This story is part of our series on all things love and money. You can read more personal finance content from TD Stories here.

Ashley (not her real name), an operations manager in Toronto, accumulated about $28,000 in wedding debt from her nuptials in 2023. She shared her wedding budget story with us, and we asked a TD financial professional how she and her spouse could pay it off. Here’s her story.

My husband and I got engaged in October 2021. We toyed with the idea of getting married immediately. It was during the pandemic lockdown, and we would not have been able to invite more than 50 guests to an outdoor ceremony. That would have allowed us to justify inviting fewer people and spending less, but then we thought, what’s the point? We wanted to make a big deal out of our wedding and have a party that brings everyone together.

So, we decided to wait and booked out the reception hall of a curling club in Toronto in 2023. The total cost for that venue was $9,000, and it came with tables, chairs, and linens. The vibe of the space was chill and low-key. I wanted a wedding that was a little eclectic, where everyone felt free to let loose. Less flowers, more balloons.

“I don’t understand money”

My main character flaw is that money is very squishy to me. I don’t understand money, and my husband is the same way. We kind of trust-fell into the experience and paid for everything bit by bit instead of setting a budget and looking at what the total cost would be. One vendor would quote us $12,000, and another would quote us $5,000, so we would go with the $5,000 one.

We took out a $25,000 line of credit, which we used to pay the deposits on everything — photographer, flowers, catering, etc. Instead of a bridal gown, I had a custom suit made for $1,500. I wore shoes and accessories I already owned and bought a hat for $300. My reception dress was $600. I kept it simple with the flowers, just single flowers in vases at the table. That came to $3,000.

I decorated with colourful balloons, which cost $200. I got a friend of ours to DJ and we paid him $1,000, which is less than his normal wedding rate. Our cake was $700. Our photographer was $5,000, and I paid for hair and makeup for all my bridesmaids and myself, which was about $3,000. The food was where we really got hit, and cost around $22,000. It was a seated dinner, which was more expensive than a buffet. It was important for my husband’s mom to contribute in some way, so she paid for our bar tab – around $5,000.

Charging $20,000 on credit cards

The balances became due pretty quickly, and it wasn’t like we could wait to pay them until after the wedding. So, after maxing out the line of credit, we added everything we owed onto our various personal credit cards, which came to around $20,000. My husband had to increase the limit on one of his credit cards to be able to cover everything.

We received $17,000 in cash gifts at our wedding, which we immediately put towards the line of credit – but that left us with around $28,000 of remaining debt. How should we consider paying off that debt?

Christina Mikhael, Product Owner, Onboarding & Account Management, Everyday Advice Journey at TD, shares some advice on how Ashley and her spouse could tackle paying off their wedding debt. Here are her tips.

Debt is a common factor when it comes to the finances of many Canadians. Holding debt can feel overwhelming or stressful, but the good news is there are strategies that can help pay it off.

Focusing on highest interest rates first

One debt repayment strategy is called the “avalanche method.” This method can be useful if you have multiple sources of debt from credit cards, loans, and/or other sources. The avalanche method requires you to list all your debts by their interest rates, from the highest to lowest. While it’s important to make the minimum payments on all your debts, this method prioritizes paying more than the minimum payment for the debt with the highest interest rate.

Once the debt with the highest interest rate is paid off, you can move on to the next highest, and so forth. This approach aims to help lower the amount of overall interest you may be paying by putting more money towards paying down the principal of your highest interest rate debts.

Building momentum through the “snowball method”

Another strategy for paying off debt is the “snowball method.” This approach is slightly different as it focuses on building momentum by paying off your smaller amounts of debt first.

Just like the avalanche method, the snowball method requires you to list all your debts. This approach, however, asks you to order your debts from the smallest amount you currently hold — regardless of its interest rate — to the largest. So, for example, a $1,000 debt would come before a $5,000 one.

Under this method, you still make minimum payments on all your debts, but you allocate additional funds towards the smallest debt amount until it’s paid off. Then, you move to the next smallest amount.

Once these smaller debts are paid off, the monies that you were applying to them can be reallocated to pay off your larger debts. This approach can also have the bonus effect of giving you an emotional boost as you watch pieces of your debt load disappear.

Revisiting your budget

When faced with debt, many people may look to their budget to see if they can find some additional money to put towards debt repayment. Maybe there are areas where you could reduce spending, perhaps in the discretionary expense categories, such as dining out. If you can find any extra money in your budget, you could use it to repay more of your debt.

You can also check out the TD Personal Cash Flow Calculator to help you find discretionary expenses within your budget.

The bottom line is that debt is a common consideration for many Canadians, and there are different ways to approach repayment. Everyone’s financial situation and personal feelings towards debt management are different, so the way you approach debt repayment should be based on your specific financial situation.

TD Personal Bankers are also available to help clients navigate their financial circumstances. Figuring out how to manage debt isn’t a conversation Canadians need to have alone.