How to Get Wedding Loan You never Pay Back -With the average cost of a wedding in America at $20000 as per reports of the Knot, you can explore other alternative ways to finance your big day. Personal loans like wedding loans become a popular way to find large expenses including a marriage ceremony. They are more affordable compared to credit cards and carry lower interest rates. If you are considering a personal loan to cover all your wedding expenses this guide will help you to know different ways to make an informed decision.
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Highlights of this Post
What Are Wedding Loans?
Wedding loans are unsecured personal loans designed for engaged couples who require financing to curtail their wedding expenses. It is a means of payment option instead of using cash or credit cards. These loans are available in the form of personal loans to cover your wedding expenses. In other words, a wedding loan does not require any collateral, and helps to cover the general wedding costs such as catering, photography and venue.
These loans range between $1000 to $100,000. Applicants have to make monthly payments with certain payoff terms between one to seven years. The interest rates depend on the credit score and the lenders. You can get the best interest rates if you have a credit score in the range of good to excellent.
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Pros And Cons Of Wedding Loans
Now that you know you can easily finance your wedding with a personal loan it is time to know the pros and cons of availing wedding loans. This will help you to determine whether you should finance a wedding with a loan or go for another option.
Pros Of Obtaining Wedding Loans
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Greater Convenience
Wedding loans are a convenient way to get funding opportunities. As you start making your wedding plan you will realize your wedding venue and vendors will be expecting upfront deposits to book their services or space in advance.
These wedding costs add up quickly particularly when you add your wedding dress and other accessories into the mix. If you do not have a large amount of savings in your bank account then availing a marriage loan will give you quick cash to cover the deposits.
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Easy To Access
Wedding loans are easy to access from online lenders, banks and credit unions. You just need to make sure your financial documents are ready to get funding within a few minutes.
Your loan provider or bank will review your application and documents to approve you of your loan and then the amount will be deposited directly into your account. In most cases, lenders promise to provide funding within 24 hours.
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Better Interest Rates
Wedding loans, unlike credit cards, have lower interest rates. If you have a strong credit history, stable income and a good credit score then there are chances that you can get a marriage loan with a lower interest rate compared to credit cards. A lot of loans do not charge for prepayments as well and will enable you to pay off your loan early without penalty fees.
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Improves The Credit Score
Couples who are looking to build or improve their credit score can easily boost their score by paying off their marriage loan successfully. You must make sure you do not make late repayments or miss any payments. Having a high credit score will make it easier for you to avail loan in future and receive lower interest rates.
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Cons Of Obtaining Wedding Loans
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More Expenditure
Availing a wedding loan to get money in your bank account can make you flush with cash, however this will make you comfortable in upgrading your floral arrangements or choosing an expensive dress that may be out of budget. All such upgrades add up quickly making you spend more money recklessly.
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Paying More Interest
By obtaining a wedding loan you will end up paying interest on the loan for years to come. For instance, if you are obtaining a 5-year loan for your wedding at an amount of $15,000 at 10% interest then you have to pay more than $4000 in interest throughout the course of the loan. In a nutshell, you have to spend an additional $4000 from your pocket.
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Difficult To Qualify For New Loans
Existing personal loans can make it difficult for borrowers to qualify for new loans in future. For instance, if you are planning to buy a home or a car after your wedding then your financial institution or lender will look at your existing loan to determine if you can afford the new loan. In case you have a lot of existing loans then the lender will deny your loan application.
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What Is The Eligibility Criteria To Qualify For Wedding Loans?
Various online platforms provide personal loans to help people in times of crisis. To be eligible for a personal loan for your wedding purposes you need to fulfill the following eligibility criteria depending on the provider.
- Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident
- Be at least 18 years of age to apply
- Must have a full-time job or prove you’re starting a job within six months
- Have a valid Social Security number and email address
- Have no bankruptcies over the last 12 months
- Have a valid bank account at a bank or financial institution with a routing number
- Have no current delinquent accounts on your credit account
- Must meet the minimum credit score requirements. In most states the minimum credit score is 300 however applicants are required to produce a FICO score with an insufficient credit history
- Must meet the minimum annual income criteria to qualify. The lender accepts income from alimony, employment, child support, retirement, disability benefits, Social Security payments and self-employment.
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How To Get A Loan For A Wedding?
