Jean-eva Dickie did not start her Halifax-based matchmaking service Book of Love in 2017 because she wanted to make the world safe for legions of lovelorn Atlantic Canadian singles. What she wanted was a date.
“I needed to meet men, and I didn’t want to go online,” says the 38-year-old Truro, N.S., native and geomatics engineer who had been working in Calgary’s oil and gas patch for several years before she moved back. “So, I organized a speed-dating event. From there... it kind of grew.”
The business, which currently hosts 850 Nova Scotians and New Brunswickers between the ages of 25 and 65, is booming. “Without COVID, I don’t think we’d be where we are today,” Dickie says. “People were shut up in their houses for so long, staying put, they turned to online dating and our matchmaking services ... The growth has been near constant. We haven’t had any financial loss on what we do.”
They, meaning Dickie and her hand-selected team of cupids, do a lot. There’s the speed-dating, which she says is especially good for nervous newbies needing organized icebreakers. There’s also mixers, specialized singles events, and something that sounds a lot like psychological counselling. “Oftentimes, people just upload a bunch of random photos online. We want them to reflect on what they’re putting out to the world.”
That can be hard in Atlantic Canada where, she says, we don’t actually roll like other folks. “We’re a unique bunch,” she says. “We tend to be very casual. A lot of the time we just show up on dates in plaid shirts and jeans. This laid-back attitude sometimes carries over into our online dating profiles.”
That’s when getting a durable fit for “down homers” takes a bit of locally savvy nuance. “Growing up in Newfoundland, it’s in my blood to love people and to work with them,” pitches Book of Love’s New Brunswick matchmaker Olivia Harrison Shaw on the business website. “I believe that everyone deserves to find their happily ever after and I’m dedicated to making that happen for my clients.”
East Coast down-to-earthiness may be the secret sauce in Dickie’s recipe. “I actually love that feature about us ... People here are looking for a genuine connection. They’re less focussed on the superficial things like looks and money. They are more interested in finding ... you know ... a romantic best friend.”
Still, crafting that all-important dating profile just right is as important here as anywhere. “That starts with coaching which, in fact, generates the most couples out of any of our services,” she says. “You have to come in with a mindset that you are going to be honest with yourself, that you are going to work on yourself. You have to admit that maybe you need help with dating, and that’s a really hard thing to do.”
Apparently, “N” who is 50 and an “HR professional,” couldn’t agree more. “I decided to use a matchmaker service because I wanted to sit back and enjoy my single life; and being a mom, I wanted to have someone else do the work,” she explains. “I am an optimist and knew that there were good men out there but I didn’t want to put myself back on dating apps since I wanted some privacy in my search.”
As for Jean-eva, N says she was “amazing ... I knew that she understood what I was looking for in a mate so I put my fate in her hands. I went on a few dates through Book of Love over a one year period and it was fun … but no match. I knew it was a process and I was patient, that he would come along when the time was right. In the fall of 2021, Jean-eva knew that she had ‘found him’ and she was right. My new partner is all I ever dreamt of in a relationship ... I am very lucky and I am thankful.”
Does any of this actually work? Dickie claims a matchmaker success rate of 33 per cent, apparently respectable by industry standards. Still, that’s not how she answers the question.
“I started this to meet men, but when you become a certified matchmaker, you’re not allowed to date your clients. So I went out on my own and found an amazing partner ... We recently welcomed our first baby.”
Love Atlantic style, indeed.