Couple wins $100,000 dream wedding from Pride Month Tinder Success Story

Update July 11: Tinder announced the winners of the $100,000 dream wedding on Tuesday: Logan Peters and Ryan Holly. The couple’s wedding will be officiated by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” judge Michelle Visage, who also helped select the couple as the winners.

 

In honor of pride month, I thought i’d share Logan and my #tindersuccessstory ?❤️ It was a Sunday, and I was eating alone at a diner feeling frustrated and lonely. A few days before I had gone on a date that hadn’t gone well, and I was beginning to question whether I would ever find someone. I had only been out for a few months, so I was still getting comfortable in my own skin. While sitting at the diner, I matched with this handsome man named Logan on Tinder. With butterflies in my stomach I decided to send him a message. To my delight he responded, and our conversation ended up lasting that entire week. At one point I asked him, “how long have you been out for?” He answered, “I’m not.” My heart sank. I was afraid that he may not be looking for a relationship like I was. But I decided to give him a chance. I invited him to go to a brewery that Friday. I picked him up, and we sat at the brewery and talked for hours. The conversation came so natural – it was as if we had known each other for years. A week later, we went on a much anticipated second date. While eating dinner, out of the blue he said to me “I’m going to come out to my parents tomorrow.” He told me that I had given him the courage to do it. Then, after dinner we walked around downtown Denver and he held my hand. And at that moment, I realized we were on the same page. Things moved pretty quickly after that. In a week we were in a relationship, and in less than a month we were living together. As our love for each other grew, we became more comfortable with ourselves. After dating for two and a half years, Logan asked me to marry him. He was so sly in planning the proposal – he told me to meet him at our friend’s apartment after work. I walked up to her apartment, knocked on the door with no response. Confused, I looked to the patio and saw Logan standing there, looking so handsome, with candles and roses below him and the city skyline behind him. Of course I said yes! We cannot wait to start planning the wedding. And it all started because we both swiped right. Thank you @tinder for connecting us. #tindersuccessstory I love you Logan ❤️

A post shared by Ryan Holly (@rhollz) on Jun 19, 2017 at 12:21pm PDT

“We’re thrilled to be the winners of the Tinder Dream Wedding contest!” Peters and Holly said in a statement. “We’re so happy that Tinder created a space for us to meet and continues to support the LGBTQ community by taking a stand for equality. We can’t wait to start planning for our wedding and for our married life together.”

Original article:

Happy Pride! If you met your match on Tinder and you two are ready to take your love (is love) to the next level —marriage — you have the chance to win your dream wedding.

To celebrate Pride Month, Tinder is offering one LGBTQ couple $100,000 to pay for their nuptials. The contest is open during the month of June and winners will be announced on July 5.

To enter, post a pic of you and your sweetie on Instagram using #TinderSuccessStory, tagging @Tinder and writing a description of your Tinder success story.

 

Share your Tinder success story on Instagram with #TinderSuccessStory for a chance to win your dream wedding, paid for by Tinder. And check out this Tinder success story ?‍❤️‍?Meet Aaron and Serge. They first met on Tinder and got coffee at a Starbucks. While they hit it off well, they remained friends until about a year later, when they decided to start dating. One night, when they were trying to escape the rain, they stumbled upon what is now their favorite date spot—an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills, where the pumpkin ravioli with sage butter sauce was to die for and the seafood pasta had just the right amount of spice. Now they’re ready to make it official. And full disclosure: we have a special place in our heart for this couple, because Aaron is our very own CRM Specialist at Tinder. @aaronsilvers

A post shared by Tinder (@tinder) on Jun 12, 2017 at 9:49am PDT

Posts will be judged equally on originality, presentation, emotional impact and relevance to the Pride theme. Read the official rules here.

Tinder has even issued a challenge: “Make us cry, we dare you!” 

If you haven’t met your mate, don’t fret. A recent study conducted by Tinder shows that LGBTQ swipers are looking for something serious and still have hope.

More than half of gay and lesbian users believe Tinder is the way to finding a long-term relationship, according to the study.

 

In honor of #Pride month and today’s #ResistMarch, I wanted to share my story. For over 20 years, I felt like I was living a lie. Every day, I would look into the mirror and have no idea who was staring back at me. In college, I was in a terrific relationship with a truly amazing girl. My biggest fear, however, was that I would get married, have kids, live a fake life, then finally collapse and ruin everything. I couldn’t do that. So I broke it off. For the next two years, I went on a journey of self-discovery. I had to really take the time to figure out who I was and why I was hiding. I meditated, read self-help books, journaled, went on retreats, anything I could think of to start building a relationship with myself. Then, I began to come to terms with the truth that I was gay. In 2013 I developed the courage to come out (fun fact- I “came out of the closet” IN an actual closet). Within a week, I told everyone I cared about. It was both terrifying and liberating. My heart felt lighter. And the best part was that no one made it a big deal. Later that year I went on @tinder and finally switched my settings from “women” to “men”. To my surprise, I began matching with guys instantly. On November 8, 2013, my world changed once again. I was laying in bed, swiping through Tinder when I came across this VERY cute boy. His name was Mark and from his pictures, I could tell that he liked adventure, had a good sense of humor, and had a smile that was contagious. I swiped right and we matched. I’ll never forget the moment I first saw his face. He was even cuter in person. We hung out and talked the entire night. I felt something that I had never felt before. It was seamless. It felt right. The chemistry was palpable. I knew I had to see him again. Three and a half years later, Mark and I are now engaged and starting to plan our dream wedding at @eventsatpaduahills on June 3, 2018. #tindersuccessstory #tinder #couplespic #gay #lgbtq #marriage #gaywedding #dreamwedding #MnMWedding #MnMforever #love #happiness #joy #commitment #hestheone #swiperight #resistmarchla

A post shared by Max Landwirth (@maxlandwirth) on Jun 11, 2017 at 3:34pm PDT

Last year, Tinder added “transgender” and 37 other gender options and facilitated 250,000 matches using that feature in just two months.

If you find a mutual right swiper, here are some things to keep in mind, according to the study.

For lesbians, having a mutual friend in common is the top factor when meeting someone.

 

Laura and I have never been shy with our #TinderSuccessStory. What some people may not know is Laura joined Tinder to find a girlfriend after years of suppressing her queer identity. Have you ever come across someone on Tinder that you are really really interested in, so you just kinda stare at their profile for a bit before you swipe right? That’s what happened when I saw Laura. So I held my breath and swiped right. “It’s A Match!” We matched on December 28th, 2015. Our first date was on January 4th, 2016. On January 4th, 2017 I proposed. Since we’re both book nerds I made a tiny book to hold her ring. And inside I wrote a poem of our story. It’s something I never want to forget. “Once upon a time… In two separate towns Not too far apart. Lived two women, Both with broken hearts. Done with love And all of the so called “splendor”, These two ladies Decided to try Tinder. “I’m just looking for fun” Each lady did declare. “I’m perfect on my own! I don’t need to be one of a pair.” Left after left, Each woman would swipe. “All these ladies are boring! I don’t understand the hype.” Until one day, Each other’s picture came into sight. It only took a second, For each to swipe right. “It’s A Match!” Both their phones did alert. The women both paused, “Wait, I don’t know how to flirt.” Tired of the pickup lines, And stupid wise cracks. One lady said simply to the other, “I love random facts.” From this simple statement, They talked night and day. Until finally, in the same town, One said “Would you like to go to Chipotle?” Now I’m not one to believe, In love at first site. But from that first meeting, They both knew they found Mrs. Right. They say a year goes by fast, When you’re having fun. And for our two lovers, It’s even faster when you’ve found The One. So on their first anniversary, One lady got down on a knee. Confessed her love and asked, “Will you marry me?” “Yes! Of course!” said the other, Through the tears and the laughter. And our two protagonists Lived happily ever after.”

A post shared by Margaret Haggard (@haggardphotos) on Jun 7, 2017 at 9:35pm PDT

For gay men and transgender Tinder users, a public place for a first meeting is a must.

Lesbians feel more comfortable expressing their affection in public, the survey said, but 22 percent don’t show PDAs because of safety concerns. Only 5 percent of straight women are concerned about the same issue.

Gay men also don’t show public affection because of safety concerns, around 40 percent, while only 9 percent of heterosexual men have the same worries.

Gay men and nonbinary Tinder users are the least likely to publicly display their affection, while heterosexual and homosexual women are more likely to be proactive in shielding their safety.