ROMANTIC DININGS

[The Prologue: Why I started Romantic Dinings.]

To me, love is one of life’s greatest teachers and the force that shapes humanity. Every chapter of our history is written because people met, connected, and chose to walk through life together.

Love teaches us patience, empathy, and resilience. I believe that you truly get to learn about yourself by experiencing intentional relationships with others. Yet in a world overflowing with choices, distractions, and comparisons, we have traded patience for convenience. As a consequence, we have forgotten how to savor the slow unfolding of love.

Endless swipes, ghosting, and unrealistic expectations on dating set by social media have made dating feel transactional and a competition, when it should be a shared journey of meaning and discovery.

I started Romantic Dinings to make love more accessible and cherished in this busy modern world.

[The Decline of Dating Apps: Emotional Fatigue.]

The dating app industry is actually dying... Apps like Tinder optimized the swipe and match algorithms, but they left users when the real relationship began.

A Forbes Health survey of 1,000 Americans earlier this year found that 79% of Gen Z respondents reported experiencing dating app burnout, an emotional fatigue closely tied to the rapid-fire swipe interface.

[Why this matters.]

Studies show that couples who plan dates more easily report higher relationship satisfaction and longevity. Romantic Dinings taps into this insight, offering not just convenience, but emotional value.

Couples who regularly have date nights are 14% more likely to see divorce as unlikely, with 83-84% reporting high relationship happiness, compared to 69% among those who rarely spend intentional time together.

[Launch Party.]

Making it real through an experiential prototype

I produced a live brand experience to test emotional resonance—on a $250 budget. Interactive food, physical props, and a curated ambience turned a classroom into a memorable date-night setting.

[How I Made It Happen.]

Every decision was made through the lens of the user experience, balancing brand identity with a shoestring budget.

1. Securing Buy-In & Resources: I pitched the concept of an experiential launch to the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction department. With the trust and support of Professor Laura Vinchesi, I secured $250 in funding. This required a clear budget proposal and articulation of the event's strategic value.
2. Setting the Mood: I created a visual language on Pinterest, then used candles and flowers to turn an academic space into something magical. The challenge was not just to decorate a room, but to fundamentally alter its perceived function and feeling.
3. Interactive, On-Brand Catering: A standard catering service was too expensive and impersonal. The food needed to be an experience in itself.
   • Concept: I designed an all-pink, sweet, and interactive menu. This included a "Self-Hwachae Bar" (a Korean fruit punch) where guests could create their own desserts, and hand-dipped chocolate strawberries.
   • User Engagement: This approach turned food service into a shared, fun activity, fostering the exact kind of lighthearted connection the app promotes. It was more memorable and on-brand than a passive catering line.
4. Bridging Digital & Physical: I built a giant love letter prop and ran a restaurant discovery raffle, making app features tangible and fun.
5. Strategic Outreach: I executed a multi-channel outreach campaign targeting key communities within Carnegie Mellon (HCI, Entrepreneurship, AI Ventures) and the broader Pittsburgh tech scene. I sent personalized invitations to founders, VCs, and professors.
6. Crafting a Compelling Presentation: I designed presentation slides and prepared script that not only showcased Romantic Dinings, but also clearly communicated its purpose and impact to the audience.

[What I Learned.]

The launch party was a resounding success, exceeding all my initial goals.

1. Validated the Brand's Core Value: The overwhelmingly positive feedback on the atmosphere, the interactive food, and the tangible props confirmed that the core brand identity of "thoughtful, intentional romance" resonated deeply with the target audience.
2. Built a Powerful Early Community: The event attracted a diverse mix of students, faculty, founders, and industry professionals, creating a strong foundation of advocates and potential early users for Romantic Dinings.
3. The Power of Experiential Prototyping: My biggest takeaway was the immense value of testing an emotional concept in a physical space. The event provided richer, more immediate feedback on the brand's "feel" than any digital prototype could have. It proved that a brand is not just a UI, but an experience.