SEPT 20 is going to be a popular date with wedding couples because of the aesthetic numerals 20092009.

But it has other things going for it too - the date falls after the Hungry Ghost Festival, which is always seen as an unlucky time to get married; geomancers say the date promotes harmonious living; and it is also Hari Raya Puasa.

Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao and the Singapore Botanic Gardens are offering a $288 package to up to 150 couples to get married in the park that day.

Mr Alan Tan, the Botanic Gardens' assistant director for living collections and an award-winning landscape designer, will design the wedding tents at 20 locations within the park, where couples can solemnise their marriage.

He said: 'The Gardens hold many memories for couples who courted or proposed here - so it's only natural to ask, 'Why not get married here too?''

The vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings' cultural industry promotion, Mr Lim Huan Chiang, said couples need not worry that the mass ceremony offers little privacy. 'We know marriage is an important thing and we want to make the ceremony simple but classic for them.'

More than 20 couples have already signed up.

Miss Phua Hui Yin and Mr Cheng Kwan Ming were the first couple to do so. Miss Phua, 24, said: 'Getting married at the Botanic Gardens will be more unique than the traditional restaurant wedding or going to the ROM itself.'

For more details, e-mail [email protected] or call 6319-1001.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.