I bet you learned a lot about the process by going on lots of dates.

Indeed. That's honestly the best part. I'm a pretty forward and social person, so I don't get nervous on first dates, but certainly got a lot better at "enjoying" first dates having gone on so many of them with what were essentially strangers. It was a good learning experience, and really helped me pinpoint what I was looking for in a girl on a first date.

I'm not embarrassed to have met my husband from a pre-internet personal ad

I guess I'm not really embarrassed by it either when I tell people, but let's just say it would be an easier conversation if I was like "we met through a friend". But when you tell them "online", they have so many questions, the main one being "How long before you met, did you guys talk for a longtime?" They assume we "dated" online, which isn't the case. I think I messaged my fiancee on a Sunday, she messaged me back once, and I messaged her back the following day to setup a date. The only portion of our relationship was less than 24 hours, and was pretty much only to setup a date. But I think people assume that people talk online forever first, which wasn't my experience at all. People on most dating sites want just that, A DATE. Not to talk to someone online for weeks or months.