Graduate Loan - Wedding

bouncydog1

And what about a contribution from the other half? The days have long passed when the bride's family paid for the wedding (although I am sure there are still families that can afford to do this which is great)!

£11k is a ridiculous amount to pay for one day - my OH and I had a quiet wedding in the registry office and 30 years later are still married. My earlier full church do, rolls royce's etc, paid for in full by my parents lasted less than 1 year!!!

You can have a great wedding for way under that - one of the nicest weddings we went to was a diy job - friend made the dress, another the cake, another provided cars, another did photos. Reception at a fab venue where the couple could take in their own wine and champagne which was bought cheaply on a day trip to france. Hand made invitations, order of service etc. Total cost including honeymoon in far east was under £5k.

Please don't get yourself into debt - what does your other half have to say about it all - if they are happy for you to do this, then you have to question why - if they know nothing about it, starting a marriage on lies is not a good way to go.

vacheron

Hi sr1.

I'm afraid from the responses you have rececved that it appears that you have worded your question incorrectly.

Try posting again but using the word "Car" instead of "Wedding"

Regarding affordability, when I was 23, a couple of years after leaving university (who had any cash savings at that age?), I took out a loan for £14,000 to buy a car over 3 years from my bank (Halifax) the rate was 8.9% then IIRC. Perhaps it wasn't necessary but I enjoyed that car for 9 years and had no problems at all paying the loan back while earning less than you. I have never needed to borrow since.

For some reason taking on a debt that will be completely cleared in 4 years for a day that will hopefully last you a lifetime does not appear to be an appropriate reason to borrow money, however taking an 11K loan for a car which will require replacement in 5 years (probably with another loan, resulting in a potential lifetime of debt) seems to appear nowhere near as outrageous to many?

Personally we spent 12K on our wedding (£12,737.56 to be exact! ), and I am one of the most frugal people I know and would have been happy with a registry office and a clip on shirt! , However in many cases a wedding is a day for the bride who may have dreamt about it since she was a little girl and couldn't care less what kind of car you have. Having done the whole thing "properly" including the exclusive hire of a castle for the weekend and really treating a close group of 40 real long term friends and family, I don't regret it one bit.

I have an extensive SOA of my wedding and really did keep close control of things but it is amazing how the little details can push up the prices. We used savings to pay for ours and this would always be preferable, but it is none of my business why you need the wedding to happen soon.

This is just my personal opinion to provide a little balance, saving, investing, LBYM is great and I love it, but what are you saving for if not for the momentous events in your life, of whch marriage is certainly one. Don't overpay by any means and get lots of quotes and haggle for best value for money at every turn like we did, but if you want to pay for something special for hopefully a once in a lifetime event, then you go for it!

ViolaLass

I think you'll find few people on this board who would condone the idea of taking out an £11k loan for a car.

Also, it's the marriage that is the (hopefully) once in a lifetime event, not the wedding. You can have more parties any time you want. The idea of getting deeply into debt for it is just daft (and not the same as saving for the 'momentous events' of your life, as you recommend).

koloko

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cmmmissexy

Hi Sr1

I agree with
vacheron


FYI I am searching the forums for similar advice. We are getting married in a year, and will look to borrow 7k for wedding, so you are not alone. We are on combined 40K par an, and hope to get accepted, but are in the process of cleaning up credit score/report.

Thanks for this discussion, helpful.

Let us know how you get on and any advice you can share. And good luck.

KingElvis

I would imagine the debate is pointless as I seriously doubt the bank would entertain this loan anyway.

11k loans are like hen's teeth at the moment.

Gleeful

vacheron wrote: »

Hi sr1.



Personally we spent 12K on our wedding (£12,737.56 to be exact! ), and I am one of the most frugal people I know and would have been happy with a registry office and a clip on shirt!

We spent 6k on ours. For that we got:

Church wedding
Exclusive use of a parkland venue
85 people for a 3 course meal
Further 40 people for the evening
Band
DJ
Trumpet player for the church
8 bridesmaids
1 flowergirl
Page boy
3 ushers
Classic car as wedding transport
Designer dress worth 3k
Photographer

So it can be done!

My pics are here if anyone wants to see how it all went together: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3247640

FATBALLZ

I agree with most of the people on here that £11k on a wedding is a waste of money, but that's your decision and if you're happy with it so be it.

I've had 3 loans with HSBC now, one a couple of years after graduating for £15k (graduate loan), one last year for £6500, and very shortly a mortgage for £115000. Have to say I've never done half the preparation you have, but I could afford the repayments and they've been happy to lend me the money. I do bank with them as well which probably helps.

telboyo

I notice the OP does not mention housing costs in his original post.

I baulk at the thought of 11K for a wedding because greater cost equals greater complexity and more to worry about and less time to enjoy the day.

The problem with big weddings is that they have a tendency to get out of hand, in the pursuit of perfection the bride can spend so much time worrying about the guests that shhe neglects some of her own happiness.
When my daughter got married recently she would frequently call me and cry because she could not please everyone without upsetting other people.

I told her firmly to think ONLY of her self and husband to be as everyone else- including all parents did not really matter. To be honest if a "friend" won't come to your wedding because they are vegetarian/tee total/ glutomaniac or would prefer it on a sunday (all of these were brought to my daughter's attention) she should not go out of her way to accommodate them. In the end these people came along and ate drank what they could and had a good time with out any extra effort from my DD.

Keep it simple keep it cheap an keep it happy.


(P.S, if you do get a loan don't get a joint one because it is really messy if you get divorced!)

CH27

I cannot believe that people want to start their married life in so much debt for one day.
Madness.