Whatever the size of your budget, managing your wedding budget is a crucial part of the wedding planning process and staying within the constraints of affordability is really important. So in this blog I'll explain a really simple way of saving money on an unnecessary cost so that you can spend on the truly important things or add a few luxe extras.
Getting married in France means that you will have to pay your suppliers in Euros yet you are working on a budget in your local currency. Through the course of your planning you will make multiple payments to all of your suppliers (booking deposit + final payment x multiple suppliers).
Each time you make these payments you could be wasting money and although it may initially seem small amounts, multiply it by the number of payments you will make and it soon adds up!
NEVER ASK YOUR BANK TO MAKE A PAYMENT FROM YOUR LOCAL CURRENCY TO A EURO ACCOUNT! If you go to your usual bank and ask them to make a payment from your local currency to a Euro account they will either a) charge you a fee or b) offer you a terrible exchange rate.
We all know the big banks love to take our money, so here's how you can prevent them from taking a cut of your wedding budget.
Open up a currency transfer account with an online company such as Wise or Revolut. This is really quick and easy to do and here's how it works...
When you sign up to Wise or Revolut you will be given an online account with currency 'wallets' in the currency of your choosing. For example, if you are in the UK you will see a 'wallet' in your account in GBP and one in EUR. You can then make a bank transfer from your UK bank account in GBP to load up your GBP 'wallet'. Then, within the App/website you can convert your GBP to your EUR wallet at the current market rate. Finally, from your EUR wallet you can make a direct bank transfer to your suppliers in EUR at no charge.
Of course, this works for any local currency and you can have multiple currency 'wallets' so if your honeymoon is in Australia you create an Australian Dollar 'wallet' and seamlessly, and cheaply, convert your money!
So what are the benefits?
You get a significantly better exchange rate from your local currency to Euros.
You are not charged for any direct bank transfer payments.
These companies will also offer a debit card so you can make payments in Euros at no cost when you are in France and you can draw out cash from local ATM'S.
A Case Study
I recently received a deposit payment of €320 from a couple. They had sent it from their UK bank account and I was sent a notification that their bank had given them an exchange rate of 1.0095. The exchange rate on Wise on that day was 1.16. So they spent £41.16 more than then had to. Now, multiply that by every payment that couple will be making to their suppliers and you can see the savings!
In Conclusion
Simply, don't let the big banks enjoy your wedding budget - Every penny or cent you spend should go towards creating your magical French wedding.
This blog is for information only and does not constitute financial advice, is not an endorsement for the named companies, and you are encouraged to do your own research and make your own independent financial decisions.