The average wedding costs $20,300, based on research from ValuePenguin. But let’s be honest. Not everyone has that kind of money lying around, and your family may not be able to contribute. If you need help paying for your ceremony and reception, a wedding loan can fill in the gap.
LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
| Lender | Min. credit score | Best for... | APR range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstart | 600 | 4.37%-35.99% | Borrowers with thin credit histories |
| Prosper | 640 | 7.95%-35.99% | Fast loan funding |
| Marcus by Goldman Sachs® | 660 | 6.99%-19.99% | Unique repayment perks |
| SoFi Bank, N.A | 680 | 6.99%-22.23% | Unemployment protection during repayment |
| Best Egg | 700 | 5.99%-35.99% | Seamless online prequalification |
Using a personal loan to pay for a wedding gives you more autonomy to plan the celebration you want. After all, when you lean on your parents or others to pay for your wedding, they may feel entitled to making decisions like who’s invited to the wedding and which caterers are hired.
Using a personal loan for wedding expenses doesn’t come without downsides, though. The biggest drawback to taking out a loan to pay for your wedding is that you will pay interest on your wedding expenses. If you’re already paying tens of thousands of dollars to get married, you probably don’t want to pay much on top of that.
Estimate your wedding loan monthly payments based on loan amount, APR and the length of the loan using our personal loan calculator.
Many personal loan lenders advertise wedding loans. However, you can use a personal loan to pay for virtually anything, so you don’t have to limit yourself to lenders that specifically tout wedding loans. Ideally, you should prequalify through multiple lenders to compare estimated APRs and find the best loan for your financial situation. Here are a few places where you may be able to get a wedding loan:
| Loan details | APR range | [shortcode] |
|---|---|---|
| Loan details | APR range | 4.37%-35.99% |
| Loan amount | $1,000 to $50,000 | |
| Repayment term (months) | 36 or 60 months | |
| Origination fee | 0.00% - 8.00% | |
| Eligibility criteria | Credit inquiry | Soft Pull |
| Credit score | 600 | |
| Annual income | Not specified | |
| What to know | Fine print | Like with other loan companies, your lender might not be who you think it is: Upstart farms its lending operations out to banks but will still service your repayment. |
| Upstart review | Upstart is a worthwhile option for applicants with thin or not-great credit files, noting that it sometimes stamps approval for borrowers that don’t have a long enough credit history to have a credit score. |
| Loan details | APR range | [shortcode] |
|---|---|---|
| Loan details | APR range | 7.95%-35.99% |
| Loan amount | $2,000 to $40,000 | |
| Repayment term (months) | 36 or 60 months | |
| Origination fee | 2.41% - 5.00% | |
| Eligibility criteria | Credit inquiry | Soft Pull |
| Credit score | 640 | |
| Annual income | Not specified | |
| What to know | Fine print | Prosper is among lenders that promises “next-day funding,” but be aware that this means your loan won’t be disbursed until one business day after you’ve signed your loan agreement. |
| Prosper review | With a straightforward “check your rate” option, Prosper is worth consideration among borrowers without excellent credit who might be better off roping in a co-borrower. |
| Loan details | APR range | [shortcode] |
|---|---|---|
| Loan details | APR range | 6.99%-19.99% |
| Loan amount | $3,500 to $40,000 | |
| Repayment term (months) | 36 to 72 months | |
| Origination fee | No origination fee | |
| Eligibility criteria | Credit inquiry | Soft Pull |
| Credit score | 660 | |
| Annual income | Not specified | |
| What to know | Fine print | This is one among many lenders that don’t accept joint loan applications, so you’ll have to be creditworthy enough to qualify as an individual borrower. |
| Marcus by Goldman Sachs review | Among fee-free lenders, the mobile app-friendly Marcus by Goldman Sachs loan is packed with unique perks, including an on-time payment award: When you make 12 consecutive payments, you can defer one month’s dues without interest accruing. |
| Loan details | APR range | [shortcode] |
|---|---|---|
| Loan details | APR range | 6.99%-22.23% |
| Loan amount | $5,000 to $100,000 | |
| Repayment term (months) | 24 to 84 months | |
| Origination fee | No origination fee | |
| Eligibility criteria | Credit inquiry | Soft Pull |
| Credit score | 680 | |
| Annual income | Not specified | |
| What to know | Fine print | SoFi’s unemployment protection program helps you stay current on your debt, but it only applies to borrowers who lose a job “through no fault on [their] own,” and interest still accrues onto your balance while you pause monthly dues. |
| SoFi review | SoFi is a great overall option based on its wide range of borrowing amounts and repayment terms, to go along with highly competitive APRs, no fees and unique perks. |
| Loan details | APR range | [shortcode] |
|---|---|---|
| Loan details | APR range | 5.99%-35.99% |
| Loan amount | $2,000 to $50,000 | |
| Repayment term (months) | 36 or 60 months | |
| Origination fee | 0.99% - 5.99% | |
| Eligibility criteria | Credit inquiry | Soft Pull |
| Credit score | 700 | |
| What to know | Fine print | Loans are not available in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia or the District of Columbia — keep availability in mind before you get too far along with any lender. |
| Best Egg review | Given it offers prequalification along with a seamless online application and competitive rates, Best Egg is worthy of being in the mix for your preferred lender. |
| A wedding loan could make sense if you have… |
|---|
|
Take your time saving up with a long engagementThe average engagement is 16 months, according to the 2021 report from The Knot. Give yourself plenty of time to save up for the big day, and start saving money a year in advance before putting down deposits. Wait even longer if that’s what works for you.
