Americans are More Excited than Brits about the Royal Wedding

Admit it. You have Royal wedding fever, or perhaps a little regal envy about this week’s marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton. After all, we haven’t had a Royal wedding in decades, let alone in this century.

In preparation for Friday’s celebration, I’ve added a tiara for the occasion and will be celebrating on Thursday evening at the BritWeek Gala, which includes a performance by Grammy-winning performer Seal. After dinner, I’ll come home and will join the millions of wedding enthusiasts on Twitter and Facebook for the very early morning broadcast (3am pacific time/6am eastern time).  I’m just too excited to TIVO the festivities. At home, I’ll be nibbling on scones, sipping tea and sharing my thoughts with the Twitterverse @JulieSpira, so I hope you’ll join in on the conversation.

Am I excited? Of course I am. As a hopeful romantic I believe that watching a real-life fairy-tale-come-true takes us away from our day-to-day activities and brings love and joy into our lives.

Meanwhile, our friends at social dating community Zoosk took the time to survey 1000 singles to see how they felt about the Royal wedding. Their findings showed that more American singles (40%) will watch the ceremony on TV than their British counterparts (31%).

So where does that leave the remaining 60%?

According to Zoosk, a whopping 39% of their singles said they’d rather have root canal than watch the Royal wedding. Sitting in a dentist chair? That’s a strong feeling against the Royal wedding frenzy.

Does watching the Royal wedding make you wonder if you will be the next bride? More than half of the female Zooskers surveyed said yes, where less the majority of the men said it had no effect on their future marriage plans.

To wear, or not to wear a wedding ring.  75% of the women wish Prince William will wear a wedding ring. Even half of the men agreed on this point. Of the 1000 people surveyed, 66% wouldn’t want Prince Charles and Camilla as their in-laws.

Will you be watching the marriage ceremony on April 29^th or sleeping in wishing it would finally be over? If you’ll be staying awake, perhaps you can multi-task and log onto your favorite online dating site to make the most of your time.

Do You Think a Woman Should Propose Marriage? [VIDEO]

Feeling like your long-term relationship is ready for the next step? Watch this video with Julie Spira and Charles J. Orlando with their thoughts on who should propose marriage, the woman or the man.

We know that men don’t like ultimatums, but how do they feel about the marriage proposal? Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and comments.

Dating Advice: When to Change Your Facebook Relationship Status

Thinking of changing your Facebook status to “In a Relationship?” Before you go pushing the update button, watch YourTango’s He Said, She Said video series, where I’m talking with Charles J. Orlando, author of The Problem with Women is Men about this hot topic.

Reading Room – eHarmony Guide to Dating the Second Time Around

It’s with great pleasure to add the eHarmony Guide to Dating the Second Time Around to the Cyber Dating Expert Reading Room.

The book, edited by Dr. Gian Gonzaga, Ph.D, director of research and development at eHarmony Labs gives proven methods to finding a love that lasts. Many people are finding themselves single after a long term relationship or marriage. Whether through divorce, death, or a painful breakup, this book will give you some exercises and tools as you jump back into the dating scene. Like the online dating site eHarmony, the book is focused on serious minded singles who want a long term committed relationship or marriage.

For those of you starting over again, it’s a terrific guidebook to evaluate what you want in your relationship at this stage of your life. You’ll reflect on past relationships on what worked, what you didn’t like, and will take inventory of your personal life.

In addition, I’m delighted that Dr. Gonzaga will be my featured guest on the Valentine’s edition of Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show, scheduled for Saturday, February 13, 2011 at 11am/PST. He’ll be talking about the book in more detail, so I hope you do listen in.

It’s Complicated – Film Review

Why does it always have to be so complicated? In the case of the film written and directed by Nancy Meyers scheduled to open on Christmas day, it was almost predictable.

Meet Jane (played by Meryl Streep) and Jake (played by Alec Baldwin). They’re  the typical middle aged couple from Santa Barbara who got divorced after 20+ years of marriage. Jake married a much younger girl that he had been fooling around with and Jane moved on, or did she?

While at the graduation ceremony of their son in New York, the chemistry they once had reappeared. Suddenly they are having an affair and can’t keep their hands off each other.

Meryl Streep once again plays a perfect role in It’s Complicated. You see her spending a lot of time in the kitchen like she did in Julie and Julia. The writers make a point of mentioning the online dating site Match.com and the film title comes from a relationship status on Facebook. Social media and social dating are now just part of the daily conversations.

Having an appealing film which includes an adulterous affair during the time that Tiger Woods is making the headlines will make singles and couples wonder, are we giving permission for you to stray from your marriage? Is recycling the ex now going to be acceptable?  Is the grass always greener? Was it just the oxytocin or did Jake really want a reconciliation with his wife?

As usual, I enjoy romantic comedies and this one is worth seeing during the Christmas holidays. My favorite scene: Meryl Streep in the kitchen of her gourmet restaurant making chocolate croissants after hours on her date with Steve Martin. My rating: 4/5.

Julie Spira is a dating coach and author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com

Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places?

By Heather Juma

Ladies!  Are you looking for “Mr. Right” in all the wrong places?  Are you spending your weekends hanging out in the typical bar scene?  Hmmm… let’s see is that really the place to meet “Mr. Right”?

I have a better idea for you!  Make a list of your hobbies and passions.  What do you do in your free time?  Love Tennis?  You might meet your perfect “match” at the local tennis club.  Love wine?  Go to wine tastings and join gourmet foodie groups.  You get the hint!

Think of all the fun you’ll have meeting lots of other people and making new interesting friends while enjoying your hobbies and passions, that will take your mind off “looking for Mr. Right” and then he’ll probably show up (funny how that works)!

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