Fewer auspicious dates and a short supply of venues in the capital mean only

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big money can buy the best wedding this season that will see nearly 10,000 couples splurging a neat Rs 1,000 crore -- almost what India spent on the general elections -- over just two days.

The Election Commission spent Rs 1,300 crore for conducting the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

But marriage bills would go up much more than the figure, as there are only 24 suitable dates this season between November and February. While more than 21,000 weddings are expected during the period, nearly 10,000 marriages are to solemnised on November 22 and 28 -- the most auspicious days to tie the knot, according to astrologers.

"It is known that men are from Mars and women from Venus. So when these two planets along with Jupiter, which signifies marital bliss, are in their own houses, it is considered auspicious," says Delhi-based astrologer J K Sethi.

"As the planets are going to change their position, weakening their impact after November 28, there is a big rush for weddings during this period," Sethi told PTI.

According to wedding planner Manik Chopra, the rush is enormous and people are not shying to spend extra bucks for making their marriages events of a lifetime.

"While a normal wedding can cost anything between Rs one and 1.5 lakh, the expenditure can grow manifold depending on the client's budget," Chopra of Mansha Wedding says, adding the most costliest marriage he had conducted so far was for Rs 34 lakh. However, the average expenditure of a standard weddingveers around Rs 10 lakh, he says.

"As 10,000 couples are going to be married on November 22 and 28, the expected expenditure will touch the Rs 1,000 crore," he adds.

Meanwhile, the winter rush has triggered a heavy demand for wedding venues, banquet halls, decorators, caterers, marriage planners and organisers -- pushing up the rates at least by 15 per cent.

Aslam Khan, banquet manager at Vatika Banquets here, says the current per head rates for vegetarians and non- vegetarians are Rs 750 and Rs 850 respectively.

"It is an increase by roughly Rs 100 per head and the reason behind the hike is the stiff rise in food prices and maintenance costs," he says.

Decoration costs have also gone up. "The base price used to be Rs 20,000 last season, but it has shot up to 30,000 now," he says.

"Generally all the banquet halls in the city hike their prices by 10 per cent in every October, but this time it was a bit more because of the other factors, including the price rise and less number of dates," Khan adds.

According to Uma, a senior executive at Hyatt Regency in south Delhi, there is a fixed price of Rs 2,400 per head for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Last season, it used to cost about Rs 300 less, she says.

While hotel Taj Man Singh charges Rs 2,200 per head, it varies between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,200 in Le Meridian and almost the same in Shangri La, another luxury hotel in the heart of the city.

Ramada and Sheraton have also hiked their prices by 10 to 20 per cent this season. Similarly, farm houses offering an average to more lavish and grand weddings have also up their tariffs this time.

Ashok Kumar of Tivoli Garden Resort says while the standard packages per head starts from Rs 1,200 (vegetarian) and Rs 1300 (non-veg), it goes up with additional items.

"Same is with decoration, the bigger you want the more you have to spend," he said, adding a standard marriage involving about 100 guests costs between Rs 2-3 lakh.

At Green Valley farmhouse, located in Noida, a standard marriage this time would cost around Rs 2 lakh while it was around Rs 70,000 last year.

The MCD and NDMC have also followed the suit. An MCD venue, which was costing Rs 5,000 per day till last year, now available for Rs 30,000, an increase by six times.

However, MCD officials say the rates are quite low compared to the overwhelming demand. "The corporation has hardly been getting any revenue from these bookings," says Subhash Arya, leader of House in MCD.

According to Punkaj Bindal, head Showmaker Weddings, the marriage industry, which thrives only during some auspicious months, is growing at an average rate of 25 per cent per annum.

He puts the estimated worth of the industry in Delhi and NCR at over 50,000 crore.

"Last season, the business was down by about 20 per cent because of recession. But this time, though the prices are high, it is booming with people opting for more lavishness being doled out on their weddings," he says.