Wellington Meets Love in the Fast Lane

Wellington Meets Love in the Fast Lane

Fast Impressions, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest speed dating service, is bringing it’s brand of stylish, invitation-only speed dating to Wellington. Launching on November 23, events will be held on a fortnightly basis at Monkey Bar, Wellington’s slick underground jazz haunt.

Speed Dating originated in Los Angeles as a way for marriage focused young Jewish singles to meet. The concept has since taken off in big cities throughout the world, including London, New York and Auckland. The concept has become so popular in New York that a quarter of all bars there host a speed dating event at least once a week.

The basic idea is that each person meets 10-12 people of the opposite sex in one night. They spend 8 minutes “dating” each person before a gong is sounded, signifying that its time for the guys to move on to their next date. At the end of the evening participants decide who they’d like to see again. The organisers then facilitate an exchange of details if there is an expression of mutual interest.

Fast Impressions sees massive potential for speed dating in Wellington given the rapid increase in the number of single people in the past two decades. According to the New Zealand Bureau of statistics the marriage rate in 2004 was 13.9%, compared to 31% in 1982. One of the reasons for this trend is the fact that Wellingtonians are working longer hours and growing tired of the bar and club scenes.

“Wellington singles are looking for a new way to meet people and have welcomed the launch of a stylish speed dating service”, says Fast Impressions Events Manager, Anna Saunders. “Spaces at the first event were snapped up, the event being fully booked within 48 hours of the invites being sent.”

Fast Impressions has established itself as a premium service, bringing together style conscious professional singles. “Our key product is our clientele. We provide a way for single, style conscious, professionals to meet each other. The best part is that you know that everyone is unattached and unabashed”, says Fast Impressions founder Justin Parfitt.

Unlike other speed dating services, Fast Impressions uses unique software to ensure that the guests at each event are likely to be compatible. Factors such as age, age preferences and personality profiling are considered when compiling the guest list for each event. This winning invitation based formula gives Fast Impressions the highest match rate in the world, with over 90% of people finding at least one mutual match at each event.

Fast Impressions holds its events in trendy bars, with free flowing champagne and gourmet canapés, far removed from the stigma surrounding organised dating in the past. As a bonus, guests at each event receive a voucher for a top-notch hair styling studio.

ENDS

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