An average wedding in the United States of America costs between $1000 to $50,000. Borrowers need to decide the amount of wedding loan they are comfortable with including the term length. Following are the steps that you can take to get a loan for your big day celebration
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Make Sure You Have A Good Credit Score
The first and foremost step to getting a loan for a wedding is to make sure your finances are in order. The biggest factor to qualify for a loan is your credit score and credit history. Generally, a number above 700 is considered a good credit score. However, you can also qualify for a personal loan with a lower credit score.
For instance, lending websites such as Upstart approve applicants having a credit score of 620 or higher. If necessary you need to take steps to improve your credit score by paying off unpaid debts or lowering your credit usage.
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Prepare Your Financial Documents
Loan provider banking institutions will consider bank statements as proof of income and other debt of the applicant apart from their credit score to approve their loan.
You need to check with your provider to find out the particular eligibility criteria and documents that you need to fulfill. With few lending websites applying for a wedding loan becomes incredibly fast and simple.
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Determine How Much To Borrow and Shop Around To Get The Best Quote
Once you are aware of your credit score and your wedding budget the next step is to determine how much money you need to borrow to curtail the wedding expenses.
It is important to remember that you will receive money as a lump sum however you have to pay interest on the whole amount so you must borrow the amount that you can repay.
A lot of lenders will pre-qualify applicants before submitting their applications so you can know the terms and conditions with just a soft credit inquiry. Shop around with multiple lenders to get the best terms and interest rates.
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Submit a Formal Application And Wait For The Response
Once you know a lender that offers you the best terms and conditions in your situation the next step is to submit a formal application in person or online. Depending on the loan provider the whole process can take a few hours to a few days.
List of some of the best wedding loans providers
Some of the best wedding loans providers are as follows :
LightStream is a consumer lending division of Trust that provides unsecured personal loans from $5,000 to $100,000. It is a great option for people who want to spread out the payment of large expenses over a longer period of time because repayment terms range from two to seven years.
LightStream does not charge any origination, late payment, or prepayment fees. In addition, the lender provides a rate-beat program, a 30-day loan experience guarantee to confirm borrower satisfaction and a rate discount of 0.50% for auto paying customers.
LendingPoint is an Atlanta-based online lender that provides prospective borrowers in the 48 states and Washington, D.C., with personal loans.
Personal loans from LendingPoint range from $2,000 to $36,500. The repayment terms range from two to five years, or 24 to 60 months. When it comes to receiving fast funding with a below-average credit score, LendingPoint is one of the best options you can go for.
Since its inception in 2011, SoFi has granted loans of more than $50 billion and stands out for its capacity to extend loan terms and permit large loan amounts.
SoFi is a great option for people with excellent credit who need to borrow a large sum of money because loans range from $5,000 to $100,000. The repayment terms range from two to seven years.
Upgrade offers loans to people with poor credit histories, despite having maximum APRs that are higher than those of other online lenders. The flexible loan amounts can range from $1,000 to $50,000. The terms of the loan range from two to seven years.
Upgrade charges an origination fee of between 1.85% and 9.99% of the loan, and borrowers who pay more than 15 days late or do not make their payments will be charged a $10 fee.
Wedding loans from Discover Personal Loans may be appealing if you require urgent funding to begin booking your venue and other services. Discover does not charge any origination fees, but there is a $39 late fee if you don’t pay back your loan on time every month.
Through its partners, Universal Credit is an online lending platform that provides personal loans of $1,000 to $50,000. The repayment terms range from three to five years, or 36 to 60 months. All personal loans are subject to a 5.25% to 9.99% origination fee from Universal Credit.
WeddingWish is a website that permits couples to make a honeymoon and wedding registry simultaneously. Guests should purchase objects from the couple’s wish list or donate to the marriage fund.
For couples who are concerned because of the financial burden of a wedding, these forms of wedding ceremony loans might be an excellent choice.
Best Egg is an online lender that provides secured and unsecured personal loans to borrowers having fair to good credit. You can obtain a wedding loan from this lender in amounts ranging between $2000 to $50,000.
Borrowers looking for wedding loans to curtail the expenses for their big day can use their vehicle or home fixture as collateral for secured loans with Best Egg. The minimum credit score requirement is 600. You need to show a debt-to-income ratio of 40% to 65%. Besides, you must be a citizen of the United States to secure the loan.
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Borrowers having thin credit histories or low credit scores can obtain fast lending opportunities in the form of Upstart personal loans. The online lending platform Upstart connects borrowers with credit unions and banks for funding personal loans.
The approval and funding time is also quite fast compared to other lenders. The company makes use of non-traditional data such as college education, residents and job history and artificial intelligence to qualify for loans. If you’re looking for wedding loans then you can get an instant approval decision after applying. You can obtain a personal loan to fund your wedding in the range of $1000 to $50,000.
