5 Lenders That Offer Wedding Loans — And What to Consider Before You Borrow

It’s an unfortunate truth: Getting married can be expensive. The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is an astounding $33,000, according to The Knot’s 2017 Real Weddings Survey — and that’s before factoring in honeymoon expenses.

With costs that high, many couples turn to personal loans to finance their dream weddings. Our recent survey revealed 74% of couples planned to borrow money for their weddings, and about 21% planned to use personal loans for the event.

Though wedding loans are a convenient way to finance your nuptials, they come at a price.

See how these loans work, where to find them, and alternative ways to pay for your big day.

How wedding loans work

A wedding loan is an unsecured personal loan that you take out to pay for your ceremony or reception.

Some lenders refer to this type of debt as wedding loans, while others categorize it as loans used for special occasions. But most personal loan lenders will allow you to use a standard personal loan to pay for your event.

Your loan’s interest rate will be based on your credit history and income. Borrowers with excellent credit and a solid salary usually will qualify for the best rates. Even if you’re offered the lowest rates available, using a personal loan to pay for your wedding generally isn’t advisable.

Borrowing money to pay for your wedding is the most expensive way to get married. In addition to paying for the cost of goods and services, you’ll pay interest on the money borrowed.

A lavish wedding might feel necessary because of pressure from friends and family — but before going into debt to afford your dream day, consider cutting costs to bring your expenses in line with your budget.

Where to find wedding loans if you need them

If you must go into debt for your nuptials, wedding loans might be a savvier financial choice than a credit card, if you can get approved for a low interest rate.

Most lenders will give you a personal loan to use for any of life’s needs. Here are some companies that offer loans specifically for special occasions:

• LightStream: This lender offers wedding loans from $5,000 to $100,000. LightStream loans have no prepayment fees, so if you want to pay off your debt early you won’t be penalized. You could even receive the money on the same day you apply.

• Earnest: When you apply for a loan from Earnest, the company will ask how you plan to use the money. You can choose from options that include a wedding, engagement, or honeymoon.

• Prosper: Prosper doesn’t specifically offer wedding loans, but you can select “special occasion” as the loan’s purpose when you apply. This peer-to-peer lending marketplace company offers fixed rates on its loans, and there’s no penalty for early repayment.

• SoFi: This lender offers personal loans with no origination fees or early repayment penalties. Plus, if you’re already a SoFi member, you could be eligible for an interest rate discount
• Upstart: When you apply at Upstart, the lender will review more than your credit score when offering you an interest rate — it’ll also factor your education and work experience.

3 ways to avoid borrowing money for your wedding

You don’t have to take out wedding loans to pay for your important day. In fact, in most cases, it’s better if you don’t. Here are three simple ways to tie the knot without going into debt.

1. Postpone your wedding until you’ve saved more money

Our recent wedding costs survey also found that 52% of couples plan to delay their wedding because of money concerns. While extending your engagement might not be your first choice, doing so can help you avoid wedding loans.

If you’ve delayed your wedding to boost your savings, brush up on tips and tricks to help you save money fast. You can focus on earning more money, too: Taking on a temporary side hustle can jumpstart your savings.

2. Cut unnecessary expenses

Weddings can get expensive fast, but you might be able to find items in your budget that you can live without.

For example, one of the biggest spending categories for weddings is decorations, according to the Knot study. You can avoid huge expenses if you find a venue that looks nice as is and if you’re willing to do your own decor or use fewer flowers.

You might even consider hosting the ceremony and reception at the same venue to eliminate some costs or save money by hosting a stand-up reception with appetizers instead of a full sit-down meal.

3. Have a private ceremony now and a big reception later

If you want a big reception but don’t want to delay the wedding, consider marrying now with a small ceremony before holding a larger reception later when you’ve saved enough money. This way, you can start married life on your preferred schedule and still have the beautiful party you’ve always dreamed of.

While you’re saving for your bigger reception, trim your costs to hit your goals. We’ve done the math — by cutting out extras such as cable subscriptions, gym memberships, and eating out, you can save as much as $500 a month.

Create a plan and stick to it

Before you take out wedding loans or borrow money for any reason, create a plan to repay your debt so that it doesn’t follow you throughout your marriage.

You can get a step ahead by signing up for a debt payoff app that can make it easier to repay your loan, and use our calculator to estimate how quickly you can repay when you add in extra payments.

Interested in a personal loan?

Here are the top personal loan lenders of 2018!

Lender	Rates (APR)	Loan Amount
1 Includes AutoPay discount. Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi Disclosures Personal Loans: Fixed rates from 6.58% APR to 14.87% APR (with AutoPay). Variable rates from 6.275% APR to 12.575% APR (with AutoPay). SoFi rate ranges are current as of July 16, 2018 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See Personal Loan eligibility details. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, to qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, years of professional experience, income and other factors. See APR examples and terms. Interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at 14.95%. Lowest variable rate of 6.275% APR assumes current 1-month LIBOR rate of 2.10% plus 4.175% margin minus 0.25% AutoPay discount. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Terms and Conditions Apply: SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, years of experience, income and other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) 2 Important Disclosures for Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank Disclosures Personal Loan Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates from 6.49% – 19.49% (6.49% – 19.49% APR) based on applicable terms. Lowest rates range from 5.99%-18.99% (5.99%-18.99% APR), are for eligible applicants, require a 3-year repayment term, and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Loyalty Discount: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower has submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, student loans or other personal loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI and VT. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) disclosed in the Truth-In-Lending Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan, and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan. Automatic Payment Discount: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their Citizens Bank Personal Loan during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account two or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount. * Important Disclosures for Upgrade Bank. Upgrade Bank Disclosures Personal Loan Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates from 6.49% – 19.49% (6.49% – 19.49% APR) based on applicable terms. Lowest rates range from 5.99%-18.99% (5.99%-18.99% APR), are for eligible applicants, require a 3-year repayment term, and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Loyalty Discount: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower has submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, student loans or other personal loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI and VT. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) disclosed in the Truth-In-Lending Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan, and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan. Automatic Payment Discount: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their Citizens Bank Personal Loan during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account two or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount.
	7.73% – 29.99%	$1,000 - $50,000	Visit Upstart Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	6.28% – 14.87%1	$5,000 - $100,000	Visit SoFi Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	6.87% – 35.97%*	$1,000 - $50,000	Visit Upgrade
	8.00% – 25.00%	$5,000 - $35,000	Visit Payoff Check rate nowon SLH's secure site
	4.99% – 29.99%	$10,000 - $35,000	Visit FreedomPlus
	5.99% – 18.99%2	$5,000 - $50,000	Visit Citizens
	15.49% – 34.49%	$2,000 - $25,000	Visit LendingPoint
	5.99% – 35.89%	$1,000 - $40,000	Visit LendingClub
	5.49% – 18.24%	$5,000 - $75,000	Visit Earnest
	9.95% – 35.99%	$2,000 - $35,000	Visit Avant