I met Emma Veale when I stayed at the Park Hyatt Melbourne, where she was marketing manager—and very accustomed to excellent customer service. I hope she won’t mind if I mention that she is on her six-month countdown to her wedding and in her courtship with her ?ancé Denis, she has come up with plenty of ideas on fanning those romantic ?ames. Like all good entrepreneurs, she has turned two into very successful business ventures.
   The ?rst is Make Your Partner Melt, which she set up after she left the hotel, and the latest, $30 Date Night, is even more intriguing.
   I had a sneak preview at Emma’s plans. The science behind it is something we already know: ‘couples who want a long and healthy relationship should schedule time together for regular “date nights”. This ensures that partners have the opportunity to catch up in the midst of a busy week and not get caught up in career, social and family issues.
   ‘But brain and behaviour researchers have recently discovered that couples may be going about their weekly date nights all wrong. Simply spending time together is probably not enough to keep a relationship from getting stale: it is doing new things together as a couple that is the secret to keeping the butter?ies alive!’
   She is so right. Going to the same old place each week just incorporates that place as part of a dreary routine and the secret, says Emma, is to discover something novel each time. ‘The goal is to ?nd ways to keep injecting novelty into the relationship. The activity can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or something a little more unusual or thrilling—like taking an art class or going to an amusement park.’
   Goodness knows that I have often been laboured with coming up with the suggestions in my courtship efforts, and while I have a publisher’s database to call on, Emma and Denis are bringing this type of knowledge to more people.
   Head to thirtydollardatenight.com, launched only a couple of months ago, and you’ll ?nd 150 different date ideas that can be achieved for $30 or less. Users can rate the ideas and add their own, and sign up for weekly date ideas on email. 
   Emma says that couples should be checking the site out weekly and at least see if it makes a change to their relationships in that period. And she and Denis believe that being cheesy will keep things more lively and fun. They are so very right. Take it from a couple in love—they should know!

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