Spin-off: Do You Think It's OK to Go into Debt for a Wedding?

Personally FH and I knew we couldn't save up enough money for a wedding in NY in 1 year so we chose to have a 2 year engagement. We both chose to still live at home so that we could save as much as possible and have made a lot of sacrifices. I'm very happy that we have now saved up all the money we'll need for the wedding and honeymoon but the truth is none of us are in any position to judge someone going into debt. If you go into wedding planning knowing that there's no way you can afford it, then that isn't right but if you honestly think you can pay it off and then something unexpected happens, that's life.

Is anyone really going to post that they are great with going into debt?

I would hope not, but some people be crazy

Do I want to go into debt? Hell no. Am I? Hell yes. We have a super big family and wanted a shorter engagement. Are we putting a huge amount on credit cards? No. But we are putting some, and we really don't care. We know we are financially stable enough between the two of us to pay it off in a very short amount of time. Also, the beauty of 0% interest helps. I know we aren't the only ones that have done it either, a few people in our circle have opened the 0% interest cards and use it for the wedding and paid it all off in the time required. It's how we bought our rings as well. It's nice to still have cash in our bank account for any emergencies that come up.

We still have awhile, but as of now we are still on track for our budget so I don't see any reason that we would need to go in debt. That being said, if something comes up a month before the wedding, or we realized we forgot to factor something in and we have to put a little bit on our credit card, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. But I would never want to be in debt more than a few thousand because of the wedding.

I completely agree with having the wedding you can afford and not taking out loans or accruing major credit card debt to pay for your wedding. My DH and I saved for 15 months to be able to pay for our wedding and honeymoon. Now, that said, sometimes unexpected things come up. In our case, it was having to drop an extra $3.5K for a giant tent less than a week before the wedding, when the weather forecast took a dramatic turn for the worse and we knew that the rain shelter we had arranged for our outdoor ceremony and reception would not withstand the 2+ inches of accumulated rainfall and 60 mph winds. So I had to dip into my personal savings to make up the difference. And would have put that on a personal credit card had I needed to. I don't think that makes us irresponsible wedding planners, though.

I am having a wedding that I could not afford with just my normal salary. Knowing this, I picked up as many extra shifts as I could and even got a second per diem position to help sock money away. Our ultimate plan was to come out debt free in the end, and we are actually very close to doing that. I did put some of our final payment on a 0% APR card because I figured it was better to pay that off bits at a time, then to completely drain our savings account. We will also be putting any "extras" from our honeymoon cruise on that card. So, I guess my answer is no, you shouldn't go into life altering debt for your wedding but having a little bit owed in the end is okay as long as you have a valid strategy to pay it off quickly.

I say no, FH says yes.

See, we have enough in our accounts to pay off our wedding. But since we're young that would leave us with only a couple thousand in savings. So while I would love to just pay it upfront, it makes FH uneasy. He wanted to take out a loan. So we're compromising and using a credit card with 0% interest for the first 18 months, which we were able to qualify for.

I think the consensus is more being realistic about your wedding than glamorizing it. All have commented "debt is bad", but many defend their own "debt" with interest rates or budgets. Its a matter of what one is comfortable spending. Chances are, if you're willing to go into heavy debt for a wedding, you probably suck at managing your finances in general. Drive a car you can't afford? Live in a home or apt. you can't afford? Lived high on the hog in college and now have $100,000 in student debt? If this is your life, you probably wouldn't think hard about putting expensive/lavish wedding costs on high interest cc. What is expensive to one, may be affordable to the next, so it seems the range of weddings is based on what people find as affordable/manageable expenses, and have plans to get them paid, more than the "I deserve it" attitude and throw all financial integrity to the wind!

I don't think I can tell another couple what to do or what not to do. I feel like every situation is personal and different and without knowing the circumstances it's hard to say yeah or nah diffinitively.

However, I don't think starting a marriage off with debt is a good thing. Even if you have a plan to pay it off quickly, anything can happen and you could get messed up financially.

If you want to go into debt because you put a lot of priority on your wedding, ok. Who am I to tell you, you've got your priorities wrong or not to go into debt. But I would just be very cautious. I'd also try not to go too far into debt.