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A couple, who first noticed each other 15 years ago in secondary school, ended up falling in love while working in DBS -- and decided to hold their wedding photo shoot at the DBS office at Marina Bay Financial Centre.

"It felt like the most natural decision for my soon-to-be wife, Cynthia, and I," Lawrence, an employee with DBS said in the bank's LinkedIn post highlighting their love story.

"After all, the bank played an integral role in our lives."

Love story spanning nearly 15 years

While the couple's love took off when they both were working at DBS, their first chance encounter actually took place nearly 15 years ago.

Lawrence admitted to having a "teenage crush" on Cynthia when he was a polytechnic student giving a presentation about his IT course at the school's computing lab.

Cynthia was one of the Secondary 4 students in the audience.

Lawrence managed to find her on Blogspot after the presentation, though he noted from her entry for the day that his "passionate course introduction did nothing for her".

However, he noted that she noticed a "super cute guy".

The two kept in touch but did not meet up until they both started working in DBS.

Joined DBS under different teams

The couple joined DBS under different teams. Lawrence was in the risk management group, while Cynthia joined the technology and operations team.

Cynthia reached out to Lawrence over Skype, DBS's workplace messaging tool at that point in time.

"Shall we meet for lunch?" she asked, to Lawrence's joy.

While the lunch did not signify the start of their relationship, the two kept in touch and took their first photo together at DBS Dinner & Dance (D&D) at the end of that year.

Finally together

Things took a turn in 2018 when Lawrence reached out to Cynthia with sombre news -- he was considering leaving DBS to care for his mother who was diagnosed with a late-stage critical illness.

The two met up once more, where Cynthia "listened patiently" as he poured his heart out to her.

Lawrence also reached out to his team and bosses who assured him that they would support him while also giving him flexibility with his time.

Lawrence said: "Armed with their reassurance, I remained in the bank and was able to care for my mum through her recovery process. Soon after, Cynthia and I finally got together as well."

She said 'yes'

DBS's employee benefits encouraged the two to be creative with their dates as they were mindful of their finances.

They used the bank's SkillsFlex credits -- their version of SkillsFuture -- to pick up various skills, such as cooking, baking, flowers-arranging, and drawing portraits together.

The couple also attended all DBS annual D&D together.

Even though Cynthia eventually left DBS in 2021, she still went to Lawrence's house to participate in the bank's virtual D&D that year.

To Lawrence's surprise, he won one of the grand prizes that night-- a two-night staycation at Marina Bay Sands.

And he used that opportunity to propose.

He said: "In that beautiful mega suite, adorned with floating rose gold, pink and white balloons, and surrounded by roses and lights carefully placed in the shape of a heart, I got down on one knee, and asked her to be my wife."

"Thank goodness, she said yes."

Top image via DBS Bank/LinkedIn.