Everyone is looking to have the perfect fairytale wedding. However sometimes our fairytale wishes are bigger than the reality of our checkbooks. A recent survey by the leading bridal registry website The Knot, an online wedding retailer says the average wedding will cost between $10,000 and $20,000. The reality is many newlyweds have less than $3000 dollars put aside for their wedding.
Most brides and grooms are to busy with wedding planning to take on a second part time job so they need to look down other avenues for financial support. The most common place for financial support comes from the parents. Traditionally the bride’s parents paid for a wedding, but today it’s much more common to see both parents contributing some financial support. If you are receiving financial support from your parents it customary for their names to be on the wedding invitations.
If financial support from your family still leaves you short of your budget you can look at more conventional lending solutions. If you or your fiancé own a property a home equity loan is the best choice. The interest rates are the lowest you are going to find anywhere. If that’s not an option, your next choice should be a conventional loan from a bank or other lending institution. The interest rates will be slightly higher but you will have a regular payoff schedule.
Many new engaged couples don’t have an extensive financial history so banks are unwilling to offer them a loan. The next choice is a credit card. This is actually an extremely common way to finance your wedding. Credit card companies can provide you with checks if one of the vendors you select doesn’t take credit cards. The last resort is an unsecured loan. These loans have very easy qualifications that almost anyone who is employed can pass. However they also have the highest interest rates available.