I've seen people on other locals post reviews, so I thought I'd do a quick run down. I got married in Jackson on November 3. Had a blast, was a fantastic day.
Church: St. Peter the Apostle, downtown. We were parishioners for almost 30 years, and I went through every other sacrament there, so it was very important to me. With the non-parishioner rate (my mom moved about 5 years ago, as did I), it was $1000 to rent the church (parishioner rate was $500, and they're thinking of going up). Add to that another $300 to use their co-ordinator (who I met exactly once a week before--I was planning from out of town, and received no e-mail replies from) and another $250 to use their (compulsory) music director. It's beautiful, but not cheap.
Reception venue: The Cedars. Cannot say enough wonderful things about working with them. You get the house for the whole weekend, we got a military discount and it worked out to be $1550, I think regularly it's $1800. The woman who runs it is so helpful and always finds out the answers to questions you have. You do have to pay a sheriff's office person to do your parking, but it's only about $100, and they stay and walk people across the street. You can bring in your own food and alcohol (you do need liability insurance), so, while there is an up front investment, it makes it easier to save money by doing DIY. We did all of our decor and flowers, and the house itself is such a great canvas to work on.
Photography: Rachel Fitzpatrick Photography. Brilliant. Amazing. I actually got a recommendation for her on another board, and it was possibly the best money we spent. We got the 8 hour package, which was $1000, but she has others. We get all of the photos back. She was a rock-star. Had great ideas for pictures, took everything we wanted, and buzzed around our reception to get everything. Climbed a tree to get a shot she wanted, and, to use the last bit of our time, drove with us to the King Edward, where we were staying, and took some fantastic pics of us there.
We DIYed the food and drinks and flowers. We did deal with Robert at Katz's liquor store to do our wine/booze order, and he was great about walking us through what we needed. They also rent out wine glasses and champagne flutes for free if you order from them, which is a nice touch. I did talk to Aven Whittington at Mangia Bene (Bravo/Broadstreet) when I was still thinking of hiring a caterer, and he was really great.
Entertainment: Barry Leach. He's amazing and plays around town, we were lucky to get him. We just had him and a guitar, but I know he plays with other bands. We had him from 2:30 to about 6:30 for $500. He was really fun.
Hope this might help someone out, PM if you need more info, I'm normally on the Military board.