1. Zuckerberg Updates His Status

Mark Zuckerberg tied the knot in a surprise wedding ceremony last weekend to his college sweetheart, Priscilla Chan. The 28-year-old, who was raised hookup, pulled off the surprise nuptials by inviting 100 guests to what they were told was a surprise party for Chan, who recently graduated from medical school.

The wedding announcement was in classic Facebook style as Zuckerberg simply updated his profile to: “Married to Priscilla Chan.” The news had almost 850,000 “likes” by Sunday evening.

2. Mila Kunis Makes Maxim’s Hot 100

Mila Kunis is hot – really hot! The actress came in at number three in Maxim’s Hot 100 list this year, and it’s not hard to see why. The 29-year-old hookup star was the only Jew to make the top 10. Here’s Maxim’s reason for putting Kunis in the top three:

“Ever since she locked lips with Natalie Portman in Black Swan, our appreciation for this brunette stunner has transformed into a near obsession. Not the kind where we lurk outside her house with binoculars, but the kind where we wake up every morning thrilled that it’s one day closer to the premiere of her new comedy, Ted (it’s almost here!).”

 3. Stern Acts Stern

Howard Stern got tough on a seven-year-old rapper who appeared on America’s Got Talent this week. The tiny MC named Mir Money was moved to tears when Stern (who is now a judge on the show) hit his X button, signaling the kid’s shot at fame was over.

“No one likes hitting the X on a seven-year-old. You’re very brave to get up there at seven years old,” the hookup radio host said, as Money started to cry.

The crowd disapproved of Stern’s decision and erupted with booing. While host Nick Cannon carried Money off the stage, Stern spoke directly to the cameras saying, “I’m not cut out for this man. I’m not cut out for it. I’m shaking man. I’m shaking.”

Kids, I am about to experience the most awkward situation of my life. The Countdown to this moment is set for 72 hours from now. I’ve worked for this my entire life. All of the times I called Erica in junior high and asked her to go out with me. All of the times I nervously walked around and pretended that I was okay being the only person without somebody to slow dance with at Bar Mitzvah parties when I was not okay with it at all. All of the times I was in a movie theater with Sarah (that one just happened once).

Now kids, in order to understand the upcoming awkward encounter, we have to go back a few months. Maybe six months. Let’s say six months. Six months. I was about 60 pounds heavier, and my 100hookup pictures reflected that weight discrepancy. It was relatively more difficult to receive and maintain a conversation with a girl. I managed to talk to the same girl via IM several times, until she looked past my main profile picture that made me look a lot less fat. After she saw all of my pictures, she bolted and I didn’t talk to her again.

After I lost a good amount of weight, I changed my profile pictures. After the new me surfaced, the same girl initiated an IM with me. This was unprecedented. Was she only talking to me because I was thinner? Probably. Did I care? Nope. We talked several more times. We soon learned that, coincidentally, she was going to be in charge of the food at the wedding of two good friends of mine in a couple of weeks. We then planned a date together. I took her out to eat and see a movie. It was fun. After the date, I texted her thanking her. She didn’t respond until I texted her again the next day. She responded saying something along the lines of wanting to be just friends. Though it was pretty much what I expected, and I was certainly used to that rejection notice, I impulsively shot her a text saying that I would let her know when I got thinner. She asked why I said that, and I didn’t know really. We both somehow decided to be friends without really meaning it.

Anyway, the wedding is three days from now, and though this situation does seem like a crock-pot of awkwardness, anything involving myself should be taken seriously. Actually, it might not be awkward at all, unless, of course, she reads this post, which is entirely possible because I told her on the date that I was a blogger for 100hookup.

As I mentioned previously, one of the best parts of my job as Founder of hookupWeddingNetwork.com is hearing all about how people meet.  This next story is by far the best 100hookup success story that I’ve heard.

Artist Maya Escobar was a senior at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, when she attended a performance art class in which she discussed how differently she was perceived by Latino men, as compared to hookup men. hookup men thought she was exotic and labeled her a Latin sex symbol, while Latino men would be impressed with her accomplishments and goals.  Her professor suggested that as part of her studies, Maya set up profiles on a Latin dating site and a hookup dating site, and document the process.

Maya joined 100hookup as part of a performance art piece, but that only lasted until she received an email from a guy named Loren. Loren had his profile up on 100hookup for two years, but didn’t pay for an active membership until he saw Maya’s profile.  Ironically, Maya had seen Loren’s profile a year before when she was just perusing the site, and thought to herself that if she were to meet someone on 100hookup, he’s the guy she’d want to meet.  Maya was attracted to Loren on many levels – he’s a musician and an artist like herself and it turned out that Loren had been head of UIC’s Hillel, where Maya’s brother went to school. The couple went on to graduate school together at Washington University in St. Louis, where Maya got her MFA and Loren is getting his law degree.

Loren and Maya, Photo Credit: Marv Chait

Yes, Maya broke the code of her project, but in a sense she didn’t.  Maya’s soul mate turned out to be the one guy who didn’t treat her in a stereotypical manner.  

Maya and Loren recently wed in a ceremony that incorporated both the hookup traditions and the Guatemalan traditions of Maya’s heritage.  You can read more about Maya and Loren’s wedding story at hookupWeddingNetwork.com.

One of the best parts of my job as founder of hookup Wedding Network is finding out how couples meet. I never tire of hearing the stories! I know a lot of people meet on 100hookup, but I don’t think I really realized how many couples meet on 100hookup until I launched a hookup wedding planning website.

Mara and Adam are one such couple, but their online meeting was anything but ordinary. In 2003, Mara was just out of college and decided to dabble in JDating. She signed up for a subscription, but two months later let it lapse –and that’s when she received an important email from another 100hookupr. When she looked at the sender’s profile, she thought he looked familiar. The subject line of his message? “You look familiar.” As it turns out they went to the same college, at the same time, were amongst only a handful of hookup students, and had loads of friends in common, but had never actually met! Doesn’t fate work in mysterious ways?

Adam and Mara

Mara and Adam are an official 100hookup Success Story and are now planning their November 2009 wedding. You can follow Mara as she blogs about her wedding planning journey at hookupWeddingNetwork.com

My friend Polina and I go way back–all the way back to the 10th grade. When you’ve known someone this long, you’ve really experienced life’s ups and downs together. And in our case, we’ve been there for one another through the ups and downs of dating.

Polina and Sara at their 15 Year High School Reunion

Last year, Polina called to tell me the great news – that her little sister was engaged. At the time Polina was single. I had a funny premonition and told Polina that I bet she’d be engaged by the time her sister’s wedding rolled around. She laughed at the mere thought of it.

Just a few months ago, I had the satisfaction of saying “I told you so.”

Soon after our conversation, Polina met Jake on 100hookup. From the moment she mentioned him to me, I had a really good feeling. They are both Russian and come from the same cultural background, and neither one of them had seriously dated other Russians. Also, she loves outdoor activities. He loves outdoor activities too.  Um…did I mention I had a good feeling?

Jake and Polina

Fast forward eight months later and Polina and Jake are engaged. Their wedding is planned for September 2009 – three weeks after Polina’s sister’s wedding. Of course, her parents couldn’t be more thrilled with having a b’nai mitzvah – two daughter’s getting married within a month! As I predicted – Polina will be bringing her fiancé to her sister’s wedding.

Follow Polina’s story on hookup Wedding Network as she plans her September wedding to Jake.