Valley couple paying $0 for $60,000 wedding
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- June is a big month for weddings and one Valley couple is working hard to get ready for theirs in ten days.
It comes with a price tag already above $60,000 and getting higher. But this couple won't pay a penny.
Isaac Aaron Piche got the answer he hoped would come when he took a knee to propose to his best friend of seven years, Jessica Norgard.
"She said yes," he told a camera operator just seconds after the proposal. But as they plan the wedding itself, the couple has heard a lot of 'nos', and their budget is a big reason.
Isaac and Jessica are trying to do it all without paying a thing. Instead, they're bartering for everything -- from Jessica's wedding dress to the venue to the catering.
The couple runs a video production company called Isaac Aaron Media, making documentaries and commercials.
Isaac's the director. Jessica's the negotiator in chief. And when they took their idea of bartering video production for wedding favors to a bridal show, they found a gourmet cake chef with an open mind.
"It sounded like a super fun idea so we jumped on board," said Liz Rodriguez, of Crme de la Cake in Northwest Fresno.
Crme de la cake was the first vendor to get on board with the barter system and after that, it just sort of steamrolled.
"I think this last month everything has come together and it's been like boom, boom, snowballing," Jessica said.
Jessica got her dress (and all the other wedding clothes) from Black Tie Bridal Lace, Paradise Springs near Oakhurst is the venue, and after their most complicated negotiation, Painted Table is catering.
"We were just looking for something very simple, very easy buffet and they were like 'No, that's not what we do. We do it fabulous, over the top. We do it extreme and that's what we want to do for your wedding,'" Jessica said. "And we were like 'Do you want to do trade?'"
Almost by accident, the wedding's price tag has climbed above $60,000. And with a camera crew always in tow, it's all been recorded for a new documentary called "Silver Barter the Movie."
But with the wedding fast approaching, Jessica and Isaac have started considering the next steps of their life together -- albeit through the same lens.
"He wants to trade for our house," Jessica said. "He wants to then trade for the baby. He wants to do this whole thing."
"I think you could literally take this business model of filmmaking and apply it to almost any industry," Isaac said.
But first, a wedding made possible by a chorus of 'I dos'. Isaac and Jessica are still hoping to trade for rings and a honeymoon before their big day.
Their documentary is scheduled for release in November. And you can see clips from the movie and keep up with its progress on their website at www.silverbarterthemovie.com.
For more information:
www.facebook.com/silverbarterthemovie
