Leah Wafful may have met her spouse on a fresh, new online dating app called "Tinder" 11 years ago, but today, she's all about helping local singles find love IRL.
"Online dating is not what it used to be even five years ago," she said. "Post-COVID, things are just so different, and I think it just gets mundane for people, and stagnant."
The self-described "serial entrepreneur" launched her dating service, Date Me DSM, in Des Moines last summer. She considers herself a matchmaker and organizes one-on-one dates for area singles, but the bulk of her business is hosting mixers and speed dating events multiple times a month for people of different age ranges to meet someone new in person.
"People might still be doing online dating that are coming to my events. I'm almost positive a majority still are. It's just another option for them," she said. "If all your friends are married, and all your friends don't go out anymore, how are you supposed to meet people, right? I'm just giving people a space to come and be."
On Valentine's Day this year, Wafful is hosting a singles mixer at the Iowa Wild game at the Iowa Events Center. Her events can bring in between 50-80 people, thanks to the traction she gained in the past few months with her fun social media presence and outreach. The event has a waiting list.
Iowa is home to just a handful of matchmaking services, all offering to help Iowans find their other half. Iowa Matchmaking has consultants in every major Iowa city. Midwest Matchmaking doesn't just set up Iowans in the Des Moines area with a date — its consultants provide coaching and ongoing relationship support.
Cat Cantrill, owner of The Heart Agency in Cedar Rapids, offers personalized "image consulting" alongside her matchmaking services and podcast, Dear Matchmaker.
The dating coach and "dating stylist" helps singles express themselves through clothing, including wardrobe makeovers, styling photoshoots and even helping new singles overhaul their entire closets.
"Even if I help my clients with online dating, I also encourage them to meet people in real life... Dive into yourself. Romance yourself in the process. Unplug, and do some things that are going to bring you joy."Cat Cantrill, owner, The Heart Agency
@catcantrill Do you believe the three date rule? #matchmaker #fypシ #datingcoach #datingadvice #datingtips ♬ original sound - Cat Cantrill
"If they have been in relationships for a long time and they're single again, and they're ready to start putting themselves out there, there can be a lot of memories and things within their closet," she said. "I actually will fly out to them and go through their closets for a couple of days and really give them a whole new jump start on their singlehood."
She started her services coming out of the pandemic.
"Especially in the world of swiping, people are so disconnected — and loneliness is an epidemic," she said. "I'm trying to get people out of their phones and getting them into connecting with people in real life — and hopefully finding love."
Her advice for finding love in 2025? "Be unplugged."
"Even if I help my clients with online dating, I also encourage them to meet people in real life," she said. "Navigate the world as if you don't have any electronics. Take your earbuds out. Get off of your phone when you're standing in line at Starbucks. If there's somebody that's interesting standing next to you, strike up a conversation. Dive into yourself. Romance yourself in the process. Unplug, and do some things that are going to bring you joy."
