The decision to take out a loan for your wedding is one you must make with your partner, because it’ll affect financial decisions on your marriage later. It’s important to talk about whether or not that financial burden is something you want to deal with when you get back from the honeymoon. Below is a list of the ways to cover the costs of a wedding with loans. (Again, this is just to inform you on how it’s done-we don’t recommend it!
A ton of Internet loan companies have sprung up over the past few years, and most offer crowd-sourced loans. Here’s how it works: Online investors front money for you once you’ve been approved by the company in much the same way you’d be approved by a bank. Then you pay them back, including interest, in the same way you would a bank. Sites like Upstart will have you safely fill in your information, then bring up the types of loans (and the personal loan rates) that you qualify for. “Unless you can pay off the monthly balance immediately, credit cards are not a great option for long term debt,” says Jungwon Byun, head of growth at Upstart. “The Upstart platform is smart; we use education and employment in addition to credit history to determine the APR. The entire process is also online and very simple, making it a fast and easy way to borrow.” If you’re interested, you can move forward with the application process for your wedding loan. If not, just stop there
This one is only for homeowners and usually for parents paying for their children’s nuptials. Again, though, it’s not a good idea. Neither the financial experts nor we would recommend doing such a thing. “I’ve seen parents take out a home equity line of credit, which is basically borrowing against the value of your home,” says Lyons Cole. “Especially for a lot of parents, if you’re throwing a wedding, you’re probably mid-40s to 50s, you’re not that far away from retirement, you probably just put your kid through college-there are so many expenses and pressures put on a parent, and chances are you need that money for something else.