Weddings are an occasion which is memorable for life to any individual. Most people, especially women, think about this day since their childhood. Apart from finding the love of their life and tying the knot, a wedding involves many more things. The Perfect Venue, a Gorgeous Gown, a Good Photographer to capture these moments, and so much more. Unfortunately, all these things combined are too expensive, so much so that people in the UK spend close to 80% of their annual income on their wedding day.
Now, when you start a new life with your partner, you might want to reserve your savings for your life together to build a future.
I do not want to compromise on the celebration, and neither do I want to burn my entire savings; how should I pay for my wedding?
If this is the question in your mind, this blog gives you a one-stop solution.
What are Wedding Loans?
Wedding Loans are Unsecured Personal Loans; that is, no collateral/ security is needed. You can use these loans for any purpose, even for your wedding expenses. For an applicable, based on your profile, customised interest rate, you can pay back the entire amount in a few equal monthly instalments.
Why should you take a loan for my wedding?
If you ask us, there are multiple reasons why a wedding loan could be a good option.
- You can plan your Dream Wedding and finance it without worrying about your cash liquidity.
- There will not be a sudden big hit on your savings, and you can use them for your future emergencies or long term plans.
- You wouldn’t be burning a hole in your pocket at once since the repayment would be in small instalments monthly, which you can easily accommodate in your budget advance before taking the loan.
How can you get Wedding Loans?
Obtaining a wedding loan is a simple process, just like any other loan. Several lenders and banks are willing to give a personal loan for wedding expenses based on your credit score and affordability. Your creditworthiness will decide the Rate of Interest on which the loan would be available. In case, for some reason, your credit score is low, you can apply for a loan in your partner’s name, or better, you can also apply for a joint wedding loan. This way, the repayment burden would not fall on one person, and you can share the responsibility officially.
For getting a loan, first of all, decide the size of the loan you wish to avail; you can do so by estimating the cost drivers of your wedding budget. A few major heads are:
- The Venue and Decoration
- Catering and the Cake
- Music and Photography
- Dress of the Bride and the Groom
- Rings and Flowers
- Guest Hospitality
- Honeymoon expenses (Hotel, Travel, Tickets, etc.)
Once you have decided the size of the loan, you can approach various lenders or loan aggregators, which can also be done online, expressing your interest in the loan with the amount and the tenure. The application would be verified based on address, ID proof, income statements, employment details, credit score, etc., after which the lender would make an offer. You can choose the offer which seems the best fit for you. Once you accept the offer, the loan would be disbursed without any delay.
Who are Wedding Loan Lenders in the UK?
Since Wedding Loans are essentially Personal Loans, there are multiple types of lenders willing to offer such loans. Majorly they are:
- High-street banks
- Building Societies
- Credit Unions
- Online Lenders
- Online Loan comparison platforms such as Oyster Loans
- Dedicated Lenders
Things you should keep in mind before taking an Unsecured Wedding Loan:
- Have a rough calculation of the expected EMI before taking a loan to manage your monthly budget for repayment. Make sure you have enough room for the instalment apart from your monthly expenses and plans.
- Pay attention to the rate of interest. Some lenders offer loans at a fixed rate, some of them offer at a floating rate. In the case of the floating rate of interest, the rate changes as per the market condition. In such a case, make sure you have a flexible budget to accommodate the change in the rate of interest.
- If you are unable to repay, your credit score will take a hit, making it very difficult to get a loan in the future, especially at a lower interest rate. So make sure you have thoroughly thought through your plan of taking a loan and affordability to pay back.
- If you are obtaining a loan on a joint account, the responsibility of repayment would be on both of you. However, if you or your partner cannot pay back, the entire repayment responsibility will fall on you. So make sure both of you are capable of taking a loan since a default will cause a drop in the credit profile of both you and your partner.
- If either of you has a low credit score, it would be wiser to get your loan sanctioned in the name of the person with a better credit score to encash the benefit of a lower interest rate.
- If you have enough time before your wedding, you can improve your credit score and financial standing to maximise your chances of gaining a lower rate of interest.
What matters the most is that weddings are one of the most precious moments of one’s life, and finances should not stand in the way of making it any less special. Wedding loans are easily available in the market at affordable rates to tackle all the related expenses. That being said, one should not ignore the implications of taking a loan and the risks that come associated with it. It is of utmost importance to plan your finances, with the help of cost budgeting and income allocation, and leave some room for savings and investments. It is rightly said that a well thought out financial plan is the road map to a brighter future.