How to Get a Loan to Pay for a Wedding

These days more and more couples are paying for their own wedding, and they are turning to lenders for loans so they can have the wedding day of their dreams.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Taking out a loan for your wedding can be good for your marriage. There is no better way to find out about your partner’s spending habits and your compatibility about financial matters.

2. The actual process of taking out a wedding loan is easy – the difficult part is figuring out how much you need and how much you can afford.

3. Loans for weddings usually start around $10,000 and run into the six-figure category.

4. Before you approach a lender, decide together what you want to spend on your big day. The cost of an average wedding in the United States is almost as high as the average annual household income...and rising.

5. Make a list of what you’d like at your ideal wedding and, if the final figure makes either of you uncomfortable, start paring down.

6. One way to get a handle on costs is to list the expenses as necessary, unnecessary but desired, and frivolous extras. You certainly will need a venue, but do you really need to splurge so much on flowers and ribbons.

7. You should also consider what you can afford to pay back each month on your loan before you get one. You don’t want your wedding loan to become a burden for the rest of your lives together, so don’t borrow more than you can repay in 3 years.

8. Make sure what you decide about the scale of the event and what it will cost is a unanimous decision. That way you will avoid any future ill will or resentment. You’re in this for better or worse and you’ll be paying for your loan together.

9. Wedding loans exist in 2 forms-–secured and unsecured. To secure a loan you can use your home, car, or an alternative forms of security like stocks and bonds. Unsecured wedding loans require no security.

10. Interest rates are reasonable on wedding loans, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shop around. Wedding loans do not usually have any fee or pre-payment penalties. Do your research to find the best rates and terms.

11. Compare options like refinancing an existing home loan and other loan options to determine if a wedding loan is the best choice in terms of what you will have to repay.

12. Even if you have bad credit it’s likely you’ll still be able to get a wedding loan. Get your credit report before you apply for the wedding loan so you’ll be able to make a good impression with your lender by alerting him to your situation.

13. Ask friends, family and co-workers for referrals to a good lender, just in case they got good deals in the past. Most likely, however, you will end up shopping for your wedding loan on the Internet.

14. If you choose an online lender you will be required to fill in a few simple forms on the lender’s Web page, giving details about your occupation and income, before the process begins in earnest.

15. 

    Before you formalize the loan you will probably be asked to produce some if not all of the following: Copy of deed to any property; Last 2 years' W-2's, tax returns and current pay stub, or two years' tax returns if self-employed; Proof of income from alimony, child support, lawsuit settlement or other income sources; Copies of your last 3-6 bank statements and a list of all open credit accounts (account numbers, payment amounts, and balances). Make sure you have all of the items in hand before you talk to your lender, as it will shorten the loan approval process.

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t run up your credit cards to pay for your wedding. Wedding loans offer far better interest rates.
• If a lender rejects you, ask for reasons why and what you need to do to secure a wedding loan approval on your second try.
• Sometimes paying down some credit cards can increase your credit score just enough to qualify for your wedding loan.
• Don’t mortgage your future happiness by spending more than you can afford for what will amount to one day’s fun.
• The Federal Trade Commission warns against using lenders that encourage you to falsify your application to get the loan, urge you to borrow more than you need, push you into unrealistic payment terms, ask you to sign blank forms or deny you copies of documents you signed.

[Laurelek]

on 10/28/2008 Wedding Payment Plan (weddingpaymentplan.com) offers much lower rates than most banks/unspecialized loans can offer. WPP allows couples (either spouse or their families) to borrow up to $25,000 toward the wedding venue to be repaid over a term of the borrower's choice anywhere from 2 to 5 years. DO NOT borrow against a 401K or a home (home equity loan/equity line). This is a huge risk and can cost you much more than you ever anticipated. In fact, according to: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/07/401k_report.html, even with a fairly modest loan amount of $5,000 in 2008 dollars, a worker’s retirement savings could be substantially reduced. For instance, a 401(k) plan participant who takes a loan to smooth over an economic rough patch, and makes only the loan payments, reduces their total retirement savings between 13 percent and 22 percent.
And last, but not least, do not de

[favefive]

on 7/11/2008 Excellent tips. I never knew this type of loan existed!

[OMahony]

on 1/14/2008 Type in wedding loans in a google search and it will bring up sites like BridalLoans.com and lots of others. Shop around those sites. But preferably you should go to your own bank and ask for an appointment with a loan officer there. The bank you and your partner do business with is most likely to give you a loan. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do your homework and know what rates are aound before you talk to them. The more you know the better chance you'll have of getting a good rate. Rates are low at the moment so make sure you get a good one. Good luck with the wedding and with your life together.

[dorkyemma]

on 1/14/2008 I need help finding a lender for a wedding loan.

[roygrubb]

on 11/6/2007 it's pretty easy to just go to cashloancity.com too