A date to remember for many couples

ALOR SETAR: A day that will be remembered in more ways than one, 10.10.2020 saw couples taking the bold step to unite in matrimony amid the Covid-19 health crisis.

Having known each other since the age of nine, Kevin Tan and Lee Ke Qi decided to tie the knot 15 years later while observing the standard operating procedure under Covid-19.

Tan said they had been classmates in their primary and secondary schools.

The couple, both aged 24, joined 30 other couples in taking their marriage vows before the assistant marriage registrar at the Kedah Chinese Assembly Hall here yesterday.

Tan, who is in the fisheries business, said they wanted to seal their union on the unique date.

“We had set May 20 to register our marriage but due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we postponed it till today,” he added.

Lee said they will hold their wedding reception after the pandemic is over.

Her father Lee Seng Huat, 59, a restaurant owner, said he suggested the date because it is “a beautiful number and easy to remember”.

For lawyer Andrew Toh, 29, and Dr Shuwen Khor, 30, it was food that fuelled their love for each other.

Toh said they met on social media four years ago and messaged each other for nine months before meeting.

The pair said they shared a great interest in finding good food.

“We would start with the topic of eating and searched for good food to try together,” he said.

Dr Khor said they originally planned to register their marriage on June 6 but moved it to yesterday.

“We plan to hold a garden wedding on June 6 next year,” said the doctor.

Goh Wei Sheng, 28, and Ooi Shi Hui, 25, will surely remember a minor hiccup on the day they said “I do”.

Goh accidentally signed on the dotted line meant for the assistant marriage registrar but since the solemnisation form was serialised, it was not a simple matter of using a fresh form.

But the cheery couple and their relatives laughed it off.

Goh quipped that the lack of sleep the night before might have caused him to commit that careless act.

“Normally, people sign on the bottom of a form.

“Looks like I have solemnised my own marriage,” he said.

Assistant marriage registrar Teh Mee Mee said the groom’s signature would have to remain in the “wrong place” on the serialised form as she penned her signature alongside Goh’s.

“The administration clerk will give an explanation on the glitch to the Registrar of Marriages,” she said.

Kedah Chinese Assembly Hall administration clerk Ong Mei Sin said the “double 10” date has been a perennial favourite for those wanting to tie the knot.

“Also favoured are dates with numbers like 88, 99, 1111 or 1212. But 1010 is the hottest,” she said.