Wow, is it that time already? Time to walk up the aisle? It will be in just over a week! And regarding AreYouMyPartner, things are going to new levels as well.

It’s been dawning on me a lot more lately that over three years ago I tried a digital experiment that brought me to now: walking up the aisle with CeCe in just over a week. We’ve been together for over two years now, through highs and lows, thick and thin, broke and not so broke.

We’ve seen each other at our best and worst, and our life together keeps getting better.

I finally paid off all my AreYouMyWife debt…

We both have great careers that are going well…

We’re both working on launching our own projects…

So now I have an update on AreYouMyPartner: its become a lot bigger than I first anticipated. I sometimes feel that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, but I also feel that with more and more people getting involved, we are set to create something special. Here is a Venn diagram on what needs to come together before we launch AreYouMyPartner:

To that end, CeCe and I are first going to concentrate on our upcoming wedding, then our honeymoon, and then when we get back (in the late summer /early fall) we’re going to give our attention to AreYouMyPartner.

This project has certainly taken a longer than I first thought, but like CeCe’s and I’s own journey, good things line up when the time is right and the effort has been made.

See you when we get back! Happy summer!

In just over a month CeCe and I’s big journey takes a higher step - yep, the wedding is close! AreYouMyWife will have its happy conclusion, then a new chapter begins.

We’re both rushing around to make sure everything is in place for the big day. Time is just flying by! Every time we think every last detail is covered, more are generated. But this is an exciting time in our lives, and we know that stress now means happy memories later.

All things considered, in the interests of giving AreYouMyPartner.com the best launch possible, the AreYouMyPartner team and I have decided to let our web team have a bit more time to add the final bits of craftmanship to the latest site before launch. Additionally, we are still evaluating some strategic relationships (with media, businesses and other potential folk that could help this site) and want to take our time and give due diligence to make sure we will give our future members the best experience possible.

Although initially we were thinking about launching AreYouMyPartner ahead of our wedding, we now think it wise to have another round of beta “2.0″ (sign up now to become a tester!) and then give this site our 100% undivided attention when we get back from honeymoon in late summer / early fall.

This way, the next chapter can have the most impact! More updates soon…

CeCe and I are way past first dates – but going back to a first date mentality is always healthy, and the classics are sometimes the best: a night at the cinema! Last night we hit the BLUE carpet in Leicester Square to attend the World Premiere (no less) of the new movie Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Neither of us have ever been to a movie premiere, and it was quite the experience. We arrived and presented our passes to security, then walked down a barricaded gauntlet flanked by screaming hoards of people vying for Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais and Hank Azaria’s attention, past lots more security, a wall of massive zoom lenses and flashes, and then we were asked to keep moving with a flow of Z-list celebs we didn’t know, some of whom got pulled aside for interviews.

Inside we got access to the pre-drinks balcony and thus got to look down on the entire, busy scene. After some lovely-bubbly and few too many satay chicken sticks, we were summoned into the massive cinema, the stars spoke for a couple of minutes, and the feature began. And the movie was … fun! I had forgotten how much fun taking a dressed up girl to the cinema can be – the classics are always the best.

(I’m afraid there are no “after party” stories or photos of us and the stars – we couldn’t find them after, so we went home.)

And now a follow up on our production, the sequel to AreYouMyParter Beta: we’re still implementing changes drawn from the valued feedback of the original beta testers. And for the final push, we are working behind closed doors for now and very excited about moving everything forwards towards a launch.

To give users an even better experience, we are also looking into partnerships and other activities that future members of AYMP can benefit from and – as of last night – discounted cinema tickets comes to mind! After all, everyone who uses AreYouMyPartner should feel special… maybe what we need is to get a digital BLUE carpet when we get closer to launch!

(Click here to see more photos)

More soon…

There are lots of flowers, buds and fresh smells emerging now that spring has arrived! It’s glorious. And AreYouMyPartner.com is also getting a full spring clean as well! For nearly two months we’ve been sifting through blog comments, beta tester feedback and creating our own wish list of updates to make to the current AreYouMyPartner beta site. This will bring us big steps forward towards our launch.

The other day - in response to our combined wish list - the good folks at Nerdec came back with a 45 page technical document outlining all the functionality that needs to be changed, updated or built in! So this whole idea really is working: part of our vision is to create a dating site that is organic, that changes with the times and by virtue Member feedback. So, once that foundation is built, we’ll be able to move forward, launch, and then keep taking suggestions.

We are working with the creative and web team to get all these final changes implemented and tested, and we want to get this right. As soon as I know more about timings, so shall all of you.

Meantime, enjoy the fresh air!

We seem to be entering a funnel of key dates at break neck speed, and the question we’re asking ourselves now is: can we do two things at once in a quality fashion?

As the web team work to enhance the AreYouMyPartner beta site and we figure out a “bigger picture” go-live/launch strategy, there are still no clear dates. As I’m learning, true quality takes time to craft, and is worth waiting for. (I take heart knowing that even massive, resource heavy companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple have many of their projects in beta for many months or even years before they go live, and even after launch they release patches and new versions for many more months and years.)

The good folks behind AreYouMyPartner and I are hoping for a late-spring / early-summer launch, and while that still may happen, CeCe and I are getting married in early July and going on honeymoon for a couple of weeks. So, we’re going to see how the next few weeks pans out and how development goes. There is a chance that professional and personal goals can work in tandem… We’ll see how we go…