Meet Carmelia Ray [Best Celebrity Matchmaker For You?]

Carmelia Ray is a TV personality, author, dating coach, and celebrity matchmaker. She’s been in the industry for over 20 years. But is she the right person to find your ideal partner?

This Carmelia Ray review will help you decide!

Our team of matchmaking experts has reviewed over 200 services, diving deep into their operations, costs, and client experiences. 

These reviews are built on comprehensive research, 14+ years of firsthand industry experience, and a keen understanding of the matchmaking landscape.

Let’s get started with a closer look at the founder!

Meet Carmelia Ray: Celebrity Matchmaker

Carmelia Ray has been working in the matchmaking industry since 1992, and knew exactly what she wanted to do by the time she was 20. 

As she shared in an interview with Canadian Filipino, “I applied for a job as a matchmaker and quickly fell in love with helping people and connecting people to their life partner.” 

Her service, Carmelia Ray Matchmaking, is based in Toronto but she helps singles all over North America by collaborating with other matchmakers.

If she looks familiar, it’s likely because this celebrity matchmaker’s work brings her in front of the camera. 

You may recognize her from her role on Mom vs Matchmaker, a reality TV show where Ray and a single person's mother both pick out potential dates. The potential matches then go through a dating book camp to increase the odds of a connection. The show lasted for four seasons. 

She also made appearances on the OWN Network’s Love Goals, as well as The Real Housewives of Toronto.

Beyond her on-screen involvement, this self-described entrepreneur has plenty to keep her busy.

In addition to being the CEO and chief matchmaker of Carmelia Ray Matchmaking, she hosts a relationship podcast called "Better Love" where she invites guests to discuss topics related to business, dating, and romance.

She’s also the chief matchmaker for Instant Chemistry, a biotech company in Toronto that uses the results of a mail-in DNA test to identify biological and psychological factors that contribute to relationship compatibility and/or conflicts.

She was also chief matchmaker for the now-defunct Censio dating app, which launched in 2018 but closed due to lack of funding in 2021. 

Ray is also affiliated with iDate, a yearly internet dating conference for online dating, matchmaking, and dating coaching professionals. She joined the conference organization in 2011, working behind the scenes as the conference coordinator, and also hosts it.

Now that you know more about matchmaker Carmelia Ray’s professional background, let’s take a look at how she approaches finding compatible matches for her clients.

Carmelia Ray’s Matchmaking Process

Carmelia Ray Matchmaking typically works with accomplished, professional singles. 

As she explained in an interview, 

“I’ve worked with singles in many demographics and lifestyle. My business and clientele has changed throughout the years and I’m currently servicing high quality, high caliber, high net-worth and highly motivated entrepreneurs and business owners to find love.”

Ray sees part of her role as a professional matchmaker as helping each client hone in on what traits in a potential partner are important for true compatibility. 

“They’re coming to me like ordering food off a menu, and they’ve got the ingredients on the pizza, and they’re like, ‘All right, pizza maker. Make this pizza! Give me this person!’ and a lot of times the ingredients on there have me thinking, ‘Okay, should you be ordering these ingredients?’” 

Many of her matchmaking packages incorporate dating and relationship coaching sessions.

As a paying client, you’ll be introduced to other paying clients, singles from within her database, or candidates that she’s sourced via her network of contacts. 

The process begins with you completing several personality profiles and questionnaires, which your matchmaker will then use to help find compatible potential matches. 

If you purchase a VIP package, you’ll also be assigned a team of various “lifestyle experts”, such as a relationship recruiter and stylist, who will work with you throughout the process.

Whenever there is a mutual interest, the date is arranged and you’ll have an opportunity to provide feedback to your matchmaker after each one.

There’s also the option of joining Carmelia Ray’s database of singles, which is free. But that being said, there is no active matchmaking that goes along with it. You’ll only be contacted if you happen to fit whatever criteria a paying client is seeking.

Whether you want to join Carmelia Ray Matchmaking as an active client or just go the database route, you’ll have to go through a qualification process that starts with a consultation. 

As Ray explains, everyone is “screened and qualified in person for emotional, mental, physical and financial stability.”

How Much Does Carmelia Ray Matchmaking Cost?

Carmelia Ray offers an array of services, from matchmaking to dating coaching. Her stand-alone coaching sessions run between $500 for a 60 minute session to $5,000 for an 8-hour, full-day session. 

Like many celebrity matchmakers, Carmelia Ray doesn’t provide many details about her matchmaking packages online. You can safely expect your contract to span either 6 months or a year, and include coaching sessions. 

Her premium matchmaking packages also incorporate other concierge services provided by experts within her network, such as lifestyle and nutrition consultations.

The price tag for having Carmelia Ray as your personal matchmaker starts around $2,500 and ranges to $10,000+, with “VIP” matchmaking options available as well.

Curious how far north that price might go? 

Enamour is another luxury matchmaking service worth considering, with packages starting around $20,000. In addition to matches selected from a highly curated, invitation-only database, Enamour also specializes in recruiting compatible candidates both online and offline.

Another Toronto service that might be on your radar is Lyons Elite, which runs anywhere from $25,000 to more than half a million. Like Carmelia Ray, Emily Lyons is an entrepreneur involved with several business ventures simultaneously, including a media and a beauty company.

VIDA Select is another service that should absolutely be on your radar, especially if you’re looking for elite matchmaking at a more budget-friendly price point. 

Basic matchmaking services start at just $1195 per month, with Premium packages starting at just $1795 per month. Elite matchmaking packages start at only $2595. 

With the convenience of monthly service, you don’t have to worry about committing to a long-term contract! The price of each package highly aligns with the number of hours your personal matchmaker will devote to your search. 

On average, VIDA clients meet someone special within only 3 months of beginning service! Discover if VIDA Select is the right fit for you - get started here!