Meredith matchmaker meets the moment

MEREDITH – With all of the apps on the market, there are more ways to meet someone today than ever. One of the best ways, though, might be one that hasn’t changed much for centuries. At least, that’s what a woman who recently started a business as a matchmaker thinks.

Natalie Taylor said she started taking clients for Merrymeeting Matchmakers in September, about a year after attending a Stay, Work, Play event where adults under the age of 40 discussed the challenges and benefits of living in the Lakes Region. Taylor is happily single, but at the event she learned that it can be difficult to find a date in this part of the state.

In fact, Taylor learned in later conversations that some young single people have considered moving, even though they are happy with all other parts of their life.

Yes, there are myriad dating apps that they could subscribe to, but those can be problematic. Many of the users of those apps are only interested in casual encounters, they might misrepresent themselves in their profiles, and then there’s the matter of privacy. Business owners or others who often interact with the public might not feel comfortable making their search for companionship so visible to other dating app users.

Taylor started Merrymeeting Matchmakers to offer a refreshingly traditional way for people to make new acquaintances.

“It’s an in-person service,” Taylor said. “There are old-fashioned matchmakers in more urban New England areas,” she said, but there’s none nearer than Manchester.

While Taylor was inspired by the plight of young, single people looking for romance, she said she welcomes adults of all ages, and people who are looking for platonic connections. Merrymeeting Matchmakers is welcoming to members of the LGTBQ community.

When a new client signs up, Taylor has them come in for an in-person interview – a socially distanced meeting, for the time being – in a discreet space. The interview lasts for around an hour, during which Taylor said she gets to know them as she would a friend.

“When I meet somebody new, I want to know what they’re struggling with and if I know someone or something that can help. That’s how my brain is wired,” Taylor said. “In my heart, I believe there’s a lid for every pot.”

Taylor said her goal is to build a “pool” of clients that she can match from, both for friendship and for lifelong companionship.

Taylor started planning her service prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but she said the social distancing and lack of usual meeting opportunities has been a positive for matchmakers.

“I think a lot of people are lonelier than they were before the pandemic, and it’s given people a lot of time to think about their life and what they want when the pandemic is over,” she said.

Though she has only been accepting clients for about three months, Taylor said she has noticed a couple of things. The first is that everyone who has come in so far has been looking for friendship, even if they are also looking for a romantic partner. The other is how open people have been about their feelings.

“I’ve found that people are not as shy or as reticent to express their loneliness. And I think that’s so healthy,” Taylor said. “In the news, in the media, the reporting on loneliness here in New Hampshire and across the country, this seems like a natural way to address that. I’m really happy when people come in, it shows that they're really taking charge of their life.”