Meet SDS Matchmaker Amber Lee [Can She Find Your Perfect Match?]

Amber Lee co-founded Select Date Society (SDS) in 2020 after 22+ years in matchmaking. With packages starting at $65,000 and reaching $300,000+, this ultra-elite service serves politicians, celebrities, and executives. Only 1 in 10 applicants are accepted through her selective screening process.

Quick Guide: Amber Lee & Select Date Society

• Experience: 25+ years matchmaking experience starting in 1998, co-founded SDS in 2020 with Sandra Myers

• Pricing: $65,000 Concierge level to $300,000+ Executive VIP packages with customized pricing based on complexity

• Clientele: Ultra-elite - politicians, celebrities, athletes, executives with "fascinating lives" seeking equally accomplished partners

• Selectivity: Only accepts 1 client per 10 interviews, highly selective screening process for both clients and matches

• Approach: Uses Enneagram personality assessments, extensive relationship history analysis, trust-based matching philosophy

• Match Control: Basic level ($65,000) provides no match approval; higher tiers allow pre-date review of potential matches

• Consider: High investment, limited control over who you meet with entry level package

From the boutique operators to the biggest industry players, we've reviewed more than 200 matchmakers and their services. Our insight comes not only from comprehensive research and real customer reviews, but also from having 14+ years of firsthand industry experience.

This Amber Lee review has everything you need to decide if this elite matchmaker is right for you, including how Select Date Society got started, Amber Lee’s matchmaking process and more!

Let's dive in with...

Amber Lee (née Amber Artis), started her matchmaking career in 1998, when she answered an ad in her local paper for a receptionist position at a national dating service. Since then, she’s worked for several matchmaking services across the US, including LUMA Luxury Matchmaking.

Lee met Select Date Society co-founder Sandra Myers back in 2009, while the two were working for the same matchmaking company. The two friends would eventually become business partners, but it wasn’t until years later their dreams came to fruition. 

In 2020, Lee experienced a heart attack while driving, causing her to cross over several lanes of traffic and eventually hit a brick wall. As she told Star Central Magazine, the accident was the catalyst for launching Select Date Society in June of 2020.  

“I was healthy and happy when my heart stopped while I was driving. I drove into a brick house! While I was in the hospital, I decided that I could not go back to working for someone else, so that gave us the motivation to get started.”

As Lee and Myers explained in an interview with Dating Advice, opening their own company was a ‘heartfelt calling’ to help singles find genuine relationships. And they wanted to create a space where clients felt like family. 

Lee is selective about who they choose to work with, only taking on one client for every 10 interviews. 

As Lee explained in an interview, her clients are typically politicians, celebs, athletes and executives - people who lead fascinating lives, but want to find the right person to share it with. 

She said she often finds herself emotionally invested in the matchmaking process, and finds some aspects of her role stressful. For instance, “Clients with unreasonable expectations, men with superficial stuff (he wants a woman with a perfect body when he has a belly). There’s so much emotion involved.”

Lee matches clients with other clients, and also utilizes her extensive network of contacts to source compatible matches.

Trust is an important factor, according to Lee. In an interview with Ladders, she said, 

“Clients often think they know what they need in a partner, but they are rarely right. Almost all of my success stories are couples who were originally not excited about the match but they trusted me and met, and ended up falling in love!”

To help her understand what type of singles are the right fit, Lee has clients take an Enneagram personality assessment. She and Myers also talk to each client about their past relationships, what worked and what didn’t, family dynamics growing up, and other topics along those lines. 

Those conversations will hopefully uncover any potential barriers to success in a new relationship, so that they can be addressed.

As a relationship expert, she’s also no stranger to giving out dating advice. Her dating and relationship tips have been featured on Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and various podcasts. 

Here are 3 of her expert dating tips from around the web:

As a client, you’ll get some of her advice via Select Date Society’s post-introduction “insight sessions”. During these consultations, Lee will review the feedback the team obtained from your match, and talk about how the date went from their perspective. 

While all clients get one insight session, only Platinum and Executive VIP level clients have them after each introduction.

Let’s take a look at the three levels of service Amber Lee and her team offer.

Select Date Society’s basic membership package starts at $65,000. At this Concierge level, you’ll be paired with other SDS clients or matches from their database. But there are a few caveats - your search is overseen by the matchmaking team, not Lee and Myers directly.

It’s this matchmaking team who approves all of your matches, and then the SDS Date Concierge arranges the introduction. If you want the ability to weigh in a potential match before the date is scheduled, you’ll need to purchase a higher level membership.

Opting for the top-tier Executive VIP membership means your search is directly overseen by Lee, Myers and the VIP matchmaking team.

The Platinum and Executive VIP memberships are tailored to client preferences, which means the price varies. Depending on the complexity of your matching criteria, the scope of your search, and other factors, your service might cost over $300,000. 

As Lee shared in an interview with Valiant, “Our clients make a huge financial investment to hire us.” 

The investment you’re making when you hire a matchmaker is more than just financial. The service you hire is about to embark on a deeply personal mission, so there’s an emotional element as well.

Making the right choice is essential if you want the best possible outcome. Budget, of course, is a big factor. $15,000 to $300,000+ is a huge range, so it will help you make an informed decision if you’re clear on what you want from a matchmaking service before you have the consultation.

For instance, is maintaining control over who you meet important to you? With Select Date Society, the ability to approve or pass on a particular match is available only in the more expensive packages. 

On the other hand, some matchmaking services like VIDA Select allow clients to review every potential match before a date is arranged. That puts you squarely in the driver’s seat when it comes to who you’re meeting.

VIDA also offers the convenience of pay-as-you-go monthly packages, rather than requiring a long-term contract. If it turns out the service isn’t quite the right fit, simply don’t continue the next month.

And if you meet your perfect match right away, you don’t have to worry about paying for time you didn’t end up needing. On average, VIDA clients begin a serious relationship within 3.5 months.

Why not see if VIDA Select is the right fit for you? Get started here!