574 couples tie the knot on auspicious date Zhao Quanyin Nov 12 SINGAPORE - Given the auspicious date, it was no surprise that a total of 574 couples registered their marriages yesterday, a significantly higher number than on most days. But that still cannot beat the 607 couples expected to tie the knot next Sunday, on Nov 20, 2011. The average number of marriages registered each day was about 55 last year. There were 724 marriages on Oct 10 last year - falling short of the number of marriages on July 7, 2007, at 766. At Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Punggol, 66 couples got together to receive blessings, although some got married ahead of yesterday. Elsewhere, about 1,000 ethnic Chinese couples exchanged vows across Malaysia on the date - viewed as auspicious and romantic. In China, a special "1111" train started at 11.11am on the No 11 line in Shanghai, reported AP. "The numbers rhyme with one husband, one wife and one soul in Chinese and signifies a marriage that would last a lifetime," said nurse Pua Kim Giok, 25, who tied the knot with engineer Lee Chin Siong, 27. They were among 460 couples who got married at the popular Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur. Hotels Channel NewsAsia spoke to said weekend wedding banquet slots are fully booked till the next Chinese New Year, with business expected to be up by 20 per cent. And it was a busy day for pink London Cab driver Low Keng Guan, who said yesterday was his second-busiest wedding day in seven years. Business for popular wedding days are usually 30 per cent above normal days, he said, especially with last-minute bookings. Mr Ray Sim, a newly-wed at the Fo Guang Shan Temple, said: "Because today's date has six 1s in it, plus we got married at 11 in the morning, so that makes it eight 1s, making it an easy-to-remember and special date."