In the past, wedding moments were limited to the bride and groom and their close relatives and friends. With the expansion of social media, wedding ceremonies have now started reaching a wider digital audience. The main reason for this is the creation of photos, videos and reels targeted at social media. The trend of uploading short wedding video reels on TikTok and Instagram has increased significantly in recent times. Especially, scenes of the mother arranging the bride's dupatta, the help of friends during the preparations, the father's emotional face, funny scenes of the wedding or behind-the-scenes conversations are now going viral on social media. Wedding content creators have started to become professionally active to capture such scenes. This trend, which has already become popular in Western countries, is gradually spreading to urban areas of Nepal, including Kathmandu. Creators prepare short, attractive videos for social media. In some videos, the bride and groom or guests even lip-sync to the songs, which makes the scene more interesting. Sakura Basyal, a 21-year-old from Kathmandu, is active as a ‘wedding content creator’

. She has been working in this field for the past two years. According to her, weddings are considered a big celebration in Nepali society and every couple wants to make their wedding memorable as they take a long time to prepare.

She says, ‘Before the wedding, we discuss with the client and plan what kind of video to shoot.’ She says that short videos add excitement to the wedding and help preserve memories.

This profession is also becoming attractive among the younger generation because it does not require formal training like photography and videography. The demand for content creators is increasing as many brides want content that can be shared instantly on social media.

According to newlywed Lunibha Ranjitkar Sthapit, the bride and groom are very busy during the wedding and cannot capture all the moments themselves, so the help of a content creator can create a fun atmosphere and help them take various photos and videos. But not everyone has liked this new style. Many are also commenting that it is an unnecessary investment. 28-year-old Shubhesh Pradhan, who is about to tie the knot, prefers to take photos and videos in the traditional style. She says that photos and videos taken by family and friends without using trends and reels will deepen the emotional connection. According to 18-year-old Anushka Regmi, creating content targeted at weddings can reduce the importance of small rituals. She says, ‘If we start giving instructions on how to stand and what to do just for the sake of making reels, the originality of the wedding will be reduced. It feels unnatural to say, “Let’s do the vermilion moment again, the angle wasn’t good.”’ According to her, this can hinder people from enjoying themselves naturally and she believes that it may not be necessary to spend extra money and create separate content for social media. It can make the wedding more like a ‘highlight reel’ than a real experience.