Thanks Serene for the copy of CLEO FEB 2010!

I was approached more than a month ago by Serene to match and to find a date for Joanne, a spontaneous and outgoing girl who have been single for a while.

This is the first time The Dating Loft is doing a blind match for CLEO and I was pretty excited by it!

Serene sent me a list of Joanne’s criteria:

Height min 170cm (cos I’m 1.69cm) and well built (not fat) Race: Chinese or mixed races

Like guys who are outgoing, open minded, humorous, well travelled or educated overseas, good looking (who doesn’t!), unpretentious. He can’t be a weakling cos she goes for muay thai. Likes guys who games too as she’s a gamer chick (but not too hardcore)

Bonus points for being an Aussie born Chinese and if he’s able to cook.

I met up with Joanne during lunch hour and did her profiling for her. She was a really attractive girl with a wide grin and definitely very sociable and spontaneous. We had a good chat and I gained some insights on what she might be looking for.

The next challenge is to find someone whom she can have a good date with, AND the guy has to be open about appearing on CLEO, which effectively eliminates about 90% of the single men who are generally camera-shy and very conscious about maintaining their privacy…. I personally think it is an ego thing, men just didn’t want others to know that they want/need help with their dates!

Finally I contacted Garion, a relatively new member of The Dating Loft and I personally called him to introduce myself  and to share Joanne’s profile with him. All went well….until I had to reveal that it is part of CLEO thingy…There was a pause, and I ventured,”I understand you might find this too sudden and awkward, but I promise you I will be there to do the introductions…. and it will be fun! Plus not everyone can get a chance to go on date on Cleo! If you need some time to think about it, can I call you back tomorrow?”

Another pause. And Garion replied, “Can I give you my answer now?”. My heart sank a little, he is probably going to reject me again but he said, “The answer is Yes. I am definitely nervous about this but I think I will give it a try!” Yippes!!!

On the very day of the date, I rushed down to the cafe. In my haste I forgot to bring the phone which Serene (the writer) was supposed to contact me on. I was actually 10 minutes early and noone was there yet. I called Garion as I had received  an earlier sms from him – he is definitely feeling unsure about this. Luckily he was already nearby. I decided to grab him for a quick bite and chat to put him at ease. After all, with food in your tummy and me for company, noone could be nervous for long! =)

We went to MOS burger and started chatting about his work and his frequent business trips to China and his love for night cycling. Time flew and I realised we were nearly 15 minutes late! Ditching my ice milk tea, I grabbed Garion and we flew down to Black Cafe. Apologising profusely for our lateness, I introduced Garion to Joanne while Serene snapped photos of us.

Serene then ushered me to another corner, while Garion and Joanne started chatting. “He’s cute!” gushed Serene as she sat down at the table with me, “Is he a real member?”. I smiled, “Of course he is! He’s quite eligible and really nice  as well….” We went on to dicuss about the local dating scene, and the perception that there is a dearth of good men in Singapore.

Before we finally left the cafe one hour later, Garion and Joanne exchanged contacts and Serene took  more photos. The date went well!  Garion shared that he was at ease, and it turned out much better than he expected. I was really happy when I heard that. Garion:  Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this! Wish you all the best in your dating journey!

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