Monday, September 9, 2013

‘Miss Match’ Found Love For Everyone But Herself – Until Now

I was thrilled to write this piece for the New York Post on my recent marriage . Read the full article here.

Samantha Daniels is the founder of matchmaking service Samantha’s Table, author of “Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern Day Matchmaker” and the inspiration behind NBC’s 2003 show “Miss Match,” in which her life story was portrayed by Alicia Silverstone. But the 42-year-old successful NYC-based matchmaker was perpetually single – until finally getting hitched last spring. Below, she shares the story of how she finally found true love.


Samantha Daniels and her husband Steve Farber
Deep down, I always wondered why marriage eluded me. I give great romantic advice. I’ve helped more than 300 people get married. Yet for more than 13 years, I was known as “The Single Matchmaker,” unable to reach the promised land myself.

I was proud of my accomplishments, but I was in the same boat as all of my successful clients: I had everything I wanted in my life, except for one person with whom to share it all. That is, until last March, when I finally married my true love.

How did I ultimately land my own big fish? I went through the same dating trials and tribulations as any other single New Yorker. I hit rock bottom with the last guy I dated before I met my husband. That boyfriend told me I was beautiful and that he could see himself marrying me. But a partner at his hedge fund told him no divorced man of his “success and stature” should commit to another marriage before dating a professional model. So he promptly broke up with me and found one. I got so fed up I took myself off the dating market, lest I start hating men forever.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

More Great Coverage Of My Hamptons Event For Jack Hidary

Samantha Daniels, Edie Falco, Steve Farber
Guest of a Guest included my event in the Hamptons for NYC Mayoral Candidate Jack Hidary in their weekend roundup.

Here's the article, along with some pictures of the event:

Where: Private Home of Celebrity Matchmaker Samantha Daniels and Money Manager Steve Farber, Wainscott, NY

Who Was There: Guests included Samantha Daniels, Steve Farber, Candidate, Jack Hidary, Murray Hidary, Alyson Cambridge, Edie Falco, Aida Turturro, Bill Brady, Bonnie Schneider, John D. Singer, Maya Singer, Jim Prusky, Michael and Nina Whitman. Barbara Kavovit, Janie Bruyere, Caren Turner, Keith Rosenbloom and Laura Rand, Amy Treitel, David Allouch, Jeff Grant, David and Naomi Schoenkin, Jonathan Ende, Jason Ridloff, Zachary and Nicole Tunick, Dr Howard Levy, Margot Phillips, Rolise Rachel, Amy Dewhurst, Stuart Sugarman, Erin Frankel, Amanda Terry, Jami Beere and Terri Kahan.

Details: Celebrity Matchmaker Samantha Daniels and Money Manager Steve Farber opened up their Wainscott home for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at sunset in a mid-century modern setting. Guests were invited to come meet NYC Mayoral candidate, Jack Hidary. They sipped summery NYC themed cocktails and enjoyed nibbles from Je ne sais quoi caterers and Steve'sice cream from Brooklyn. Hidary gave an inspiring speech about his candidacy and how he hopes to shape NYC when he is elected.

Read the entire article here, and find more pictures of the event here

Monday, August 19, 2013

Samantha's Event Pick: Hamptons Event for NYC Mayoral Candidate, Jack Hidary

Last Saturday, I hosted a fantastic event in the Hamptons for NYC Mayoral Candidate, Jack Hidary.

Here is some fun coverage of the event from The Algemeiner:
Samantha Daniels, Jack Hidary, Steve Farber

New York City based professional matchmaker Samantha Daniels and her husband Steven Farber are hosting a fundraiser at their Hamptons home for Jewish tech mogul and New City Mayoral candidate Jack Hidary.

The Saturday evening cocktail party in Wainscott, New York, is being billed as a chance to meet Hidary up close, and the dress code is “Hamptons chic.”

