Wedding Budget Photographer and DJ in SoCal?

[choro72]

Hi, I didn''t want to threadjack DMB''s topic so I started my own. I would greatly appreciate any help on this.

I have budgeted $1000 for photography, and $300 for DJ

I know, I had no idea how much these things cost. We may be able to cut certain areas to add more money to the DJ, but probably nothing over $700 total.
I''m not too worried about the photographer, but I have no lead for a DJ. We''ll need someone who can do the ceremony music + 4 hour reception. I know I can''t ask for much but it will be nice if the DJ is the kind of person that can bring people to the dance floor...

I''ve tried ProjectWedding already, and the best I could find was $900 not including ceremony

I''ll hit Craigslist soon.

DMB, do you mind if I used your thread for my research too? My wedding is next June, so we definitely won''t be competing...

 

[musey]

Hey choro! We went extremely budget for the DJ, too... Believe me, I looked through pages and pages of DJs, and the cheapest one I found (without looking ridiculously bad) was DJs To Go. We are using the "mini wedding" package that's $595.

I can't speak to their ability to "bring people to the dance floor," since our wedding hasn't happened yet, so I dunno

meh.

 

[musey]

Oh oh, another site I've had good luck with is gigmasters.com/... wish I'd found it before booking the DJ, but we used it to find our ceremony musicians.

Anyway you contact performers and then they give you a "bid" tailored to your event, so it makes comparing easy!

 

[cellososweet]

propsfx is over $300. It''s right at $700. But it was really worth it. Our DJ was awesome. Rick Purcell. Got people on the floor, everyone was dancing at some point or other. He had recommendations. He was brilliant at understanding genres (I said play Chet Baker-ish music or jazz/blues during cocktail hour and I overhead not only Chet himself going, but Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Chris Thomas King, Pinetop Perkins, Coltrane). Told him to do upbeat Johnny Cash/Elvis and got them and the Big bopper, etc. at the buffet line. Awesome!!! If you are willing to go to $700, they would be my recommendation. Sorry I don''t know of anything closer to your budget. :-/

 

[choro72]

musey, thanks for the link! It sounds like a useful site...I''ll definitely check it out. I''ll be looking forward to your reviews after your wedding, but I hope we have them booked before then.

FI is not being as helpful as I would like...

cellososweet, Thanks for the referral. Is it this person? He is very young.

 

[DMBFiredancer]

choro, you TOTALLY could have highjacked my thread!


any information is helpful...i''m totally in the same boat as you!
i am still going through sticker shock with this wedding stuff...it''s crazy!
i am not much help for a DJ - i am probably going to go with the one the chart house recommended (DJs to go) because they have done that venue alot and they seem to be very professional so far in my dealings with them. they quoted me $950, which is what i expected to spend.

for photography, so far i am looking into these 2 people:
http://fairytaledreamer.com/ (she seems pretty new, i emailed to ask if i can see a full portfolio as per someone''s suggestion here...if i get that i will gladly share with you)

http://www.terrilinzmeier.com./ (she also has a daughter who takes pictures if you need 2 photographers)

where are you getting married in socal?

 

[choro72]

Thanks DMB, that''s so nice of you! Talk about sticker shock...I thought I was being smart already. I''m doing wholesale flowers with my aunt arranging them, assorted fruits in bowls for centerpiece arranged by my mom, cheap snacks for favors, printing invites myself, online RSVP...I really don''t know where else to cut.

Believe it or not, we''re having our wedding at UC Irvine! It''s called the UCI University Clubhouse, and they specialize in private events like this. The site charge is horrendous, but anything cheaper than this would have been renting a room, hiring caterers, servers, renting tables, etc. I''m doing so much DIY already that I needed to save my sanity somewhere.

We haven''t asked for a quote yet, but I''m planning contact some DJs that our UCI recommended. Other than that, a friend of ours recommended to go to theeventconsultants.com. They start at $599, and I''m sure with all the charges it''s going to come out to be more than $700...

I just checked out the Chart House. The food looks delicious! I think I''m going to have to drag FI out for lunch sometime

 

[DMBFiredancer]

we''re paying alot for the chart house (well, alot by my standards) so thats why im trying to cut corners in other places. all i wanted was a beach wedding...so was the easiest way to get it done...the ocean views from the chart house sold me, too! i''m going to do many of the same things (do my own invites, online rsvp, low cost simple centerpieces, very simple flowers, etc)
i''m trying to go as inexpensive as i can for a dress, too...

UC irvine is a beautiful place...i have a friend who lives near there!

 

[gnahclehcar]

I''ve also done so much researches about affordable DJs, & I found this one: The Music Man Productions

Their prices start from $675! How incredible is there

Another good thing about them is that they reply to my requests & inquiries in a timely manner.

I''m meeting with the DJ this Saturday, and I''ll definitely share more information (if they are really good or bad....

)

But as for the prices, they are probably the most competitive one I''ve seen.

Hope that helps

 

[maestro]

Sorry, I couldn''t find a way to private message you. I am a wedding photographer (just started looking on here a few months ago to buy my engagement ring), and I''d be willing to help you out. Send me an email and we can work something out: brandonpadams AT brandonpadams DOT com

Photos at:
http://www.brandonpadams.com/photos/weddings

 

[cellososweet]

yup. that''s ricky. yes he''s 25. is he good at what he does though? darn tootin'' he is! DH''s family goes from conservative to uber-conservative and even they were allll over the dance floor. I had so many people ask me about the music. Compliments galore. I even had a few family members ask me for a song list, if I had one. The only thing I gave an actual list for was the cocktail hour. The rest of the night was his show and boy was he fantastic. I''d recommend them hands down. I know most people compliment you on your wedding (obviously) but I can''t believe how many people said how much fun they had and it showed by the dancing and mingling

a good seating chart didn''t hurt either. haha.