Budgeting a wedding in two currencies: NT$ and S$ banquet prices in US dollars
The hotel price lists in this site's Taiwan and Singapore banquet guides are quoted in NT$ and S$. At the Federal Reserve's published rates for October 30, 2026 (NT$32.59 and S$1.2776 per US dollar), a 20-table banquet at ILLUME Taipei's listed price comes to about $13,366.06, and one at Amara Singapore's listed price to about $35,436.94. The rate you actually get, and the fees on top of it, can move that figure by hundreds or thousands of dollars, so decide how you will convert before you compare quotes.
Your starting checklist
- Write down which currency each quote is in, and whether tax and service charge are already included.
- Choose one dated reference rate for comparing quotes, and write the date beside every converted figure.
- Ask each vendor how it takes payment and in which currency it invoices, before you assume a fee.
- Test your total at a rate a few percent worse than today's before you commit.
- Record each payment in your home currency at the rate you actually received.
Six real banquet totals in US dollars
These are real published prices taken from the worksheets behind the Taiwan and Singapore guides, each for 20 tables (200 guests at 10 per table), then converted at one reference rate. The Taiwan totals include the 10% charge those lists add. The Singapore totals add the 10% service charge and then 9% GST, except the Holiday Inn price, which the page calls nett without defining it, so nothing is added to it. The 9% GST is an assumption in the Amara and Hilton rows: those documents do not state a rate. The conversion uses the Federal Reserve's H.10 daily rates for October 30, 2026, as shown by FRED (page last updated November 2, 2026): NT$32.59 and S$1.2776 per US$1. These are reference rates, not a rate a bank or card will necessarily give you.
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Hotel and plan | Listed total, 20 tables | Rate used | In US dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILLUME Taipei: 2026 banquet package, weekday | NT$435,600 | NT$32.59 per US$1 | $13,366.06 |
| Taipei Tiancheng Grand Hotel: Entry tier, from | NT$347,600 | NT$32.59 per US$1 | $10,665.85 |
| Taipei Mandarin Oriental: Signature series, lowest of range | NT$721,600 | NT$32.59 per US$1 | $22,141.76 |
| Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium: Ballroom banquet, standard 2026, low end (nett) | S$35,380 | S$1.2776 per US$1 | $27,692.55 |
| Amara Singapore: Monday to Friday, 8-course Chinese menu | S$45,274.24 | S$1.2776 per US$1 | $35,436.94 |
| Hilton Singapore Orchard: Imperial Ballroom, Saturday dinner | S$54,866.24 | S$1.2776 per US$1 | $42,944.77 |
The spread is the useful part. Among these six, the lowest Taiwan total is about $10,665.85 and the highest Singapore total about $42,944.77. That gap mostly comes from price lists, not from the rate, but the rate sits on top of every one of these figures. Because the two countries use different currencies, a Taiwan quote and a Singapore quote should be converted with the same method and the same date before you compare them. The two sources also differ in what they cover: Taiwan prices come from hotel pages and news reports, Singapore prices from hotel documents and pages, and neither is a binding quote. Ask the hotel for a written one.
What a 5% move in the rate does
Exchange rates change daily, and a wedding is booked months before it is paid in full. To see the effect, the table recalculates two of the totals with the local currency 5% weaker or 5% stronger than the October 30 rate. The 5% is an illustration, not a forecast, and I did not use historical data to choose it.
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Hotel | Local currency 5% stronger | At the October 30 rate | Local currency 5% weaker | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILLUME Taipei | $14,069.54 | $13,366.06 | $12,729.58 | $1,339.96 |
| Amara Singapore | $37,302.05 | $35,436.94 | $33,749.47 | $3,552.58 |
For ILLUME Taipei the two ends differ by $1,339.96, and for Amara Singapore by $3,552.58. A stronger local currency makes the same price cost more in dollars; a weaker one makes it cost less. Neither direction is predictable from this page.
Timing within a payment plan matters too. Suppose, as an illustration only, that half of ILLUME's NT$435,600 is paid now at 32.59 ($6,683.03) and the other half later. If the NT$ rate had moved 5% weaker, the second half would cost $6,364.79 and the total $13,047.82. If it had moved 5% stronger, the second half would cost $7,034.77 and the total $13,717.80. Neither payment schedule is taken from the hotel's price list. Ask for the real deposit and balance dates, then price each payment at its own rate, using the payment calendar approach.
Fees on top of the rate
The rate is not the only cost of paying in another currency. Two U.S. card issuers' public pages give different typical ranges for a foreign transaction fee. American Express's overseas purchases page (last updated July 23, 2026) says cards with these fees often charge 1% to 3% of each transaction, about $3 extra per $100. Chase's page on avoiding foreign transaction fees (no date shown apart from a 2026 copyright notice) says they usually run 2% to 5% and may apply to the full purchase including shipping and taxes. Issuers differ, so the card agreement decides.
To show the scale, the table applies 1%, 3% and 5% to the two converted totals. It is arithmetic only: neither page says whether a hotel banquet payment would be treated as a foreign transaction, and I did not find the price lists stating how these hotels take payment.
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Hotel | Converted total | Fee at 1% | Fee at 3% | Fee at 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILLUME Taipei | $13,366.06 | $133.66 | $400.98 | $668.30 |
| Amara Singapore | $35,436.94 | $354.37 | $1,063.11 | $1,771.85 |
American Express's page also says that when a merchant or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, known as dynamic currency conversion, choosing the local currency is the best way to avoid those charges. A bank transfer is a different route with its own outgoing fee and its own exchange rate, and I found no public figure that fits every bank. Ask your bank for the transfer fee and the rate it will apply before you send a deposit.
The CSV lists the six conversions with the rate date and the 5% scenarios. It is a reference worksheet, not a Planner backup to restore.
Build your own two-currency budget
- Collect each quote in its own currency. Keep the original figure, the currency symbol and what it includes, such as service charge and tax.
- Pick a comparison rate and date. A public daily rate, such as the Federal Reserve's, is fine for comparing quotes. Write the date beside every converted number.
- Add a cushion for the rate. Decide how much worse than today's rate you want to plan for, and test your total at that rate. The 5% above is only an example.
- Add the cost of paying. Ask your card issuer or bank for its foreign transaction or transfer fee in writing, and add it to each payment.
- Record each payment at the rate you received. Keep the local amount in your own notes and enter the home-currency amount in your plan, so your plan reflects what left your account.
The planner's display currency option changes how amounts are labeled and formatted. It does not convert amounts, so enter figures you have already converted.
Sources
Each page was read on November 8, 2026. Prices come from the worksheets behind the two linked guides, which record their own source dates.
- FRED: Taiwan dollars to U.S. dollar spot exchange rate (H.10): NT$32.59 per US$1 on October 30, 2026; page last updated November 2, 2026.
- FRED: Singapore dollars to U.S. dollar spot exchange rate (H.10): S$1.2776 per US$1 on October 30, 2026; page last updated November 2, 2026.
- American Express: what you should know about foreign transaction fees: 1% to 3% typical range, dynamic currency conversion advice; page last updated July 23, 2026.
- Chase: how to avoid foreign transaction fees: 2% to 5% typical range; no page date shown.
- Taiwan wedding banquet costs in English and Singapore wedding banquet costs: the published hotel prices converted above, with their own sources and dates.
These are general information about conversion and card fees from two U.S. issuers, not financial advice. Your own bank or card agreement sets the real rate and fees.