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Cheap but AWESOME photographers/DJs?

noramc8noramc8
First Comment
in Massachusetts-Boston
I'm getting married in Salem and am have no clue where to begin looking for photographers and DJs. 

Anyone know good photographers for $1500 and under (for 4-6 hours) and/or good DJs (don't talk too much, just play awesome music) for 6 hours for $1500 and under?

Thanks! :-)
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Re: Cheap but AWESOME photographers/DJs?

  • amylee545amylee545 member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Definitely look into Amber Shomo with forevercandid photography!! She's been my favorite vendor to work with so far. And she's located in Salem! Her packages start at $1800, but she's so willing to work within your budget to create a package for you to make sure you get what you want. We are paying $1500 for 5 hours, 2 photographers, an engagement session, and a disk with all images. Her pricing is amazing for what talent you are getting.. She's a fairly new business so that's why she's so cheap.

    I'm getting married on the cape, so I don't have any recommendations for DJs. 

    Goodluck!


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  • noramc8noramc8
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you so much! That's very helpful!
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  • njlfrednjlfred member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Not sure I can help on the cheap photography, but check out DJ Ken Drew for a very reasonably priced, fantastic DJ.  We had a great experience with him at our wedding.
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  • rockstar8575rockstar8575
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    We are using Will Condon of ShutterEyes Photography. His 8 hour, full day package is $1200 and you have all of the rights to all of the photos that he takes!


    Here is his website...
    http://www.shuttereyes.info/www.ShutterEyes.info/Welcome.html

    Good luck with your search!

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
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  • plato79plato79 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I"m sending you a PM - I have a rec for both under or at budget!
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  • BostonGirl82BostonGirl82 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I highly recommend C-Zone Music. They are definitely within your budget. Hands down they were our favorite vendor! 5 of my friends have booked Max Baun from C-Zone since attending my wedding which I think speaks a lot about how great Max and C-Zone was. HTH!!

    http://czonemusic.com/


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  • winterclassicwinterclassic member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Beat Train Productions is $1500.
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  • carolbridebabecarolbridebabe member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    my photog had a 8 hour package for 1500. highly recommend him too! john loconte from www.johnlophoto.com

    we also used beat train but got them for 1700 due to traveling
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  • SN318SN318
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Another recommendation for Max from C-Zone. We used him for our wedding last month and he was amazing to work with from start to finish. All of our guests raved about him and he kept the dance floor packed all night. We made some last minute changes to a couple of things the night before the wedding and he was awesome about it.
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  • starryeyed13starryeyed13 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    DJ Nate Oinonen from White Label DJ's  - he's not your typical cheesy wedding DJ


    http://whitelabelweddingdjs.com/WhiteLabelDJs/Boston.html

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  • mia082683mia082683 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Scott & Kristen at Hexfire Photography... often under 1200 for the events.. He's out of Saco, Maine but travels (he's doing our wedding in Peabody).  hexfire.net

    I feel the same way about the DJ. Dont' talk a lot, play our music, blend into the background.  Entertainment by Scott Sica out of Saugus is great.  He's all about what you want, low-key, down to earth... already offered to help move chairs if we needed to or be there early to help set tables if the caterer needed him.  He got rave reviews in New England Bride magazine as well... and he doesnt' charge by the hour.  He's yours for the day for 1500 (but we got him for 1100 because we booked through a bridal show so try to haggle!)
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  • seprincipeseprincipe
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sue Lynch Photography is doing my pictures. She's been great to work with, and we are getting 7 hours and a disc with all the photos for$1650. She's someone no one ever seems to mention on these boards, but has great shots, and has been so easy to work with.
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  • Biotechick620Biotechick620
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    For photographer we're using JohnLo Photo out of Haverhill, MA.  He has a beautiful photojournalistis style and his price can't be beat.  He starts at $1500 which includes 8 hrs of coverage, rights to the images, and all of the untouched and retouched digital images (there might be more that I'm just forgetting).  He's been fabulous to work with and even helped me narrow down our wedding date, lol.

    For DJ we're using Ramu and the Crew.  I'm so happy that we found him because he includes SO much and has awesome reviews!  For $1300 we're getting 5 hrs of DJ, uplighting (yep, it's included), and he has two 42" plasmas setup that guests can send txt messages to.  I highly recommend checking him out!
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  • noodle_oonoodle_oo member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We used DJ Mark Cherone from Curtis Knight Entertainment.  He was awesome!  He was recommended to me on here and we loved him!  I have a full review in my bio, but basically he's very low key, has a great voice and lots of experience and did a great job at our wedding.  Curtis Knight has a ton of great DJs and the price is very good.  They are listed on their website, I think we paid $900 for 4 hrs.

    http://www.curtisknight.com/
    wedding planning guide
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  • NomerNomer
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We went with Portrait New England for our photography, and our budget was below yours. They really worked with us to give us what we wanted. I really liked that we got two photographers with them- a lot of the other photographers in the same ballpark didn't offer two professional shooters for that price. Here's a post about a recent Knottie wedding they did (hopefully this link works: http://forums.theknot.com/default.aspx?path=http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston ).

    As for the DJ, we didn't end up using one because we had a really small private wedding and my cousin did the music for free.

    Good luck with your planning!
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  • love2naplove2nap member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I used Rachel (the owner) from 71 West Photography out of Woburn. I paid around $1600 for Photography for what I was looking for-- I know she e-mails coupons and gives them out at bridal shows sometimes, so you might be able to get it a little cheaper. I got married less than two weeks ago so I should be getting my pics back soon, but she was great to work with the day of!

    I also worked with DJ Kibar from Main Event DJ-- Fabulous! He is very reasonable and he is great at catering to what you want and your personalities... highly recommend!

    You might also want to check out The Pros... I know they have a lot of package deals and they have a lot of people who work for them so you might be able to get a great deal! Good luck! :)
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  • KarenArnoldMaineKarenArnoldMaine member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    if you have not booked a photographer yet, you should look into Alexis Stein Photography...a couple located in NY whose work is genius...I booked them for my wedding in Maine. I was on the Boston boards looking for caterers that do lobster and clam bakes. Hope this info helps you...www.AlexisSteinPhoto.com
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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I can't recommend my dj enough - John Cristoferi. He's from Rockland, will travel throughout the greater Boston area. He is experienced, professional, and knows how to play to a crowd. He is not an attention whore, and he's finessed. No awkward talking, he is so organized and learns all the important people in your family and party's names, and he has great taste in music. DH and I had many, many specific requests and he took on everything we asked and then some. We had a jazz, old Broadway showtune, old Hollywood style cocktail hour and then sugued into the Ghostbusters theme song and Star Wars Throne Room March for intros. It was perfect! Our dance floor was packed the whole night. He's not a "show man", he doesn't hand out toys. He plays great music and does it with class and style. Anything you don't want played, he sticks to. We had one song played that we weren't a fan of, and he came by and asked what we thought, we said we'd prefer no more "club music", and that was that.

    djjohnc.com

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  • Jamps728Jamps728 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We're also using JohnLo Photography and Curtis Knight Entertainment.  I would HIGHLY recommend both.  They're both very reasonable and answer e-mails really promptly.  One note though about Curtis Knight - if you're not looking for someone chatty, then definitely don't hire Curtis as your actual DJ.  I'd hire one of the other DJ's that works for him (we're using Greg Gervais).  Curtis is an incredibly nice guy, great to work with, answered all my questions, etc.  I was very happy to meet with him, but he's VERY friendly and chatty.  Good luck!
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  • teacup610teacup610
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Heather Parker for photography. shoot me a PM if you need a band recommendation, but it looks like you are sticking to DJ.
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  • chantelcutie7chantelcutie7
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm using Casey Harrison...love her :)
    http://hellolovephoto.com/
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  • SandaPandaSandaPanda member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We truly loved both our DJ and photographer(s)...and both worked within our budget (which was very tight) and did SUCH an incredible job!  Our teaser pics can be seen on the website for our photographer below (Sandy and Gary's wedding 4/16/11)...and Paul (DJ) had everyone of all ages dancing all night!

    William Bray and Naome Bray
    Portrait New England
    (800) 576-5032
    www.portraitnewengland.com

    and

    Paul Giroux
    Disc Jockey - Lead Facilitator - Hypnotist
    Paul@PaulGirouxEntertainment.com
    Tel 781-223-5888
    Fax 866-248-1160
    www.PaulGirouxEntertainment.com
     
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  • nicolechris2011nicolechris2011
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are having Curtis Knight Entertainment in Billerica for photos and DJ. We got the husband / wife package (Curtis & Anna - both owners of the company) and are getting a great deal. My family and I along with some friends have been using them for years. He is not 100% a "professional photographer" but I trust that he will do a phenominal job taking pictures and also Anna being the DJ. They can also work with your budget. I would highly recommend them. Good luck!
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  • michelle51679michelle51679 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    hi!  they are very affordable!  you can see some of their work here

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  • eveyishappyeveyishappy member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh, I'm happy someone asked about DJs since I was just about to post this question.

    I'm using AE Stelzer Photography.  She's been great to work with so far, and she's really affordable.  
     
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  • coachmomkathcoachmomkath
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    lois margaret photography- she is amazing, talented, and crazy cheap- 9 hours- 3 albums- souts out your church and reception site beforehand- and only charges $1000
    mixxed entertainment is awesome- Scott is the best
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