4 Reasons to Use a Credit Card to Pay for Your Wedding

Credit cards offer protections and perks that can really come in handy.

A wedding is intended to be a public celebration of your love, and the industry is a seriously big business. In fact, the average cost of a wedding in 2022 was $27,000. If you're hoping to spend a similar amount for your special day, you may be wondering how to pay for it. You might be fortunate enough to have family help, or maybe you've been saving money for years leading up to this point.

You could also consider a wedding loan, but I don't recommend going into debt for a wedding. After all, it's essentially what amounts to a big party, and you don't want to be paying off debt long after your friends and family stop calling you "the newlyweds."

However, in terms of actually making payments to your vendors and for your venue, I do recommend using a credit card (and then paying off the full balance with that money you've got stashed away). Here's why.

1. You'll get loss protection

A friend of mine from my undergraduate days recently told me a story about why "use a credit card" was the best piece of wedding advice she got. Her wedding venue was shut down before her ceremony due to permit violations -- it was a sketchy situation. She had paid $1,000 as a deposit to secure her ceremony's location. Since she had paid it using her credit card, she was able to get the cost refunded by turning the matter over to her credit card company. Other couples who had booked this venue and made cash deposits were not so lucky.

Credit card purchase protections can really come in handy, serving as back-up insurance in some situations. For example, if your wedding dress is stolen, and you used your credit card to pay for it, you might be able to get reimbursed for part of its cost. Read the fine print for the card you're considering using for wedding expenses.

2. You can easily keep track of your expenses

It's always a good idea to keep records of all the expenses you're paying for a big project like planning a wedding. Using a credit card can make this much easier, if you're using the same card for everything. You'll be able to sign into the issuer's website (or the card's mobile app) and see all your costs, along with the date you paid them. Easy!

3. You can earn cash back or points

Here is a major reason to use a credit card to cover those wedding costs. You can earn rewards on your spending with some credit cards, such as cash back. Do your research and pick the card that offers the best rewards on the spending you intend to do. You might also consider using a travel rewards credit card if you're planning a great honeymoon.

4. You might get 0% APR financing for a time

If you do need to finance part of your wedding costs, and you know that you'll be able to pay off those charges within a relatively short period of time, you could do worse than using a credit card with an introductory 0% APR period. This could be as long as 21 months for the best cards out there, giving you nearly two years to pay off your balance. Assuming you didn't charge a huge amount you can't afford to pay off, you can finance those costs without paying any interest.

Do note that you will still need to make at least the minimum payment during that 0% APR period, and it pays to do the math yourself, rather than relying on the credit card company's required minimum. If you've got a $5,000 balance and 21 months to pay it off, you can make payments of $238 per month and pay off your balance before you get charged extra.

As you can see, it could make sense to use a credit card to pay your venue, vendors, and even your honeymoon expenses. Just make sure you're making your payments on time, and ideally paying off your balance before you have the chance to earn interest -- you don't want to start your new married life with that kind of burden strapped to your back.