Utilizing bank cards to pay in your marriage ceremony: execs and cons

Many engaged {couples} within the U.S. are counting on types of credit score to pay for his or her marriage ceremony. Specialists say that strategy may be good, if performed fastidiously.

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, based mostly 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 marriage ceremony, together with utilizing factors or making use of for brand spanking new playing cards.

“In the event you’re strategic, a bank card may be an incredible instrument,” stated Matt Schulz, chief credit score analyst at LendingTree.

Extra from Private Finance:
‘Trump accounts’ include a $1,000 child bonus. The foundations get difficult
Scholar mortgage debtors could have ‘no reasonably priced choices’ below Trump
Trump’s ‘no tax on ideas’ sparks questions for employees

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, specialists say.

About 67% of surveyed newlyweds took on debt for his or her marriage ceremony, in keeping with LendingTree.

For brand spanking new playing cards, the typical annual proportion price, or the borrowing value, is 24.35%, the best since December, LendingTree discovered.

“In the end, an exquisite marriage ceremony ought to by no means come at the price of monetary stress to a brand new marriage,” stated Gloria Garcia Cisneros, an authorized monetary planner at LourdMurray, an funding and wealth administration agency.

Weddings have gotten dearer yearly. The common value for a marriage in 2025 is anticipated to be $36,000, in accordance to Zola. That is up from $33,000 in 2024, and $29,000 in 2023.

You probably have financial savings put aside to cowl your marriage ceremony prices, charging the expense to a bank card after which instantly utilizing these financial savings to repay the invoice may also help you earn rewards similar to factors or miles, stated Schulz.

Some bank cards supply large sign-up bonuses whenever you spend a set quantity on the cardboard inside a brief interval of opening it. That could be greater than you spend on regular bills, however inside attain you probably have large bills — similar to wedding-related purchases and deposits — developing.

By instantly paying that cost off together with your financial savings, you possibly can make the most of the rewards for issues similar to your honeymoon, Schulz stated.

“It is a option to make these financial savings work even more durable for you,” he stated.

Utilizing a bank card can produce other benefits, too. Bank cards supply layers of federal safety that may assist cardholders dispute expenses and get a refund if issues go awry with an merchandise or service bought with a card, specialists say.

Some playing cards additionally supply buy protections, a type of insurance coverage in opposition to theft or damages, per NerdWallet. Be sure that to learn the advantageous print of what your bank card presents and the way lengthy the phrases final.

Nevertheless, the important thing with bank cards “is to pay in full,” stated Ted Rossman, a senior trade analyst at Bankrate.

“I undoubtedly wouldn’t suggest placing marriage ceremony bills on a card if you are going to be dragging that out over time,” he stated.

Not paying the steadiness 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 keeping with LendingTree. Of people who nonetheless owe cash, 47% stated they are going to end paying the debt in six months to a yr.

“You do not wish to sacrifice your long-term well-being for a short-term occasion,” Rossman stated.

A 0% APR bank card could be a instrument for marriage ceremony funds, as you may be paying little to no curiosity on excellent balances for a time frame. Nevertheless, be certain to complete paying off the cardboard earlier than the promotion expires, specialists say. In any other case, no matter steadiness is left will then get curiosity tacked on.

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, stated Jason Rhee, a marriage planner in Los Angeles.

Some distributors would possibly take solely money or test funds, whereas others would possibly cost further processing charges for bank cards, Rhee stated. Such further expenses can vary from 1.5% to three.5%, in keeping with 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 special type of cost with the seller, stated Lauren Kay, govt editor of The Knot.

What’s extra, some distributors could supply reductions for funds in money.

Whereas bank cards can supply sure protections to incurred funds or purchases, they may not supply broader protections or insurance policies to cowl bigger expenditures, such because the reception or the venue, Kay stated.

“In most situations, your bank card would not supply any actual profit if one thing had been to go improper with a purchase order of that magnitude,” stated Kay.

For such bills, marriage ceremony insurance coverage insurance policies could be a good choice to contemplate. They assist shield you from sudden dangers similar to excessive climate, theft or a vendor who did not present up, stated Kay.

Wedding ceremony insurance coverage coverage pricing can vary from lower than $100 to greater than $1,000, in keeping with NerdWallet, relying on the scale of your coverage and the sorts of protection.

“It is vital to consider what you are hoping to guard,” Kay stated.