(WKBN) – A new social media trend gaining traction in the Valley aims at turning strangers into love interests.
Mae Murch and Nico Pagley were two complete strangers prior to a photo shoot.
They took part in “Stranger Sessions,” which are essentially couples’ photoshoots, except the “couple” has never met, seen or spoken before.
Those interested fill out an application where they’re asked to describe themselves and what they’re looking for in an ideal partner.
Courtney McKibben, a western Pennsylvania photographer, describes it as a literal “blind date.”
“I will blindfold him, hide him in an area where the female cannot see him. She will arrive probably 10, 15 minutes later, and I will blindfold her and guide her to her new man, and that’s where we’ll do the first look,” McKibben described.
After taking off the blindfolds and laying eyes on each other for the first time, it’s treated exactly like a couple’s photoshoot. McKibben encourages them to cozy up to each other.
The whole idea is to bring people together, potentially helping them find their significant other in a unique blind date experience.
“It’s kind of hard to date nowadays, and getting older and all that stuff, you get busy working, so I figured it would be a fun little thing to do,” Pagley said.
Murch echoed Pagley’s sentiment.
“I’m kind of tired of the dating apps, and I think it takes a lot of guts to even do this, so that would be the kind of person I would want to be in a relationship with, that steps out of their comfort zone,” she said.
For just starting the stranger sessions a month ago, McKibben said they have been pretty successful.
“They all have gone on a second date, or have plans to go on one,” she said.
McKibben has over 10 more stranger sessions booked, and she’s still in the process of reviewing hundreds of applications.
For anyone interested in filling out an application, the form can be found on her Facebook page and Instagram.
