It’s one thing actually matching with someone you’re interested in on a dating apps like Hinge or Bumble, but it’s quite another setting up a date.
Amongst the many logistics (who is organising the date, and where on earth are you going?), you need to decide what day you’re actually meeting which, let’s face it, is a bit of a minefield.
Is a Tuesday too boring? Is a Friday a waste of a weekend night if the date’s a fail? And who can be bothered to go out on a Monday anyway?
Millennial guru and author Dolly Alderton recently shared that you should never arrange a first day on a Friday or Saturday. Her reason being that you don’t want to ‘let your romantic expectations of a stranger dictate the shape of your weekend.’
Instead, the Everything I Know About Love writer, suggested ‘a drink on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday that could potentially turn into a dinner’.
We asked on X – and at Metro HQ – and the response was a mixed bag.
‘Wednesday gets my vote!’ said one user. ‘It’s before the weekend vibes set in, so you don’t look too committed or free of other offers. Monday is too keen to meet, and Tuesday is a nice prep, ‘what shall I wear’, decider day.’
‘My personal rule is no first dates between Thursday and Saturday,’ said one Metro writer.
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‘I quite like a Sunday. It implies an early night (so no sex), and I try to arrange it near to where I live, so I can get home easily.’
Meanwhile, others went against Dolly’s wise words, and favoured the prime real estate of Friday or Saturday. ‘I think weekends work best,’ said another commenter. ‘You’ve got more time to spend with them.’
But this idea got quashed by one Metro writer. ‘There is absolutely no way I’m wasting a Saturday night with a stranger that I may never see again.’ Fair point.
The dating app, Thursday, has some pretty clear feelings. The app encourages singles to set dates up on – you guessed it – a Thursday, calling it the ‘day for dating’, leaving them the rest of the week to ‘spend time on you.’
So is there a definitive answer? Dating expert for Match, Hayley Quinn, says some days are better than others.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘Aim for a Wednesday or Thursday evening, or a Sunday brunch.
‘Friday or Saturday nights are likely to be saved for socialising with friends and not seen as worth spending on a first date.
‘Mondays and Tuesdays are also out, as people usually won’t want a late night or to get out of their routine too early in the week.’
How long should you wait between matching and going out on a date?
Hinge’s relationship expert has said that people should wait no more than three days to put a date in the diary.
Speaking previously to Metro.co.uk, Logan Ury said: ‘You want to talk for long enough to build rapport but short enough that you don’t lose momentum.
‘When you message too much before your first date, you often create a fantasy of the other person in your mind. I refer to this phenomenon as the Monet Effect,’ Logan says. ‘It occurs when our brains, eager for a positive result, embellish the incomplete picture we have of someone with flattering details.’
This may sound harmless in theory, however Logan warns that when (or if) you actually meet the person, they probably won’t live up to the spectacular fantasy image you’ve established for them in your mind.
‘Even if they’re wonderful, we may feel let down because they don’t match the fantasy we had of them in our heads,’ the relationships expert explains. ‘The best way to avoid the Monet Effect is to get to your date as quickly as possible.’
Hayley says it’s all about the mid-week date.
‘Rather than suggesting a night where your date is likely to have other plans, aim for a mid-week evening date instead. Then if there’s no spark, you can always blame an early start the next day to keep the date short and sweet.’
But if your week days are choc-a-bloc, try some tactical weekend brunches instead.
‘On the weekends, brunch dates can work well, as these are usually in the late morning and allow people a lie-in, but are early enough not to clash with other plans,’ says Hayley.
‘If the date goes well, then there’s also the opportunity to extend it later into the day.’
So there you have it. And if the date’s a bust, at least you’ll know the day of the week wasn’t to blame.
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