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Many engaged {couples} within the U.S. are counting on types of credit score to pay for his or her wedding ceremony. Specialists say that method will be good, if performed rigorously.
Whereas 46% of surveyed newlyweds — {couples} who tied the knot throughout the previous two years — used largely financial savings to pay for prices, 24% paid with bank cards, in accordance to a report by LendingTree. The location polled 1,050 newlyweds in early March.
A separate report by Zola, primarily based on a survey of 6,000 {couples} getting married in 2025, discovered that 31% of engaged {couples} polled plan to make use of bank cards to pay for his or her wedding ceremony, together with utilizing factors or making use of for brand spanking new playing cards.
“In case you’re strategic, a bank card will be a tremendous device,” mentioned Matt Schulz, chief credit score analyst at LendingTree.
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In any other case, a bank card could be a slippery slope, main {couples} to stroll down the aisle with long-lasting and costly debt, consultants say.
About 67% of surveyed newlyweds took on debt for his or her wedding ceremony, in response to LendingTree.
For brand spanking new playing cards, the common annual share fee, or the borrowing value, is 24.35%, the best since December, LendingTree discovered.
“In the end, a gorgeous wedding ceremony ought to by no means come at the price of monetary stress to a brand new marriage,” mentioned Gloria Garcia Cisneros, an authorized monetary planner at LourdMurray, an funding and wealth administration agency.
‘Make these financial savings work even more durable for you’
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Weddings have gotten costlier yearly. The common value for a marriage in 2025 is predicted to be $36,000, in accordance to Zola. That is up from $33,000 in 2024, and $29,000 in 2023.
When you’ve got financial savings put aside to cowl your wedding ceremony prices, charging the expense to a bank card after which instantly utilizing these financial savings to repay the invoice will help you earn rewards reminiscent of factors or miles, mentioned Schulz.
Some bank cards provide huge sign-up bonuses once you spend a set quantity on the cardboard inside a brief interval of opening it. That may be greater than you spend on regular bills, however inside attain when you have huge bills — reminiscent of wedding-related purchases and deposits — developing.
By instantly paying that cost off along with your financial savings, you may reap the benefits of the rewards for issues reminiscent of your honeymoon, Schulz mentioned.
“It is a solution to make these financial savings work even more durable for you,” he mentioned.
Utilizing a bank card can produce other benefits, too. Bank cards provide layers of federal safety that may assist cardholders dispute fees and get a refund if issues go awry with an merchandise or service bought with a card, consultants say.
Some playing cards additionally provide buy protections, a type of insurance coverage in opposition to theft or damages, per NerdWallet. Make certain to learn the wonderful print of what your bank card affords and the way lengthy the phrases final.
Do not tackle debt for a ‘short-term occasion’
Nevertheless, the important thing with bank cards “is to pay in full,” mentioned Ted Rossman, a senior trade analyst at Bankrate.
“I undoubtedly wouldn’t advocate placing wedding ceremony bills on a card if you are going to be dragging that out over time,” he mentioned.
Not paying the stability off will go away you with high-interest debt as you begin your new marriage.
Practically 1 / 4, or 24%, of newlyweds married inside two years of the survey are nonetheless paying the debt off, in response to LendingTree. Of people who nonetheless owe cash, 47% mentioned they may end paying the debt in six months to a yr.
“You do not need to sacrifice your long-term well-being for a short-term occasion,” Rossman mentioned.
A 0% APR bank card could be a device for wedding ceremony funds, as you may be paying little to no curiosity on excellent balances for a time period. Nevertheless, ensure to complete paying off the cardboard earlier than the promotion expires, consultants say. In any other case, no matter stability is left will then get curiosity tacked on.
Think about bank card charges, money reductions
As you start to plan the marriage and attain out to distributors, ask in the event that they settle for bank cards as a type of cost, mentioned Jason Rhee, a marriage planner in Los Angeles.
Some distributors may take solely money or test funds, whereas others may cost extra processing charges for bank cards, Rhee mentioned. Such extra fees can vary from 1.5% to three.5%, in response to Bankrate.
Assess whether or not paying the additional value is each reasonably priced and value it to you, or if it is best to make use of a unique type of cost with the seller, mentioned Lauren Kay, govt editor of The Knot.
What’s extra, some distributors might provide reductions for funds in money.
Wedding ceremony insurance coverage trumps credit score protections
Whereas bank cards can provide sure protections to incurred funds or purchases, they may not provide broader protections or insurance policies to cowl bigger expenditures, such because the reception or the venue, Kay mentioned.
“In most cases, your bank card would not provide any actual profit if one thing had been to go improper with a purchase order of that magnitude,” mentioned Kay.
For such bills, wedding ceremony insurance coverage insurance policies could be a good choice to contemplate. They assist defend you from sudden dangers reminiscent of excessive climate, theft or a vendor who did not present up, mentioned Kay.
Wedding ceremony insurance coverage coverage pricing can vary from lower than $100 to greater than $1,000, in response to NerdWallet, relying on the dimensions of your coverage and the sorts of protection.
“It is essential to consider what you are hoping to guard,” Kay mentioned.
