Are you and your better half starting to plan your dream wedding day? A wedding is usually (and hopefully) one of the most magical and important days of your life and we know that you want it to be perfect.
The thing about weddings, is that behind the magical atmosphere, tears of love and beautiful memories to share is a mountain of planning and organisation.
One thing no one tells you before getting engaged is that throwing a wedding, even on a tight budget, is expensive. In New Zealand, the ‘average’ wedding costs approximately $35,000… which is a lot of cash to have ready in your back pocket, especially if you were like the majority of us when getting engaged, not thinking about the price of a wedding!
Even if you have help from whānau and friends or have been saving up for your special day, sometimes, we all need a little help, especially when it comes to getting your wedding to the dream level.
The venue, celebrant, DJ, bar, catering, decorations, dresses or suits… it all adds up. Your wedding is supposed to be your dream day, to celebrate love with your nearest and dearest, and you shouldn’t have to compromise on that.
At Pioneer Finance, we understand that your perfect wedding should be just that, perfect. If money is tight or your budget needs a boost, a wedding loan could be the thing that takes you from if only… to let’s do it!
Place for wedding ceremony with wedding arch decorated with palm leaves, orchid flowers and floral peacocks, bulbs garland and white chairs outdoors
So, what exactly is a wedding loan?
A wedding loan is a kind of personal loan that you take out to help pay for wedding-related costs. These could be the venue, catering, music or much more.
The wedding loans we offer can range anywhere from $500 to $100,000, depending on the security offered for the loan and the amount you need.
A loan term, or the length of time between taking out the loan and having to pay it back, can range between 12 – 84 months (depending on your needs). A typical loan would be between $5000 and $20,000 and would have a term between 36 and 48 months.
During that term, you’ll know what and when you owe because of clearly set out repayment plans, meaning there are no sneaky (and shocking) surprises.
One thing you need to know before considering a wedding loan is that you will have to pay interest (as is the case is with almost all forms of loans or credit). Our interest rates range from 11.95% to 27.95%, with 27.95% being considered the highest end and very unusual. Find out [here] how we calculate our interest rates, and what rate you would qualify for.
At Pioneer Finance, we don’t have fees or penalties for lump sum paybacks, we have the opposite. That means if you pay a little extra than your set rate every week, or pay back in a lump sum, your total interest cost will be reduced. That’s because our interest is calculated based on the daily balances of the loan, and charged once a month.
If you do take out a loan and you realise you’re going to repay it earlier than the term you initially thought, that’s known as an early repayment. Pioneer Finance sees honesty as the best policy. We’re upfront about any potential charges and we do charge an early repayment fee. It’s a $75.00 once-off fee and covers our admin costs for ending the loan repayments early.
A wedding loan can be used for so many things around or on your big day. The possibilities are endless. A few ideas to get the ball rolling include:
Catering and venue hire for your wedding reception can be a large part of your wedding expense.
Before entering into any big decision, like taking out a wedding loan to help achieve your perfect wedding day, Pioneer Finance think it’s important for you to know what alternatives are out there.
A very common alternative is a credit card. Credit cards have their pros and cons. What’s worth noting, is that they often come with higher interest rates and are a solution for when you need cash day to day, rather than for a set event with set costs. You can find out more about the difference between a credit card and any form of personal loan, including a wedding loan [here] .
Another option, which you’ve probably already explored, is to save for a few years. This isn’t ideal if your wedding is coming up and already planned, but if you haven’t set a wedding date, this is an obvious one.
Something great about Pioneer Finance’s wedding loans is that you can tailor the amount to as little or large as you need. If you already have savings in your wedding budget and are only after a small top-up to take it to the next level, we’re here to help!
The final (and often least desirable) alternative is to cut costs. There are lots of creative ways you can cut costs for your wedding. However, we understand that you want your wedding day to be just as you imagined it. If you’ve already cut costs in all the places you’re comfortable with and there are a few non-negotiable must-haves for your dream day, Pioneer Finance can give you that extra hand to make your dream a reality…we understand there’s only so much arts and crafts a person can handle.
