Whether you’ve got your heart set on a small intimate ceremony with your nearest and dearest, or whether you’re sparing no expense and having a destination wedding, many couples can scarcely find the amount to cover the wedding of their dreams. In fact, the average cost of a wedding in the UK in 2019 came in at just under £32,000.
However, if you or your partner have got your heart set on something and you want to turn dreams into a reality, then a wedding loan could be the exact thing to help you achieve just that.
What is a Wedding Loan?
Wedding loans are personal loans couples take out to cover the costs of their big day and whether you’ve already got some cash saved or whether you’re looking for your loan to cover the costs of your entire wedding, applying for an unsecured wedding loan could help.
What can I spend the money on?
Venue
The cost of hiring out a venue for your ceremony and/or your reception is one of the more costly expenses you’ll have to fork out for on the big day, but nevertheless, it is an important one.
Decorations
In years to come when you pull out your wedding album to show your friends, family, children and perhaps even your grandchildren, you’ll want to ensure that the decore of your day was just as you wanted it to be.
Outfits
Whatever you plan on wearing on your big day, whether it’s a white dress or a sarong, you’ll want to ensure that you and your partner and perhaps even your wedding party are kitted out beautifully.
Hospitality
Food and drink are an essential part of any wedding reception; they also aren’t cheap either. Every wedding needs a good reception, without any exceptions.
Honeymoon
Your wedding loan needn’t have to go to the wedding itself; instead, you can ensure that your honeymoon is the relaxing or fun-packed time away that you’ve always dreamt of.
Advantages
While you may have some money for your wedding saved up, or while you may have none at all, a wedding loan can be advantageous all the same for the following reasons:
- Fixed payments - account for your outgoings efficiently.
- Spread the repayments - pay back within a period 30 days to 2 years.
- Have the wedding or honeymoon of your dreams - exactly as you imagined it.
Disadvantages
However, you should also consider the drawbacks of this type of finance as well, to ensure that you start married life on the best start possible; therefore, it’s vital that you consider the following:
- Interest rates - should you wish to spread out your repayments for longer, think that you’ll also be paying interest for longer.
- Consider bad credit - although applying for a wedding loan with bad credit is possible, you should take into account the rates lenders offer you may not be the most competitive.
Alternatives
If you are considering a wedding loan but have your concerns, it may be worthwhile for you to discuss your other available options.
- Personal loan - a personal loan such as a long term loan could be an alternative if you are looking to borrow a large amount over a long-term period.
- Credit card - for smaller payments for aspects of your wedding such as deposits and dresses, you may be able to use a credit card.
- Savings - if you’ve been saving money for a rainy day or the big day itself, now is the time to use those all-important savings.
- Budgeting - scrimping and saving and cutting out a few luxuries could help you to boost your wedding budget even further.
- Borrowing from friends or family - it’s a tradition that the brides family pays for the wedding; however, modern marriages usually discredit this rule. But if either you or your partner’s respective friends or family are willing to help you pay for your wedding, then this could be an option.
- Compromising - we know it’s difficult when you’ve got your heart set on a particular venue or wedding band, but by compromising on certain costly aspects of your wedding, you could stretch your budget further.
Can you afford the loan?
When considering whether or not you can afford to borrow the money, there are a few things you should take into consideration before you go ahead and sign any paperwork.
- Loan amount - a dream wedding can be costly, but realistically is that how much you wish to spend? If you borrow a large sum, consider that you may have to repay the loan for longer, accounting more interest over time.
- Interest rate and representative APR - as well as loan amounts, you should also consider the fact that you’ll have to pay interest and APR. The APR you’ll receive from your lender will vary and will be stated in the terms and conditions in your loan agreement.
- Affordability - all lenders will perform the appropriate affordability and credit checks to ensure that you can afford the repayments on the loan you have requested. You should also take into account your monthly expenditure.
- Early Repayment - should you wish to repay your loan early, then you’ll want to ensure that your lender doesn’t issue an Early Repayment Charge (ERC). Additional fees and charges will be stated in your loan agreement.
What about if I have bad credit?
Many couples worry about whether or not they’ll be approved for a wedding loan due to their bad credit rating, however here at iThink Finance the direct lenders that we work with understand different personal circumstances. All of the lenders we work with will take into account that there are many various reasons as to why someone may have a bad credit history or has missed repayments in the past.
However, if you do take out a wedding loan to cover the costs of your special day and ensure that you make your monthly repayments in full and on-time, then you will improve your credit score. A clean credit record can help give you and your partner a better chance of being accepted for credit in the future when your married life begins.
Why choose iThink Finance?
At iThink Finance, we specialise in finding the right personal loans for our customers. So whether it’s a home improvement loan that you need or whether you wish to borrow money to consolidate your debts, we’ve got you covered. Why not try applying for a loan with iThink Finance today for loans of £100 to £5,000 for periods of 1 month to 24 months (30 days to 2 years). We charge no fees for the broking service that we provide.