Weddings can be expensive and many couples often consider getting a wedding loan. With wedding costs going up over time many couples who want to get married are often looking for better ways to budget or just simply get the cash they need for their wedding. The allure of quick and easy cash is quite appealing, but we are here today to say that in most cases you do not need to get a wedding loan or pay using your credit card.
Finances for a wedding can be expensive but smart planning and budgeting can bring the costs down a lot!
Some simple research will show you that wedding loans (they are rebranded personal loans) range from $1,000 – $50,000+ with the average being around $16,000. They also have (at time of writing this blog) interest rates ranging from 7% – 17% interest which are as high as many credit cards. Many couples do not understand how much interest they will pay for over the life of the loan. This can vary can from 10% – 100%+ of their initial wedding budget for the life of the loan. Check out the wedding loan calculator down below.
This can add up to a lot of money and make couples struggle when they are starting their new life together. Imagine having an additional expense after you are married while trying to have children, buy a new house or other large expense. It can become an expense that can financially cripple a new couple.
I will take these 3 points and break them down and debunk them. While all points are valid, they can be very dangerous to people planning their wedding and starting on their life together.
Reduce services to fit in with the existing budget.
Delay the wedding till a realistic budget/timeframe is established.
If it will cost too much then simply postpone your wedding by six months to a year. We have one client who is taking four years to save up for the wedding of her dreams. She wants to be married overseas in a Scottish castle. The couple knows it will cost a lot more but are saving up at a rate that will not break their lifestyle and also give them what they want.
Many people in the events industry require pre-payment before the day of the event/wedding. We plan events years in advance, so couples pay us for our services either in one hit or in instalments before their big day. This point is just not relevant to us.
The offer of trailing commissions sound appealing but here at Pink Caviar Events we focus on delivering the services for your wedding/event. We do not like the idea of couples being in debt for years long after their event is over. Also, many of our couples come back to us for other milestones in their life such as christenings/baptisms, anniversaries/birthdays and in some cases refer us for their workplaces corporate function or Christmas party. In essence, we are with our clients for years and do not like the idea of putting them in a position that they are slowly accruing debt. We prefer the idea of celebrating their life event and moving forward in their life, not being bogged down financially.
Sometimes life throws a curveball and you need to adjust. For example, if the couple had a medical issue and due to time constraints with the wedding needed to pay for surgery or treatment immediately. This can also be because other family members are not well and you want them to be at your wedding. In some cases pushing the wedding forward will increase costs but also allow you to have certain loved ones at your wedding.
In some rare instances, a supplier will go out of business or not honour their agreement. While this is rare, it does happen. As mentioned above that we have a very strict standard of who we work with to ensure quality and reliability. Whenever this has happened, it is because our clients have booked with someone else before meeting with us. They would get a ‘cheap‘ supplier that has now gone out of business or decided to ‘price-jack’. For example, we had a client who hired wedding transport. The supplier decided days before the wedding they wanted more money or would not show. Luckily the supplier came to their senses, and everything went through as planned. That being said we did speak to our client and were on hand to recommend reliable alternatives which would have cost the client more due to the wedding literally being days away.
So while these ‘get loans fast’ or ‘credit card options’ show you simple breakdowns of monthly repayments they do not generally show you the final and total cost. Let’s say a couple uses the average amount for a wedding loan of $16,000 as mentioned above with a standard credit card/loan of 17% over five years. This comes to total interest payments of $7,858.47 ON TOP of their original $16,000 making the grand total of $23,858.47. This is almost 50% of their initial loan about. Please note some couples will spend more or decide to pay it off longer which can cost a lot more. This is not to scare you off loans but to help you understand the cold hard figures.
Play around with our wedding loan calculator below to see how much it will cost you. If you can save a little longer in the begining it will will cost a lot less than getting a loan.
If you need a loan then get one, but be sure to consider all factors. If you can save up for a little longer then its a better solution. Look for low interest loans that you can pay off quickly. The last thing you want to do is pay for your wedding years down the line and you just hit your 5th year wedding anniversary.
Disclaimer: The information contained on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.