That`s weird. we got married in HK last august and had no trouble whatsoever getting a spot. We were booked into Shatin too, I believe. On the recording, they tell you when the next available time is, no? Anyway, ours was for 2-3 weeks after we made the reservation. Also, on the day we were supposed to get married, there was a level 8 typhoon so of course it was all closed. Determined, we went to the main registry office in Central the next day (a Saturday) and lo and behold, there was a cancellation and we got married an hour later.