Daniels is the creator of “Samantha’s Table,” billed as an “exclusive, discreet and high-end matchmaking service for the ultra-successful, ultra-busy, ultra-cultured and the ultra-educated.”

At the time of publication the upscale Matchmaker hadn’t responded to a query from The Algemeiner, asking if she had a potential candidate to introduce to the eligible Jewish bachelor, but, in a final note on the invite, Daniels told her guests, “We hope to see all of our married, coupled off and single friends, as ‘Samantha The Matchmaker’ will be off-duty!”

Read the full article here.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Samantha's Event Pick: Super Saturday

Last weekend, I attended one of my favorite annual events in the Hamptons, Super Saturday. It's a shopping event sponsored by several notable designers, and there are always amazing buys to be found. Not to mention, it's all for a very worthy cause, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. This year, they raised over 3.5 million dollars. Pretty incredible.

Glam.com wrote a great piece on the event, and I had a fun time contributing my memories. Here's an excerpt: 

"Samantha Daniels, celebrity matchmaker and president of Samantha’s Table, has been attending Super Saturday since 2000. She began coming as a volunteer, once working the Valentino booth, and afterward was allowed to buy a pale pink handbag for $50 that she still owns to this day. This is just one of many fond Super Saturday memories for her: “I discovered Christina Perrin for the first time. I wound up buying 2 floor length beaded skirts for $75 each when they retailed for over $2000. And I found myself chatting with the designer that day. She invited me to her showroom thereafter and I wound up doing a photo shoot for the New York Times! It doesn’t stop there; the same year that Daniels’ best friend won two sets of golf clubs and a weekend getaway at a golf resort, she won a trip for two to London, including airfare, a two night hotel say and a digital camera!"

Read the rest of the article here.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

George: Which Eligible Heartthrobs Share This Name?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
introduce Prince George
(Originally appeared on The Huffington Post on July 30, 2013.)

Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have finally announced the name of their royal son: Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. And already, the world is in love with him. Prince George has many years to live up to the name carried by many a royal and many a celebrity, but we all know he will inevitably become a heart-throb in his own right. Here's a list of our favorite heart-throb George's of all time; it's only a matter of time before this newly admired George tops the list.

George Jetson: Our cartoon George was ahead of his time jetting around in a flying car, working 1 hour a day, 2 days a week and having robots as housekeepers. What lady wouldn't have wanted to live such an A-list lifestyle?

George Washington: Our historical George, he was a giant in his time. Towering at 6'2, he was much taller than the average colonial. Who wouldn't be attracted to the tallest man in the land who just happened to be the first leader of the United States?

Babe Ruth: Our George "undercover." Most people don't know that this sports legend was born a George, but he was. He was definitely "a catch" in his day; after all, who wouldn't want to be with one of the greatest sluggers of all time?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Samantha's Dating Thought: Can Vacation Romances Last?

If you're single and heading out of town for vacation this summer, you might be crossing your fingers for a passionate vacation romance. Vacation romances occupy a special place in our hearts. They thrill us because they have a set expiration date. When we're in the midst of one, we can already feel it metamorphosing into a precious memory. And once one is over, we feel teased by what was an impossible love, however, knowing that it was the impossibility that gave it its heightened sense of meaning.

If you decide that you don't want your summer romance to turn into a memory, and instead want to bring it home with you to real life, there are a few questions you should first ask yourself:

  • Are you sure that your new love is single and available? People will often use vacations as excuses to cheat on their partners. Make sure this isn't your love.
  • Would your lives fit together? Do you have common interests, values, and ways of life? While you're away from home, you may allow yourself to overlook these important commonalities, and not see the potential flaws in your new lover. 
  • If your love doesn't live in your area, are you willing to put in all of the labor that a working long-distance relationship requires? 

If your answer to these three questions is"yes", it is definitely worth exploring this relationship at home in real life. If not, it may be best to relinquish this romance, knowing that it will always live as a treasured memory.