Where is the love?

My cousin got married recently. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I complained endlessly about being stuck at the singles table at the reception. I have yet to experience a singles table as I've mostly attended family weddings where I end up sitting with my cousins. However, with more and more family members getting married, spots at the family table are becoming scarce. At this latest wedding, I thought my fear of being edged out by wives, husbands and fiancés was about to be realized but I was spared. There were enough seats for singles and couples a like at the “kids” table.

However, I was a tiny bit disappointed at being robbed of the opportunity to meet other young, eligible singles. It is sometimes difficult to meet members of the opposite sex so I’ve been analyzing my own successes (of which there happen to be few), and the successes of others people in order to deduce new, more reliable methods of meeting people. I think I've rounded out a few proven methods:

1. Gym volleyball class. Personally, I have 100% success rate at meeting potential boyfriends in gym volleyball classes. In high school and college, I met nice, smart boys when we played on the same team in gym volleyball. Perhaps they were impressed by my overhand serve, my unnecessary competitiveness in recreational sports, or the way I looked in sweat shorts. Whatever the reason, I succeeded meeting and dating boys from gym class. The downside to gym-volleyball facilitated relationships is that they didn’t work out long term.

2. Lifetime movie on-set romance. Turning to tabloids for examples of circumstances where love blossomed between two people, an obvious conclusion was starring in a Lifetime movie. Tori Spelling met Dean McDermott on the set of the Lifetime thriller Mind over Murder. Two divorces, four years, five dogs and two kids later, they're still going strong and even have their own reality show. Similarly, LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian met on the set of the Lifetime movie Northern Lights. Initially a hidden affair, their love has bloomed into a classic story of married man meets married girl, shenanigans and divorces ensue, resulting in a long-lasting love. However, as noted, a hallmark of these Lifetime movie facilitated romances is both parties were married to other people at the time the romance started. Needing to be married first before I find my true love is more work than I'm willing to take on at the moment.

3. Go to an Ivy League university. Nothing beats the Sunday New York Times, home of the Sunday Styles and esteemed Wedding Announcements section. If there is anything I’ve learned from reading Times’ wedding announcements, its people that go to Ivy League universities get married. And the more Ivy League, or, if you must, Ivy plus universities you’ve attended, the more likely you are to meet a similarly high achiever looking to get hitched and get his name in the NY Times. Per my calculations, couples in the NY Times wedding section have on average at least 3 Ivy degrees between them. Sadly, Ivy admissions departments and rigorous academic standards stand in the way of my meeting the perfect Ivy League husband.

These are just a few good ideas. I'm sure there will be others. In the meantime, short of starring in Lifetime movie or graduating from two or more Ivy League universities, it looks like I have to brush up on my passing and find an adult volleyball league. Have your own ideas? Share them in the comments.