Single and looking for love this Valentine’s Day?

Meet the only certified matchmaker in Wisconsin.

Shawn Alderton is the founder and CEO of Affluent Amore Matchmakers. Ninety percent of her clients are in Milwaukee. The rest are spread around the Midwest in places like Minneapolis and Chicago.

Alderton went to school for matchmaking. She got her training at Matchmaking Institute in New York.

“The director of that school worked for Patti Stanger (of Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo) for six years, so I basically received all of the same information,” Alderton said.

Alderton’s clients are successful men. They pay at least $10,000 for a six-month membership with Affluent Amore Matchmakers. While the cost might shock some singles, Alderton says it’s higher in other parts of the country.

“The average matchmaker is $25,000,” Alderton said.

Women who would like to be matched with her clients can sign up for free on her website.

Alderton interviews her clients for about four hours to learn about them in detail. She also conducts background checks. Then it’s time to make the match.

“In addition to all the criteria I look at like background, their likes, their dislikes, physically what they're attracted to, it's really about reading people and their energy and just visualizing these two people's personalities meshing together,” she explained.

This matchmaker admits the first person she chooses for the man isn’t always the perfect fit, but she says it’s never taken the full six months of the membership to find a good match.

In some cases, it happens fast.

“Within a week, I set one man up with two women. I knew the first one was going to be the perfect match and sure enough it was. Six weeks later, he takes her on a trip and they’re engaged,” Alderton said about one of her most recent success stories.  

Her advice to singles looking for love on their own is to get out in the community.

"You have to put yourself out there because I think people just expect things to happen and that someone is just going to fall into their life. You really have to get out there,” Alderton advised.

She says women ask her all the time where they can meet good men. Her suggestions include airports, department stores, weddings and dinner parties. 

But women in Milwaukee may have a tougher time finding love compared to men.

"The reality of Milwaukee for women, and they’re not going to like to hear this but it comes as no surprise, there are more single women than men,” she said.