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Alternative ways to finance a wedding

ringring Take your time saving up with a long engagement

The average engagement is 16 months, according to the 2021 report from The Knot. Give yourself plenty of time to save up for the big day, and start saving money a year in advance before putting down deposits. Wait even longer if that’s what works for you.

Plan your wedding on your time frame, because in some cases, it might be the best decision to wait until you’re financially prepared. Create a budget with your fiance so you can cover your wedding expenses with cash.

girl icon Ask your guests to pitch in

Not everyone needs or wants to receive gifts for their wedding. Instead of loading up your wedding registry with brand-name kitchen gadgets and delicate china you’ll only use a few times a year, consider asking your guests to help cover the wedding expenses.

Set up a cash registry, such as Honeyfund or The Knot Cash Fund. If you don’t want your wedding to result in more clutter, you can tactfully avoid getting gifts you don’t want by setting up a registry and adding a small note on your wedding website instead. But at the end of the day, the gift-giver is going to decide what they want to give you.

cardscards Use a credit card with an introductory 0% APR period

Putting all your wedding expenses on a credit card is not recommended, since you’ll end up paying mountains of compounded interest by the time your wedding day is over. However, there’s an exception to the rule: You could take advantage of a credit card with an introductory 0% APR period.

Some credit cards have intro APR periods that last up to 20 months, which could give you plenty of time to plan your wedding and repay the debt before you’re charged interest. Keep in mind that if you don’t pay off the debt before the promotional period ends, you’ll end up paying interest on the remaining balance.

As an added bonus, you could try to utilize a rewards credit card to earn travel miles or cash back on all your wedding purchases. Just use caution when you take out credit card debt to pay for your wedding, and make sure you repay the balance to avoid paying interest.

Using a home equity loan or line of credit

If you, and perhaps your soon-to-be spouse, own a home, you could tap into your equity to help cover wedding expenses and avoid typical wedding loans. A home equity loan or line of credit – the latter option would allow you to draw on funds as needed – is a secured form of borrowing. The debt is secured by your home, so you must feel comfortable with the risk of foreclosure in the case your repayment goes awry.

Because a home equity loan is secured, though, you could net a lower APR than you might otherwise receive on an unsecured personal loan. Just beware of closing costs that could amount to 2% to 5% of your loan amount.

You can employ a home equity loan calculator to estimate your potential borrowing power, though it’s likely worth consulting a certified financial professional before increasing the size of your mortgage to pay for a wedding.