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Music, Videographer, Photographer

kmgulleykmgulley
10 Comments
in Illinois-Chicago

I am in the beginning stages of planning and so overwhelmed.  I have my venue booked, but now can't decide on whether to hire a DJ or a band.  I know a band will be more expensive.  I am trying to decide what areas to cut my costs in.  Right now everything is important, but may not be realistic.
Any advice on DJs/bands, or photography would be great?

Oh and let's not forget about the florist.

Thanks for any hellp!

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Re: Music, Videographer, Photographer

  • heyyjude7heyyjude7 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I love love love my DJ.  It's Dustin from Toast and Jam.  A lot of my friends have used Toast and Jam (various DJ's), and their weddings have been the most fun ones I have ever been to.  I would suggest checking them out.
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  • imtaken07imtaken07
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We are using Answer Back Entertainment for our DJ and Midwest Video Productions of Illinois for our videographer. Actually the are the same company, but have 2 different names for their services. We received a free upgrade to our packages and a free photo montage because we booked both. They are very nice to deal with and do great work.

    The DJ's website is http://www.abdjs.com/

    The videographer is http://www.midwestvideoproductions.com/
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  • aimers1525aimers1525 member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Photography is personally something that I am not cutting costs on. I love wedding photography and pictures in general so I'm not skimping there. Our photographer is Tasha Schalk of Redwall Photography and she is great to work with. Very flexible and easy going, but professional and on top of things.

    I am skimping a little bit on flowers. As my FI says, they die. So, I am doing the absolute minimum with flowers. I'm only having half of our centerpieces with flowers, and you can easily DIY centerpieces without flowers or use fakes. Personal flowers are the most expensive and if you don't have a large bridal party, you can cut costs that way. Or, don't go crazy with flowers at your church/ceremony location, or reuse the floral arrangements from your ceremony at your reception. 
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  • elellingsonelellingson member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Our photographer is Erica Rose: 
    http://www.ericaroseblog.com

    We highly recommend her!!
    Also, flowers-flowers in Evanston is wonderful!


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  • MrsPapsMrsPaps member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Our photographer is Kara Schultz
    Our videographer is Shoot the Bride Films
    Our DJ are Toast and Jam (Kate and Rachel)
    Our florist is Kio Kreations

    I'm really excited about all our vendors because I've worked with them for so long now (2 years) that they really see my vision too.
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  • GettingHitched2010GettingHitched2010 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    DJ: Show on the Road (Mike was awsome)
    Florist:  Catherine's Gardens in OAk Forest (Julie..super nice and creative...also, very reasonably priced)
    Photo:  George Street....Ignacio V.   He got some awesome pics of my 1 yo son at the church and of the bridal party on the carousel at the zoo!!!!!
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  • Jami86eJami86e member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    if you are on a budget i would stay away from toast and jam. they quoted me $1275 for reception only. and that is on an off day in an off month.

    however, you can always try to negotiate a better price, especially if you're not getting married on a saturday or during the summer lol.

    for florist i would recommend town and country gardens in elgin www.eventsbytcg.com
    they were able to work within our $1500 budget. you will save money by only using ins eason flowers. also we are having a jewish wedding so we need our chuppah decorated and that is more money that you will not have to spend if you are not having a jewish wedding.

    for videographer you should check out david kasdan videography. i think the packages start at $600, which includes both ceremony and reception www.davidkasdan.com
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  • thealphabridethealphabride
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Greetings!
    I highly recommend Kio Kreations for flowers, Kristen worked within my budget 
    (1500) and my florals were stunning!!!  BUT floral was very important to me. Kristen has excellent customer service skills and it doesn't matter if your budget is large or small for floral, all of your florals will be stunning. check out her gallery for thousands of pics of her work: www.kiokreations.com

    For a DJ I used Music By Design. They were wonderful. You picked all the songs in ceremony and reception and planned your entire event on line. David has SUPERIOR customer service skills, highly recommend!!! 

    I don't have my photos' or video yet. I cannot make a recommendation there.

    Good Luck to you!


     













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  • aperitisaaperitisa
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Check out Ray's Posey Patch for really great deals.  They are fantastic and have GREAT prices.  

    We are using Fantastic DJs, but that was definitely someplace we splurged. 

    Our photographer is Jiho Park of Lilly Photography and I can't say enough great things about him.  FANTASTIC.
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  • WinterWed17WinterWed17 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I hear you on trying to cut costs! Here's what we are thinking about doing:

    We are going to DIY our music and rent speakers from a friend. He'll emcee the toasts, first dance and cake cutting. My fiance and I will build a playlist.

    For flowers, we're thinking about doing them ourselves with the help of friends. Of course, we'll only be doing bouquets, coursages, and boutonierres, no other arrangements, so that helps too.

    But for photography I couldn't settle for something really cheap, so we are going with Wasabi Photography. He's still not crazy expensive though, and his work is some of the best I've seen.
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  • PhotoGirl92276PhotoGirl92276 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Unless you go with a really well known band like Maggie Speaks or Spoken for I would stick with a dj.  Bands aren't very good at announcing.  Dj's are more use to running the show.  Hope that helps!
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  • Eener23Eener23
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Our DJ came in at $750 for 6 hours. www.windycitymix.com They're fantastic.

    Flowers I'm probably going with Flowers by Victoria www.flowersbyvictoria.com. She truly does work with a budget, incredibly talented, and couldn't have better customer service. I contacted Kio and got a rather short response and haven't heard back about our date. I was kinda surprised based on all the raves on her.

    Photography and video are our splurge. Working with Metropolitan Imageworks, but also highly recommend Polka Photos and Magnifica Photo.
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