For IT professionals, Choo Hon Kiat, 29 and May Tan, 29, it was a coming of full circle when they decided to hold their registration of marriage ceremony at the very same place where they had met each other at a dating dinner two years ago. The ceremony will be held on the 2^nd August 2009 at The Dating Loft.

“It was love at first sight for me. The moment I saw May at the dinner, I knew I had to know her better!” said Hon Kiat. However, love only blossoms for May during the one-on-one date arranged by The Dating Loft, after the group dinner. “I just thought he is quite shy but quite sincere, thus I decided to meet him again on a single date,” May smiles in recollection, “He was quite nervous during our first date but we could hit it off….at the end of the night I knew I will continue to see him.”

The pair had joined The Dating Loft, an accreditated dating agency with the Singapore Development Unit (SDU), specializing in pre-matched dinners and personalized dates for professionals, two years ago in 2007. This was the very first time the pair has joined a dating agency or participated in dating activities. Prior to this, both had never been in a serious dating relationship and had very little expectations when they joined The Dating Loft at the encouragement of friends and family members.

“I was very pleasantly surprised when Hon Kiat and May hit off early on their dating journey with us, as both are pretty new at dating and that was Hon Kiat’s very first pre-matched event. All I have in mind was for them to meet each other and see how things go on from there,” said Ada Wong, Co-founder of The Dating Loft. “Thus, when they shared the happy news with me that they are planning to get married and would love to have the ceremony at The Dating Loft where they had first met so as to make it even more meaningful for them…. I immediately agree!”

Hon Kiat and May will be tying the knots on 2^nd August 2009 at 1pm at The Dating Loft. This is a silver lining amidst the economic turbulences and the recent National Population Statistics published by Straits Times that showed that more and more Singaporeans are getting married later or not at all. With the median age for marriage rising by two years over a 10-year period, and a significant rise in the proportion of single citizens especially among the group of 30-34s, many are wondering about the effectiveness of SDU as well as the private dating industry in promoting marriages.

However, the proportion of singles that joined dating agencies or use the services is still a minority, with many still associating the people who used such dating services as “desperate, ugly or unwanted”. Even though there have already been a significant number of couples who married through dating agencies, not many are willing to step out to admit so to their family and friends. Hon Kiat and May are an example of a new breed of couple who are not afraid of how others may see them. “We achieve what we really yearned for deep in our hearts – a life partner! Who cares how you meet them?” says Hon Kiat.

The couple’s Tip: Don’t forget to hug and kiss each other everyday to show your love and affection!

Watch the coverage of their ROM at The Dating Loft at http://thedatingloft.com/tdl/?page_id=67