Home Equity Line Of Credit
If you and/or your intended own a home, look into a home equity line of credit . It uses your home as collateral and, because it is a line of credit, you can borrow only what you need. You don’t have to take the money in a lump sum. Here’s how most HELOCs work:
- A lender looks to see how much equity you have in the home. For example, if the home is worth $250,000, but you owe $150,000, you have $100,000 in equity. Typically, they will loan up to 85% of the equity in the house, or in this case, $85,000.
- You can then use that line of credit to withdraw up to that amount for a set period of time, usually 10 years. During that time, once you repay any portion of the HELOC, you are free to withdraw it again as needed. You’ll then have 10 or 20 years to pay back those funds, depending on the loan.
The good news is that a lender will likely offer you a competitive interest rate because they have your home as collateral. The bad news is that if you miss loan payments, they have the right to repossess the property.
Who Pays For The Brides Wedding Dress
Traditionally, the bride and her family are responsible for paying for all wedding planning expenses, the brides attire, all floral arrangements, transportation on the wedding day, photo and video fees, travel and lodgings for the officiant if he comes from out of town, lodging for the bridesmaids (if you have offered
What Are The Best Ways To Pay For Your Wedding
It’s no secret that everyone wants their wedding day to be memorable. Unfortunately, often that can mean that weddings are expensive affairs. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have the wedding you’ve always dream of.
There are many ways to finance a wedding, which is why you need to have a clear plan on how much your wedding might cost and how you can pay for it.
Read Also: How Far In Advance To Block Hotel Rooms For Wedding
Ask For Wedding Help Instead Of Wedding Gifts
Talk to some of the friends and family youre inviting to the wedding and ask them if they would be willing to provide help at the wedding in lieu of a gift. This is particularly true if you have someone on the guest list with a particular talent.
Guests for your wedding might be able to help with photography, provide emcee services, tend the bar at the reception, or perform any of the other endless tasks that a wedding entails. While some guests may prefer not to do this, others will relish the chance.
Many of the roles at our own wedding were provided by family and friends. From our perspective, we felt that everything would be much more meaningful if people we loved were actually involved with the ceremony in some way, and many of them jumped at the chance. Some of them provided supplies as their wedding gift, while others provided discounts.
Getting even a little help can easily shave 5% off of the total cost of the wedding.
Strategy: Ask family and friends for assistance at the ceremony in lieu of giftsSavings: $1,400
With all that money youve saved on your big day, turn to your next big step in life: Buy the home youll love as much as each other. Compare mortgages below.
Check Your Mortgage Rates
The Bottom Line On Paying For Your Wedding
The best way to pay for a wedding is to set a realistic budget that wont mean financial woes down the road. Remember, your wedding is a very important day for you and your families, and having a budget doesnt diminish the significance of the day. Everyone will remember the abundance of love and personal touches, no matter how much money you spend.
Read Also: Addressing Wedding Invitations To Family
Use Your Credit Cardsrealistically
If you’re in the process of saving up for the wedding while you’re making deposits to reserve your venue and other vendors, you’re likely going to have to use credit cards. That shouldn’t worry you as long as you’re using them correctly . Credit cards can actually protect you from fraud and make transactions easier , so we don’t suggest avoiding them entirely as long as you’ve saved up enough, or will have saved up enough to pay them off before interest sets in. But one big thing to keep in mind: Don’t start your marriage off in debtit’s never a good ideaand don’t consider paying for things with money you don’t have and won’t have for a long time. You also shouldn’t take out a loan to cover costs. “Going into marriage with debt for a one-day party is a huge mistake,” Bach says. “People start their lives in these huge financial holes and it’s just a shame. It’s smart to create a specific wedding account to put money into and then simply reverse the math to come up with your savings plan.” Bottom line: Don’t spend more than you can afford.
Ask Friends And Family To Exchange Skills For Presents
If you have friends and family members with creative or organizational skill sets, ask them to use their talent at the wedding in lieu of a gift. Would you rather receive a stand mixer or live music, free of charge?
Tap into your network. Is your aunt an amateur florist? Does your friend have an eye for photography? Is your neighbor a restaurant owner who could lend you their space? Even if they cant provide services for free, you could still score a major discount.
Dont overlook your own skills either. Use your talents to barter for wedding services. Exchange your graphic design skills for a free wedding cake, or trade your accounting abilities for free dress alterations. Get creative!
Recommended Reading: When Do You Break The Glass At A Jewish Wedding
Split The Cost Of Decorations And Consider Buying Used
Non-floral wedding decorations can cost $600. This can be a perfect opportunity to go minimal by looking for used decorations. If you know someone who is getting married, you may be able to split the cost of decorations with them so that you both use them, cutting the cost by half. If you know of any recent weddings, you can also contact them and ask what they did with the decorations.
Strategy: Split the cost of decorations or buy them used Savings: $300
How Do Wedding Loans Work
Most wedding loans are personal loans. Whether you borrow money from a bank, credit union, or online lender, you are taking out a personal loan to pay for your special day. Because the loan is unsecured, the lender does not care if you spend it on hair extensions, a trip to Bermuda, or to marry the love of your life.
Like all personal loans, it begins with a loan application. Every lender wants to see that you have a good credit score, strong credit history, and can be trusted to repay the loan. In return, you promise to repay the loan, typically in equal monthly installments. So you’ll need to know how much you want to borrow and how much you’ll be able to repay each month.
Don’t Miss: How To Plan A Wedding Under 5000
How Do I Plan A Very Small Simple Wedding
9 Ways To Keep Your Wedding Simple
The Recipient Receives Notification Of The Payment
The person you’re sending money to gets an email or text notification of the payment you sent. If they are already set up with Quick Pay or Zelle, the transaction is complete. They will be able to log into their account and see the funds there. If the recipient has a Chase account but isn’t set up to receive payments through Quick Pay, he or she has to register to be able to access the money.
Also Check: What Goes First Engagement Or Wedding Ring
Use This Simple Math Equation
If you have a big budget goal that seems daunting, divide it into smaller chunks that are easier to digest. The simple math trick that makes it all work? Take the sum of your desired budget and divide it by the number of months you have to save up. Getting married in a year with a budget of $20,000? Divide $20,000 by 12 . If that amount seems like too much per month, add more time or try cutting back on a few of your big-ticket monthly expenses to help you save. “That’s literally how simple planning for a wedding can be,” says David Bach, founder and chairman of FinishRich Media and author of Smart Couples Finish Rich, about this relatively simple math.
Limit Your Guest List
Less is sometimes more! You might feel tempted to come up with a guest list as long as the royal weddings, but think of it this way: Every guest is an expense. It sounds harsh, but its true, you guys! With each addition to your guest list, youre only driving up the overall cost of your wedding.
To save money on your wedding, you may want to host a smaller, more intimate affair. If the number of people at your wedding isnt important to you and your fiancé, try cutting your guest list by 20%, then another 20% on top of that. Or invite more guests to the wedding ceremony and host a smaller reception with your family and closest friends.
Recommended Reading: How To Make A Wedding Spreadsheet
Ways To Save On A Wedding
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.
First comes love, then comes marriage and then paying for the wedding. Guess what? Theres a reason no one writes fairy tales about the latter.
You dont need to break the bank to make your day memorable, though. We’ve rounded up more than two dozen ways you can save on your wedding.
Note: Average cost figures are from The Knots annual Real Weddings Study. The amounts listed are the average amounts spent on each category nationwide, according to the survey.
Ask Family And Friends To Chip In
If you plan to have your family contribute to paying for a wedding, be sure to have a conversation early on about what that will entail. So many couples I meet with say things like family is helping, but they havent asked exactly what that means, Tarrant says. The couples need more specific amounts to see if what the family is chipping in, combined with what they can save and spend, can get them to their dream wedding.
She points out that many of todays couples have parents who lived and lost during the Great Recession. Gone are the days where the majority of parents just hand over large sums of money that have been saved just for this occasion.
Dont Miss:How One Couple Threw a $3,500 Wedding Bash for 350 People
Another consideration is making sure that those who contribute understand how the money will be used. The conversation should include what the family is expecting the money to go toward, if anything, Weinberg says. For example, if your parents want to fund a traditional church venue, but you have your sights set on a rustic farm setting, its important to set those expectations ahead of time or risk some tension.
If someone wants to sponsor a specific feature, such as flowers or cake, then youll know your budget for that component and understand what all youre responsible for, Weinberg adds.
Also Check: What To Wear To A Tropical Wedding
The Wedding Budget Breakdown
First things first: Give your budget a little breathing room. Unexpected expenses will arise, so know that your budget will evolve throughout the planning process. Take those surprises into consideration by putting in a little bit of cushion. That way you have the flexibility to handle any surprise expense.
A wedding is a huge event to plan, so its helpful to know what you can get for a certain dollar amount. What does $5,000 get you? $10,000? $15,000?
Here are some budget breakdown examples for weddings ranging from $100 to $30,000 and some suggestions for how to make them happen.
Who Pays For Wedding In Canada
A study by BMO, reports that Canadians spend an average of $15,000 for their wedding. These days, modern couples usually defray all costs and often times parents on both sides contribute to the wedding. Your nieces civil wedding, as opposed to a religious one, has no impact on the monetary question of her marriage.
Recommended Reading: How To Address Wedding Invitations To Families
Seek Out Sample Sales
Wedding dress sample sales can yield pretty amazing designer bargains. Sign up for email updates from your favorite local bridal salons so you’ll be informed about their upcoming sale events. Some of our best tips: Arrive early , wear your bridal undergarments, and know your size in advance. Just don’t forget to factor in the cost of possible alterations or professional dry cleaning.
Use Your Wedding Registry
Instead of asking for gifts on your registry ask for different items such as limo services or food and drink for the day.
Or just ask for a cash gift.
Nobody really needs three toasters anymore especially since a lot of couples choose to live together before the marriage.
People are quite happy to gift envelopes.
Also Check: Plan An Inexpensive Wedding
Take Advantage Of Credit Card Rewards
Just because youre trying to avoid debt doesnt mean you should avoid credit cards altogether.
Even if you save up your entire wedding budget in cash, its a good idea to charge the expenses to a credit card and then immediately pay them off.
For one, your credit card company may guarantee all of your purchases. That means if you worry about a small vendor going out of business or needing to dispute any charges, you have protection from your card issuer, Tarrant says.
Many credit cards today also offer lucrative rewards points and welcome bonuses for hitting spending thresholds within the first few months of account opening. By putting all your wedding expenses on a rewards card, you can earn enough points to offset your spending or even fund your honeymoon.
Keep in mind, however, that this strategy only works if you pay off the balance in full right away. If you allow your credit card to accrue interest month over month, youll quickly cancel out any savings. So if you arent 100% sure youll be able to pay off your credit card bill, its better to stick with cash.
