How do you get a $40,000 wedding for $3,000? If you're Jennifer Mae Fletke and Chris Watters, you barter, borrow, and bargain your way there. The couple traded the videotaping and editing services of their production company for other vendors to sign on for their wedding day. When it came to getting a photographer and videographer, they offered to simply take some projects off their competitors' plates after the wedding.
While the couple used their creativity to trade their time and skills, some aspects of the wedding couldn't be handled through bartering. Jennifer brought out her bargaining guns to get the venue she wanted for half its usual price and negotiated a rate for out-of-town guests that would put most Priceline deals to shame. She was able to get her guests a four-night-stay for $150 from the typical nightly rate of $200 to $400, and at the last minute a bridal salon agreed to lend the bride-to-be a wedding gown that she loved.
The events design firm they hired commended the couple's efforts and said, "To stay on top of the economy, you really have to put yourself out there. You have to have the right tools to promote your company and your services." If you're not in the industry like Fletke and Watters then your bartering success rate would likely be much lower, but it doesn't mean you couldn't try in some areas.
The Body Shop
APC
Nike
Wow, I'm impressed. She must have had some serious leverage with that hotel, as in, they were probably going to close down a wing, but they wanted to get some heads in beds. Good for her!
1i'm impressed but i am also not very good at bartering (i back down really easy and always take no for an answer!) and i don't really have the time to try that hard. i usually just pay for crap to save time.
2Damn that sounds like a lot of work ontop of all the planning!
3I got married the old fashion way- my parent paid for it
Good on them! Way better than the website where random chick asks for donations.
4Good for the couple, but I have to say she is likely to be a bridezilla.
5Good for them.
6really though they're going to be doing all this extra work for free after the wedding though so they'll be losing money at that point.
7Wow, I'm pretty amazed. Bartering takes a lot of balls and I don't think I'd be brave enough to try it for the majority of those things. Kudos to them, though...sure beats that woman who set up that dumb website to get people to give her money for her wedding.
8You have to have the "intenion", know what you want,what you will pay its a lot like life
9Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.