Formerly known as Freedom Plus Achieve personal loans refers to loans that work well for unsecured debt or consolidating large amounts of credit cards. Borrowers need to have a fair credit score ranging between 630 to 719 to qualify for this personal loan.
The loan amount differs between $5000 to $50,000. This resource is not a right fit for people who are looking to cover small wedding expenses or consolidate a couple of thousands of dollars of debt. Usually, borrowers are charged an orientation fee of 4.99% of the loan amount and the minimum debt-to-income ratio is 45%.
Wells Fargo provides flexible customisable personal loans for up to $100,000 and the loan term mainly ranges between 12 to 84 months.
Borrowers who want to borrow a large amount of money for their wedding for an extended period can consider obtaining personal loans from Wells Fargo. The existing customers of Wells Fargo can check the rates to apply for loans over the phone or online.
Prospective borrowers or non-customers of this bank have to visit the branch in person to discuss the loan option. Individuals who are paying automatic payments from their Wells Fargo Checking account can pay off their loan using the account and qualify for an interest rate discount.
The Region’s Bank is an excellent source for getting personal loans like wedding loans as they provide low-interest rates on unsecured personal loans for individuals who have a long credit history and excellent credit scores.
They can qualify for a rate discount of 0.25% on making automatic payments from the bank checking account to pay off their wedding loan. The minimum amount that you can borrow is $2000 and the maximum loan limit may vary depending on the bank.
The existing customer can borrow up to $50,000 while new customers can borrow up to $35,000. The repayment term differs between 12 to 60 months.
Lending Club offers personal loans that are a right fit for borrowers having good or fair credit and wishing to finance large purchases or consolidate debt.
The lender provides rate discounts as well as a direct payment to traders on debt consolidation loans. The provider stands out for transparency, flexibility and credit report insights.
Individuals need to have a minimum credit score of 608 to qualify. Borrowers can obtain amounts ranging between $1000 to $40,000 and the repayment term differs between two to five years.
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Wedding loan you don’t pay back unless you divorce
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SwanLuv
SwanLuv is a Seattle-based company that gives couples a loan of up to $10,000 to pay for their wedding by using software that is based on algorithms to determine how strong their relationship is.
Assuming that the couple gets separated in the span of 5 years of the wedding, they need to reimburse the loan amount along with interest.
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WeddingCrowd
Another organization that gives a wedding loan that you don’t require to pay back unless you get divorced is WeddingCrowd. WeddingCrowd is a crowdfunding platform that permits people to raise cash for their weddings. If a pair raises sufficient cash though WeddingCrowd, they do not need to pay off the loans.
A website called WeddingFinder lets couples raise money for their wedding through crowdfunding. On the website, couples create a profile and invite their loved ones to contribute to their wedding fund. Couples looking for a way to cut costs on their wedding often turn to WeddingFunder.
WishingWell is a website where couples make a desire list for their wedding ceremony. Gifts from the couple’s wish listing can be purchased by guests.
A website known as Honeyfund allows couples to prepare a honeymoon registry. Instead of giving the couple the conventional wedding items, guests can make donations to the Honeymoon Fund.
Conclusion
A wedding loan is a viable solution for those who want to pay a part or whole wedding expenses, however before taking on debt to pay for your big day you need to weigh both the pros and cons of taking out a wedding loan. This is because paying back a wedding loan over the next couple of years can hinder savings goals like paying a student loan debt or buying a house. Nevertheless, the aforementioned resources are for individuals who want to borrow money to cover their wedding expenses. The key to success is to save money, set priorities for yourself and stick to your budget.
You can learn more about government grants and programs for low-income families at Get Government Grants’ blog section today. Our resources will help you to attain self-sufficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money can I borrow for my wedding ?
The sizes of personal loans offered by lenders range from $500 to $100,000. Consider how much you can afford to pay each month before applying, as you will be required to repay the entire loan amount plus interest.
Can You Get A Loan For A Wedding?
A wedding loan is a viable way to finance your wedding in case you are unable to secure a grant from government or nonprofit organizations. These are unsecured personal loans that typically range between $1000 to $50,000. Borrowers need to have good to excellent credit scores to qualify for wedding loans with the lowest interest rates.
Where Can You Get a Wedding Loan?
Borrowers can obtain wedding loans from banks, online lenders or credit unions. It is important to pre-qualify with multiple lenders so that you can compare rates and find a wedding loan that fits your needs and budget.