Plan your wedding on your time frame, because in some cases, it might be the best decision to wait until you’re financially prepared. Create a budget with your fiance so you can cover your wedding expenses with cash.
Ask your guests to pitch inNot everyone needs or wants to receive gifts for their wedding. Instead of loading up your wedding registry with brand-name kitchen gadgets and delicate china you’ll only use a few times a year, consider asking your guests to help cover the wedding expenses.
Set up a cash registry, such as Honeyfund or The Knot Cash Fund. If you don’t want your wedding to result in more clutter, you can tactfully avoid getting gifts you don’t want by setting up a registry and adding a small note on your wedding website instead. But at the end of the day, the gift-giver is going to decide what they want to give you.
Use a credit card with an introductory 0% APR periodPutting all your wedding expenses on a credit card is not recommended, since you’ll end up paying mountains of compounded interest by the time your wedding day is over. However, there’s an exception to the rule: You could take advantage of a credit card with an introductory 0% APR period.
Some credit cards have intro APR periods that last up to 20 months, which could give you plenty of time to plan your wedding and repay the debt before you’re charged interest. Keep in mind that if you don’t pay off the debt before the promotional period ends, you’ll end up paying interest on the remaining balance.
As an added bonus, you could try to utilize a rewards credit card to earn travel miles or cash back on all your wedding purchases. Just use caution when you take out credit card debt to pay for your wedding, and make sure you repay the balance to avoid paying interest.
If you, and perhaps your soon-to-be spouse, own a home, you could tap into your equity to help cover wedding expenses and avoid typical wedding loans. A home equity loan or line of credit – the latter option would allow you to draw on funds as needed – is a secured form of borrowing. The debt is secured by your home, so you must feel comfortable with the risk of foreclosure in the case your repayment goes awry.
Because a home equity loan is secured, though, you could net a lower APR than you might otherwise receive on an unsecured personal loan. Just beware of closing costs that could amount to 2% to 5% of your loan amount.
You can employ a home equity loan calculator to estimate your potential borrowing power, though it’s likely worth consulting a certified financial professional before increasing the size of your mortgage to pay for a wedding.
Yes. A wedding loan is a type of personal loan that is used to pay for wedding expenses. Personal loans can be used to finance virtually anything, meaning that you could use a personal loan to cover all kinds of wedding-related costs like a venue deposit, engagement ring and wedding dress.
An unsecured personal loan doesn’t require collateral like a car or your home, meaning that it’s backed by your promise to repay the lender. Because of this, interest rates are determined by your creditworthiness. Personal loans tend to have higher APRs than secured loans, like a mortgage or auto loan.
It will be difficult to secure a personal loan with favorable terms if you have bad credit. Because personal loans are typically unsecured and have no collateral, lenders lean on your credit history to determine your eligibility and terms.
That being said, certain lenders specialize in personal loans for bad credit. Many lenders require a 600 credit score minimum, making it challenging for people with low or no credit to get approved. You could always take steps to improve your credit score — or to find a cosigner or co-borrower — before applying for a loan.
As long as you make on-time payments toward your wedding loan, your credit score should only improve. After all, your credit report will reflect a positive payment history toward an installment loan.
It should be noted too that applying for a wedding loan shouldn’t adversely affect your credit. That’s especially true if you prequalify with a variety of lenders that quote you rates without performing a hard inquiry into your credit profile. Ideally, you’ll compare options and only formally apply with a single lender, limiting any temporary effect on your credit score.
The amount you can borrow for a wedding depends on your creditworthiness, with lenders offering personal loans for as little as $1,000 and as much as $100,000. Just because you can borrow four, five or six figures, however, doesn’t mean that you should. As in all cases of borrowing, you should only take out loan amounts that you absolutely need and can realistically afford to repay.
Yes, engagement ring loans are just like any other type of personal loan. Some lenders, like Prosper, advertise engagement ring loans specifically. You can search for small personal loans and potentially see offers using LendingTree.
The short answer is that it depends. A personal loan for a wedding is a good alternative to putting all your wedding expenses on a credit card with high interest rates. Plus, wedding loans give you the autonomy to plan your big day as you see fit.
However, using a wedding loan means that you’ll have to pay interest to the lender on all your wedding expenses, so you’ll be paying a premium on top of the base costs for your big day. Taking on debt for nonnecessities (such as a wedding) is typically not recommended.
