Wedding financing: What are the best options? Ask Boo the Panda
Wedding financing: With the average wedding costing over £17,000, what are your best options ?
According to a Bridebook survey of couples that got married in 2017, the cost of the average wedding is now an eye-watering £17,913. That means that almost every couple spends £18,000 on wedding financing! That’s almost 70% of the average UK salary! It’s hardly surprising that loved-up couples across the UK are taking out loans to cover the costs of their I dos.
In 2015, 23% of all newlyweds had borrowed money to afford their big day. And, although no wedding financing surveys have been published for the past two years, with the rising tide of debt across the UK, we can assume that that proportion of people has either increased or, at the very least, stayed the same.
Which means that almost 1 in 4 couples are borrowing money to cover everything from the venue to the entertainment.
But is taking out a loan for wedding financing a good idea?
Like everything related to personal finance, it’s hard to give blanket advice about your wedding financing choices. Have you got other debts? Can you afford the repayments? Would it be better to opt for a smaller wedding and save rather than borrow?
If you’re looking to borrow a small amount of money to top-up savings you already have (rather than fund the wedding in its entirety) then a personal loan for marriage can be a sensible wedding financing decision. Taking out a personal loan with a fixed interest rate means that you’ll know exactly how much to have to pay back each month after the wedding, so you won’t be stuck with any nasty surprises when you get back from your honeymoon. Speaking of honeymoons, some people also choose to take out personal loans to fund their honeymoon and spend their own money on the wedding! With a personal loan, you may also be able to take a payment holiday of a month or two at the start of your agreement, allowing you to settle into married life before you start making your repayments.
However, taking out a loan for a wedding isn’t without its downsides…
Melanie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Debt Advisory Centre, told Moneywise: “The harsh reality is that money and debt is the cause of a huge amount of stress and friction in couples and starting married life with an additional, and sizeable, debt from the wedding isn’t ideal. We’d urge couple planning their wedding to take a long hard look at their budget and work out what they can really afford to spend. A more modest wedding may be the best start, financially, to married life.”
Funding your dream wedding (without breaking the bank) – our top tips:
We’ve written a lot of posts about weddings before – from the (financial) benefits of tying the knot abroad to how to keep the costs down – so if you’re planning a big day, you might want to grab a cuppa and check them out. For this article though, we’re going to give you a whistle-stop run through of how to strike the right balance between the day of your dreams and a frugal wedding. That way, if you decide to opt for wedding financing of any kind, be it a credit card payment or personal loan, you only have to borrow a smaller amount.
Step One: Work out your wedding budget
By far the best way to save money (and not overspend) on your big day is to budget from the beginning. Rather than booking the cheapest venue and hoping that you’ll save money in the end, work out how much you want to spend at the beginning and work backwards from there.
Not only does this allow you to know how much you want to spend in advance (and prevent you from any ‘we’re out of money!’ panics midway through the planning process) but it also lets you work out how and where you want to spend your money.
For example, if you had a modest budget of £8,000, but you wanted a venue that costs £4,000, then you’ll be able to work out whether you’re happy to sacrifice a few other things to afford the venue. It makes wedding planning much easier and stress-free, trust us. Plus, having a strict budget is a great bargaining tool when it comes to negotiating prices on venues, dresses and other wedding bits and bobs. These places want your money, so don’t be afraid to say, ‘I’m sorry, that’s out of budget’ and watch them suddenly be able to offer you a discount…
Step Two: Write down your must-haves for your wedding
Having the day of your dreams and coming in on budget don’t have to be mutually exclusive – especially if you work out all of the important things you really want at your wedding and make sure that you have those. Write down a list of everything you would like at your ideal wedding – we’re talking about your dream venue, your dream wedding dress, your ideal wedding reception, wedding cake, booking that Queen tribute act…
Go crazy and write down everything that you’d like for your dream day (and an estimation of costs). Then, sit down together and go through, crossing off everything you could do without until you get to four or five items.
These are the most important things that will make you feel like you’ve had a special day – which means, if possible, you should make sure that you include these above all other details.
Plus, by being able to see the cost of things, you’ll set realistic expectations from the start and be able to see what you both really care about having on the day.
Step Three: Consider a midweek wedding
Wedding venues are one of the biggest expenses for any wedding – the quickest way to slash these costs is to get married during the week when their prices are lower. For example, if book your wedding venue on a Thursday rather than a Friday or Saturday, then you still get the same venue but for a significantly cheaper price, especially if you’re having a summer wedding. In fact, in 2016, 21,700 couples in the UK said ‘no thanks’ to a traditional Saturday wedding and got hitched on a Thursday instead, saving themselves a pretty penny in the process.
Tip: if you’re going to have a mid-week wedding, make sure you let your guests know well in advance so they can book the time off of work.
Step Four: Taking out a loan for a wedding (optional)
If you’ve decided that your wedding financing plan involves taking out a wedding loan, then it is time to find the best deal for your personal loan.
This can be a little tricky – especially if you’ve got a bad credit score or an up-and-down repayment history. As a rule, the worse your credit score, the lower your chances of being allowed to borrow and the higher amounts of interest you have to pay. Or, more simply, the worse your credit score, the more you have to repay, if you are allowed to borrow at all.
However, considering a guarantor loan might be a cost-effective solution to both of those problems. Not only does having a guarantor allow you to get better rates, but it reduces your chances of being rejected for borrowing too. Please only borrow if you can afford to repay.
At Bamboo, you can borrow from £1000 to £8000 to make sure that your wedding day is exactly how you always wanted it to be. Plus, the money could be in your bank account straight away, so if you run into a bit of wedding funding trouble – we’ve always got your back.
- Author The Bamboo Team
- Posted 26 June 2018