If your perfect wedding day is on the horizon and you’re thinking about acquiring a little extra room in your budget, but have exhausted your savings and already had family or friends help out, Pioneer Finance are here to support you. We want to help make your dream wedding day come true.
If you want to know more about the services we offer and have a chat about your wedding Contact the team at Pioneer Finance here today!
Or continue reading to find what information you need and how to get approved for a Wedding Loan.
A Wedding loan is a fixed term, fixed interest rate, Secured or Unsecured loan used for Wedding Dress, Suits, Venue Hire, Celebrant, Bar Tab, Band or DJ and many more things required to make your magical day one to remember.
What you will learn in this Wedding Loan Guide:
Once you have decided what you need the wedding loan for you can apply and receive the funds in your bank account to pay for Wedding Dress, Suits, Venue Hire, Celebrant, Bar Tab, Band or DJ and many more things required to make your magical day one to remember. The best thing is you can start paying your loan of before your trip. You then repay the loan amount – plus interest and fees over a fixed term. Repayments can be calculated weekly, fortnightly or monthly to suit your regular income.
When it comes to deciding on a wedding loan you need to look at the benefits as opposed to the alternatives:
As you can see taking a holiday loan gives you the certainty of when you will pay the loan off, what rate, what repayments and the flexibility to increase the loan or repay the loan early.
Saving for your wedding is a great way to pay for all of your expenses, however with the average cost of a wedding in New Zealand being $35,000 it could take you 2 years of saving $336 per week. Even with help from family this can delay the process and also add to an already stressful time while planning for your perfect day.
We can use the following securities:
For some applicants we may be able to help you with an unsecured loan.
The loan terms we are able to offer depends on the security offered. Below is a table detailing the terms we can offer:
| Security | Minimum Term | Maximum term |
| Property | 1 Month | 7 Years |
| Motor Vehicles less than 10 years old | 1 Year | 4 Years |
| Motor vehicles older than 10 years | 1 Year | 3 Years |
| Motor vehicles older than 18 years | 1 Year | 2 Years |
| Boats & Jetskis | 1 Year | 3 Years |
You can apply for a wedding loan with Pioneer Finance if you are:
You do need to show that you have the affordability for the loan and that you are who you say you are. You can do this by providing the following:
Depending on the security offered for the loan we may require further information such as rates notice, mortgage statement’s or proof of purchase.
Depending on the security offered we will do checks with the following registers:
Don’t worry if your credit check has a couple of bumps and bruises we may still be able to help you.
Wedding loans will have various fees attached, which may include:
| An establishment fee once you loan is approved and you have accepted the terms | $165-$550 |
| Ongoing monthly account fees | $9 |
| Motor Vehicle Security registration fees | $8.05 |
| Caveat registration fee | $160 |
| Early settlement fee | $75 |
| Caveat removal fee | $155 |
Some of these fees will be charged to the loan upfront or are calculated in your weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments. Other fees can be charged at the end of the loan term such as early settlement fees or if you used your property as security a caveat removal fee can be charged.
For more details on our fees and charges go to our Interest rates and fees page in the important information section.
When getting a wedding loan it is important to look at all of the costs and fees and often using security for your loan can reduce the interest rate offered. Secured loans may take a little longer to process but are of lower risk to the lender and can reduce your overall cost.
No Security? Don’t worry you can still get an Unsecured Loan. The interest rates might be a little bit higher, but getting an unsecured personal loan can be a great alternative to a credit card. Here are some great reasons why you should look at getting an unsecured personal loan rather than a credit card:
Amount Borrowed $10,000.00
Establishment Fee $395.00
Payment Protection Insurance $824.48
PPSR Fee $8.05
Total including fees and insurances $11,227.53
Interest Rate 16.95%pa
Monthly Account Fee $12.00
Loan Term 36 Months
35 Monthly repayments of $411.85 plus 1 final repayment of $411.41
The above is an example of a common loan request and gives you an indication of what the monthly loan repayments will be. Your establishment fee may be different depending on the security used and the time taken to process your application. We would also like to point out that the Payment Protection Insurance used in this quote is not compulsory.
In summary, wedding loans with Pioneer Finance:
