Wedding Budget Feeling Tight? Today’s High Interest Rates Can Help You Save Hundreds More
Key Takeaways
- Saving for a wedding often takes a year or longer, so earning more interest on your money can help cover the costs.
- A high-yield savings account can earn 4–5%, which is 10–13 times higher than the national average of 0.38%.
- The best CDs also offer strong returns you can lock in for several months or longer, helping protect your rate if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates.
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The Hidden Cost of Keeping Your Wedding Fund in a Regular Savings Account
Weddings are a significant expense, and they’re only getting pricier. A recent survey by Zola shows how much wedding budgets have climbed:
- The average wedding cost rose from $29,000 in 2023 to $36,000 in 2025.
- That’s a 24% increase in just two years.
- Most couples budget between $20,000 and $75,000 for their wedding.
If you’re planning for something memorable, you’ll need to start saving now. However, as inflation continues, many savers could fall short of their budgeting goals as they get closer to tying the knot. That’s because a regular savings account misses out on the higher interest you could earn elsewhere and allows inflation to erode your money’s purchasing power.
Wedding Savers Can Earn 10-13 Times More With a High-Yield Account
If your wedding savings are in a standard account, you might earn 0.01% to 0.38% APY, far below today’s top rates. The best high-yield savings accounts offer around 4% to 5% APY, with banks like Varo Bank and Adelphi Credit Union at the higher end. That’s up to 13 times more interest.
“Many couples have been saving for years for the wedding they’ve always envisioned,” said Briana Severson, chief marketing officer at Zola. Zola’s survey found that almost half of respondents (49%) said they saved up for their wedding for multiple years.
With that much time to earn compounding interest, the difference in your savings balance over a few years is dramatic between putting it in a typical savings account vs. a high-yield savings account. See our calculations below for how much your $10,000 wedding savings could turn into over one to four years.
| Savings account | Balance after 1 year | Balance after 2 years | Balance after 3 years | Balance after 4 years |
| Big bank paying 0.01% | $10,001 | $10,002 | $10,003 | $10,004 |
| National average 0.38% | $10,038 | $10,076 | $10,114 | $10,153 |
| High-yield account at 4.50%* | $10,450 | $10,920 | $11,412 | $11,925 |
Even in just one year, you could earn more than $400 in extra earnings from a high-yield account. That’s free money you can put toward your wedding budget.
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Should You Consider a Short-Term CD for Wedding Savings? Here’s When It Makes Sense
If you’re planning your wedding years ahead, a certificate of deposit (CD) can be a smart way to boost your savings. CD rates stay fixed for the full term, unlike savings accounts, which can drop at any time. With Fed rate cuts expected this year, locking in a CD now could help you earn more in the long run.
Currently, the best nationwide CD rates reach as high as 4.60%. That’s available on a 7-month certificate from Connexus Credit Union. But you can also choose from numerous certificates offering 4.50% on terms as long as 12, 14, or even 21 months—or slightly lower rates for 3, 4, or 5 years. You could substantially boost your wedding fund by ensuring a mid-4% return for an extended period.
But until the CD matures, you won’t be able to access your money without incurring an early withdrawal penalty. So, only put money in a CD you know you won’t need for a while. For instance, maybe you know you’ll have a catering bill due after the big day. That money could be safely kept in a CD, so long as you choose a term that matures before the caterer expects payment.
Saving with a CD also has another benefit. Given the threat of an early withdrawal penalty, you’ll be more likely to keep the money saved and not spend it on an unplanned purchase. Just be sure to always keep a solid cash reserve in a more accessible savings account, so that if you need to withdraw some wedding funds unexpectedly, you can take them from savings and avoid breaking your CD before maturity.
Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts
We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:
Important
Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.
How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates
Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.