How to Pay for a Wedding

You just got engaged — congrats! You may already be picturing touring venues, attending menu tastings with your partner and choosing just the right decor to bring your love story to life. But as you’re planning the tiny details, there’s one big question to answer: How will you pay for it all?

Weddings can be expensive but understanding your options for how to pay might make the cost feel more manageable. Here, you’ll learn about setting a wedding budget and four potential ways to pay for your big day.

Setting a wedding budget

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of wedding planning and overspend. A clear budget helps you focus your spending on the details that mean the most to you.

How much do weddings cost?

In the U.S. in 2025, the average wedding cost more than $30,000.¹ Your exact cost will vary based on factors like your location and the number of guests you invite, with the average cost per guest hovering around $280.²

If those numbers sound intimidating, don’t worry. There’s no minimum spending requirement to have a meaningful, memorable celebration. In fact, a USA Today survey of newlyweds found that more than half of Americans spent under $10,000 on their weddings between 2021 and 2024.³

Deciding how much to budget

Start by assessing how much money you already have saved and how much of your income you can comfortably set aside for wedding expenses. Creating a solid budget will give you a clearer picture of what is realistic for your financial situation.

Next, research potential wedding costs based on your preferences, location and guest count. Once you have an idea of your expected costs, you can work backward to determine how much more you may need to save each month to meet your goal. You can do this by dividing your potential budget by the number of months until your wedding. For example, to save $28,000 for a wedding date one year away, you’d need to save about $2,330 per month.

If the number seems out of reach, consider whether you’re willing to borrow and what contributions — if any — might come from family or friends. If the total budget still feels unmanageable, you may want to consider a lower wedding budget or a longer timeline.

As you decide how much to spend, remember that some expenses, like attire and venue, are obvious, but others creep in unexpectedly. For example, you might decide to extend your DJ’s hours to keep the party going longer, or you might fall in love with a certain piece of decor at the last minute. Industry experts suggest adding a buffer of 5-10% to your total wedding budget to cover such costs.⁴

Categorizing and tracking

Breaking your wedding budget into categories could make planning and budgeting easier. A spreadsheet, like The Knot’s free Wedding Budget Spreadsheet Template could help you make and stick to a budget. You might also choose to use a wedding budgeting app like Bridebook to measure both your expected and actual spending against typical costs in your area.^5,6

With the math mapped out in advance, planning and paying for your wedding may feel less stressful.

4 ways to pay for a wedding

There isn’t one “right” way to cover wedding expenses. You might use more than one strategy to pay for your wedding, depending on your plans and finances.

Savings

Covering wedding costs with savings could help you avoid taking on unnecessary debt. By not getting a loan or paying with a credit card, you won’t need to make monthly payments or pay interest. If you’re starting to save from scratch, you might need to extend your wedding timeline, since many vendors often ask for a deposit on their services when you book. You might also consider trimming back on nonessential expenses or working extra hours to meet your savings target.

If you’ve already saved enough to cover your wedding budget, pulling from your savings might seem like a good option, since you don’t need to increase your income to do it. Before deciding, ask yourself a couple of questions. If the account earns interest, are you willing to give up the future earnings that money could have generated? Will spending that money on your wedding slow your progress toward other goals, like building an emergency fund or saving for a home? And, if so, do the benefits outweigh those risks?

Personal loan

Another option to pay for your big day is a wedding loan — a personal loan used for wedding expenses. The benefit of a wedding loan is that you can pay for everything now and repay the loan over time.

The loan amount, interest rate and term (the length of the loan) depend on several factors, including the lender, your credit history and your income. OneMain offers wedding loans from $1,500 to $20,000. If you’re approved, you could receive funds in your account, fast, as soon as one hour after signing the loan documents. Then, you can repay the money in predictable monthly payments with a fixed interest rate.

Remember that with any loan, missed or late payments will result in late fees and impact your credit score. If you pay on time, every time, you’ll owe the same amount each month over the term of the loan.

Support from family or friends

Some family or friends may offer to contribute to your wedding, either as a gift or as a family loan. Money from loved ones may even make it possible to cover items you may not be able to afford on your own, like fresh flowers or live music. However, contributions from family or friends may also come with more opinions about your wedding plans than you expected.

Before accepting help, make sure you understand if the support is a gift or a loan. If your loved one expects repayment, put the terms in writing. Also, agree upfront on how much say your friend or family member will have in the wedding and whether their contribution is tied to a specific part of the celebration.

Credit cards

Using credit cards could be a convenient way to handle vendor deposits and payments that pop up before your wedding fund has time to grow. If your card allows you to earn rewards or miles, you might be able to redeem them for honeymoon travel.

Some credit cards come with a temporary low annual percentage rate (APR), which is the total cost of borrowing, including interest and fees. However, after the promotional period ends, the balance will be subject to the higher, non-promotional APR.

Large balances may also hurt your credit score by increasing your utilization ratio, which is the percentage of credit you’re using compared to the total credit you have available.

---

---

Pay for your wedding your way

Your wedding is more than a celebration. It’s the first step toward a future in which you’ll share many things with your spouse, including finances. Deciding how to pay for your big day may feel overwhelming, but it’s also a chance to make your first money decisions as a couple. By choosing options that fit your budget and goals, you can honor your love in a way that feels meaningful while laying out the foundation for a strong financial future together.

Sources

1, 2 https://www.theknot.com/content/average-wedding-cost
3 https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/personal-loans/average-wedding-cost/
4 https://greenweddingshoes.com/ultimate-wedding-budget-breakdown/
5 https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-planning-spreadsheet
6 https://bridebook.com/us-en/wedding-planning-tools/budget