half-hour early to check-in and get some drinks at the bar. This would allow people to mix and mingle before the speed dating started. Name tags with first names only were handed out, and every table had a large index card with a pen on them so everyone could take notes about the people that interested them.
Once the event started everyone had five minutes to spend with each date before the men rotated to the next table. After the speed dates were over everyone headed back to the bar for more drinks and socializing. A lot of people decided to stay and have dinner at the restaurant and while my boyfriend and I looked on we could see some sparks flying. With a lot of online speed dating events you are not allowed to give out any contact information but I felt that if our friends wanted to exchange information, so be it.
I found out two weeks later that my Speed Dating Washington DC event joined eight couples that are starting to date. I had wished everyone would find someone but unfortunately that's not the way it usually turns out.