Modern Bride Magazine

“We met through a matchmaker”

Janel Grabarek, 33, owner of a gourmet coffee service, and Kevin Burroughs, 35, a sales manager, live in Baltimore and are planning an August 2006 wedding.

Janel: The matchmaker was actually a gift from my stepfather. Honestly, initially, I was embarrassed, but he told me to think about it. I was like, “All right, it makes sense to get an expert to help.”

Kevin: I called Joann Ward, the same matchmaker, because I had just been transferred to Philly from Baltimore and I wanted to meet new people. But I was skeptical.

Janel: I went out with two other guys before I met Kevin, but there was no chemistry. A month or so went by and Joann left this message: “I have this guy for you, his name is Kevin. I’m not kidding around; you have to meet him!”

Kevin: The day I met Joann, she called me and told me I needed to meet Janel. So I did and it was nice, just simple, and we really hit it off. She was in sales at the time and was outgoing. We had the same interests, age bracket and all that. So after that we continued to date. It just felt right.

Janel: On the second date, in a lot of ways, I knew, I remember we were strolling in the rain that day, and he held the umbrella for me and he was taller than I am, and I felt really safe with him. You know when you walk into a place and you’re proud to be with him? I had really strong feelings like that.

Kevin: I thought I felt it, too.

Janel: Kevin said he was really skeptical at first. He was asking himself, ‘Why the hell am I doing this?’

Kevin: I probably would be one of the last to ever try a matchmaker – I’m very conservative. So I ended up taking a risk that worked.