Dating is hard, but planning dates is harder. Luckily, I’m a lady and the hard work is usually done by my amazing boyfriend, but when we had the opportunity to have someone else plan our date, we jumped at the idea.
Denver Date Nite is a service that plans dates for couples. Pay a fee for the plan and then enjoy your personalized date. Daters simply pick the type of date they want, how much they’d want to spend and input their interests for a personal date at local hot-spots to refuel romance.
Gretchen Bartek, owner of Denver Date Nite, started the company about a year ago after dates for her and her husband had dinner as the only destination. She began planning dates for them, and friends tagged along. Her lightbulb moment was when a friend asked her to plan an overnight getaway for him and his wife, and Denver Date Nite was started.
“I think dating in the beginning is so fun because you’re sharing a piece of yourself and your interests and learning about each other,” Bartek said.
For her, and many of her couples, date night is something of the past, before kids and work. Denver Date Nite wants to bring those romantic evenings back to relationships. Daters can pick between A Night on the Town, a Last Minute Night Out or an Overnight date.
“I say let’s take it back. Let’s take it back to the time where there were no nap times and bed time schedules and routines at home and baby sitters,” Bartek said.
Pros
We didn’t have to plan anything
Photo by Andrew Duffy
Like any couple, sometimes we struggle to come up with new ideas and places to visit in Denver and the surrounding areas. Denver Date Nite planned a romantic date in Littleton to the Chatfield Farms where we walked around the grounds of an 1800s farm with miniature horses and strolled around the butterfly pavilion, Legacy Vineyards Winery for a tasting of five wines, JaJa Bistro for dinner and Inside Scoop Creamery. I personally appreciated the attention to locations within walking distance from the winery so we wouldn’t have to drive. As not much of a drinker, this attention to safety was a nice touch.
We were treated with special care
Photo by Andrew Duffy
Michael Marsh, owner of Legacy Winery, a fun and quirky winery with coloring books and Colorado wines, taught us non-sommeliers how to actually drink wine. For Marsh, wine is social and fun. He takes pride in teaching people about wine in a casual and relaxed environment. At Legacy, it is encouraged to bring your own food, taste local wines and sit on the patio.
When we finished our tasting, it was time for an early dinner at JaJa Bistro, a quaint and cute French-American café with a homey atmosphere where the kitchen sent us a cheese plate.
It was a new experience
Photo by Andrew Duffy
Using Denver Date Nite and checking out Downtown Littleton was something we probably would not have done ourselves, as I’m fairly new to the area and my boyfriend and I live in South East Denver, it was nice to explore a new area and see more of what Denver has to offer.
The date was personalized
Photo by Andrew Duffy
Bartek is very passionate about what she does and puts extra attention into each date. To ensure she knows what a couple wants, when purchasing a date, daters answer questions like “How old do you feel?” and whether they want their date to be casual, upscale, pampering or more. My boyfriend and I like to have local adventures, so we chose to have an outdoorsy, romantic, new experience.
“I agonize over every date I send out,” Bartek said. “I love seeing the excitement about going on date night again.”
Cons
Not a packaged deal
Photo by Andrew Duffy
The service is not all-inclusive, so the fee for the plan is in addition to the activities on the date. However, there are options to choose how much you would like to spend. If money is not a problem, this service is great.
You’re on a schedule
Photo by Andrew Duffy
Reservations are made in advance, which can be a lifesaver, but it does put a time schedule on the date. At points, we found ourselves either stretching our stay at one place or speeding up our time at another. However, our experience was a little tainted by the fact I was on assignment with a photographer with interviews to conduct, which probably added to the time-crunch we felt.
Personalized, but is it personal?
Photo by Andrew Duffy
While the service is very personal and each date is tailored to each couple, I can’t help but wonder if someone picked me up for a date they did not plan how I would feel. Denver Date Nite is great for married couples who have kids and don’t have time to plan their own dates or long-term couples who just want to try something new and out-of-the-box. Guys looking to impress a date would definitely benefit from a planning service such as Denver Date Nite- it just might be wise to let your date think you’re truly romantic.