FI and I are officially at the planning stage where we are considering musicians/DJs and such. Our venue has a specific list for us to choose from of approved vendors (which is pretty limited considering what we're hoping for, btw), and our wedding planner has two musicians/DJs she works with and our venue will allow to play.
So, with that in mind, the vendors on the "approved" list from the venue are generally more expensive. For example, the pianist we'd consider hiring wants to charge $200/hr with a 3 hr minimum. There are only two pianists to choose from, and one of them is going to be out of town! So FI and I are sort of in a "spot" as to getting what we want for a reasonable price.
Long story short, a DJ that our wedding planner works closely with has dropped his pricing significantly to accomodate our budget while also including both his services as a DJ, lighting, and a professional pianist. The catch is: we don't get to hear the pianist prior to our signing the contract.
Is this too risky?
We'll be within our budget and get lighting to boot (thus being slightly under budget), we'll get a DJ we know we like, but we're taking a big risk on the pianist.
What would YOU do? Take the plunge? Or risk going significantly over budget to find another pianist/DJ from "the approved list"?
