Mansi Sharma, New Delhi: Marriages may be made in heaven but they need a venue to be solemnised in and for a bride's father getting a groom is probably easier than getting a wedding venue in Delhi.

So, in such circumstances a wedding is not all song and dance for soon-to-be-brides like Neelam Shukla.

As the 26-year-old is gearing up for the big day two days later she recalls the stress of dealing with venue bookings.

“First our wedding date was November 21 but the venue we selected was already booked. There were actually three people fighting for the same venue. So, we finally changed our wedding date to get a proper place,” Neelam said.

While people like Neelam had the most harrowing time trying to put together resources for her wedding, there are others like beauticians who are only too happy with the brisk business they do during the wedding season.

The auspicious dates for marriages for Hindus began on Wednesday and will stretch on till December 5. So in effect, there will be a mad rush till then to get venues with bookings made almost a year in advance.

“We always have the hall booked but during this season, there is an unusual rush. Mostly people get the venue booked a year in advance,” caretaker of a Delhi community hall Guru Dutt said.

But the Municipal Corporation of Delhi feels its hands are tied with even 1,500 regulated venues falling short for the city's wedding appetite. “We are aware of it but the requirement is much more than what is available in the city,” MCD spokesperson Deep Mathur said.

So before young couples are hit by wedding jitters, they're hit by jitters of a different kind. So we suggest you make your venue bookings sooner than you had planned.