The concept of destination wed­dings is comparably new to Nepal. Destination weddings may be understood as marriage cer­emonies held outside the “native area” of the marrying couple. Such weddings are typically held in places with top-notch natural and cultural landscapes. Nepal fits the bill per­fectly. And one firm is at the fore­front of destination weddings in the country: Silverlining Events. Established in April 2016, Silver­lining Events does many things but it is most popular for organizing and managing destination weddings. The company usually conducts around three destination weddings every season, each with an average of 200 to 300 people. (There are also a few other companies doing destination weddings in Nepal.)

According to Nishi Khetan, the managing director, the company does destination weddings in Nepal primarily for Indian clients.

In the first phase, the plane tickets and hotel rooms have to be arranged for the entire marriage party. Then the primary duty of the wedding organizers, of planning the actual wedding, starts. Khetan says the average cost of such destination wed­dings is between five to seven million rupees—excluding hotel and travel costs. “We have done weddings for up to 10 million rupees,” she says.

Organizing destination wed­dings is not easy. As Nepal has only recently started hosting destination weddings, logistics is a huge problem. “There are currently only two hotels—Soaltee Crowne Plaza and Hotel Hyatt—that are capable of accommodating all the demands of the marrying couples,” Khetan says.

A high level of transparency is part of the job. Whenever high sums are involved, the company arranges for a meeting between the destination hotels and the customers. “The goal is to ensure full customer satisfac­tion,” according to Khetan. “Our cus­tomers are extremely choosy and no detail, big or small, can be ignored.”

While only the financially secure people are her current clients, Khetan says there are ways to reduce cost. “Weddings can be done for any budget. It all depends on customer demands and expectations,” she says. “For instance you could focus on décor and hospitality while com­promising other attributes.”

According to Khetan, the company organizes half of the destination weddings in Nepal, and no two wed­dings are exactly alike. One reason couples opt for destination weddings is to maintain a level of reputation in their friend and family circles. “This is why we are under tremendous pressure not to make the slightest mistake,” Khetan says