Wedding planning companies are seeing more and more couples who want help in bringing their dream weddings to life. These companies handle all the nitty gritty that comes with planning a wedding from venue arrangement, decoration services, catering, beauty and makeup among others.

Hiring a wedding planner is not cheap with most companies charging upwards of Rs1.5 million for the complete wedding package. It is said that people usually spend one-third of their life’s savings to engage a wedding planner in order to make the ceremony better.

Companies such as Welcome Event Management, Shubha Bandhan and Wedding Dreams have been providing their wedding planning services to couples.

Welcome Event Management has nearly a decade worth of experience in this fast growing industry. They provide services such as budget planning, venue selection, design and decor, catering, photography and video, bridal makeup, transportation and more. When they first opened for business, their services cost only Rs500,000.

Fast forward a few years, it now costs more than Rs1.5 million for a complete wedding package and the cost can balloon as per the customer’s needs, said Nita Poudel, managing director of Welcome Event Management.

According to her, the company gets more than 15 clients during the wedding season and sometimes manages up to three wedding ceremonies in a day. When their clients’ dates coincide with each other, the company hires more people to manage the load.

Shubha Bandhan is another company that has been providing wedding services since 2012. The company has been providing its services targeting high-end customers. Shubha Bandhan charges Rs1 million to Rs1.5 million for a complete wedding package which includes venue arrangement and decoration, catering services for around 400 people including other necessary services said Saurav Rimal, marketing director of the company.

The company has been outsourcing necessary arrangements for big budget weddings.

Wedding Dreams Nepal is one of the newer companies having officially started its wedding services from 2016. The company connects its clients to vendors directly for Rs60,000. Once the client is happy with a vendor, the company takes the lead in managing the vendors, said Anup Ghimire, business consultant at Wedding Dreams Nepal. According to him, the company gets wedding demands from more than 40 clients during the wedding season. The company also offers a customised package where clients can select services as per demand.

Meanwhile, the demand for wedding photography has also risen. According to Hukum Raj Luitel, CEO of Lagan Gatho, they get 15 to 20 wedding photography projects during the Hindu wedding season where it costs anywhere from Rs25,000 to Rs100,000 for wedding photography.