Help Me Please

i highly recommend patken photographer. they are outstanding. my FH and i are in the same boat. we are paying ourselves and we are on a tight budget. we got photo and video for 4700 including tax, 3 parent albums, engagement photos, save the dates, upgraded thank yous, etc. the photos and albums alone were 3200, which is very affordable. we can also add on later so if we have extra money after the wedding we can get extras. they offer 50% photos 2 weeks after you get the proofs.
631 888 0065

Party City for invitations
Regal for limos
Roots for florist

Those were my less expensive vendors. You may want to consider taking 1 day off and getting as much done as possible. I know its hard but I had 3 days off during x-mas and packed in 2 florists, 3 photographers, dress stores, etc....plus some appt with my sister for her wedding

I'm getting married at the VC also! If you are really pressed for time and want to save a lot on expenses, you could try a place that offers limos, photographers, flowers, etc. in a package deal. There is a place in Commack called the Wedding Center that I think does package deals. Their website is:
http://www.twc-commack.com/

I am not using them but a friend of mine did and was pretty satisfied.

Another tip might be to attend a bridal showcase where a lot of different vendors will be showing off their services. You could probably book a lot of vendors right there and then! Good luck with your planning!

Hey we got GREAT deals with all our vendors

DJ- Castle Entertainment
Photo/Video- Patken
Flowers- Roots

FM if u have any questions

Check out Photography by Christos he's based in Bayside, Queens, and he's a really awesome guy! You can see a lot of his photos on his website and blog.

We chose Bellarino Video because they keep getting raves on this site. They're based in Massapequa, which is a bit far for you to get to, but you can see video clips of their work on their website.

Also, I've heard that The Wedding Coach (based in Brooklyn) has great prices for favors...and if you can't get there yourself, you can always order online!

As for invitations, Party City has a huge selection and I've read reviews saying people were happy with them.

Good luck!!!

Call around to smaller, independent photographers with websites you like. These are the people that the big name companies are going to hire and send to your wedding anyway, so you may as well cut out the middleman.

Same thing goes for a DJ. We used Top Shelf , and everyone loved them.

The absolute cheapest way to do invites is to get the package from Michael's or Staples and print them yourself.

Finally, you don't need to go nuts over flowers. When we checked out the Vineyard, the cocktail hour deck was set with little 4-inch globe vases with some small sunflowers. For the tables, use mums or daisies instead of roses or other more expensive stems. Flowers with large blooms are the money-savers, usually. I loved my florist, Judy, at Main Street Florist in Center Moriches.

Candle centerpieces are quick, pretty, and you can usually find the necessary candles at the $1 store.

You can get vases by the dozen at Save-On-Crafts

don't necessarily go for vendors on here - a lot of the time you can find cheaper ones elsewhere (less advertising=less need for money). my photographer is a photojournalist that i know through my cousin that's doing it for about 850. we're not getting all the extras, just the day, the raw images on a cd, and another cd of 'photographer's pick' with touched up images. we'll do all the album stuff ourselves (another way to save money). i've sen similarly priced people on craigslist (search in 'services' for 'wedding photographer') who all seemed kosher, just ask to see a portfolio and check references before you book. our florist is a local one we've used for years. and we're nixing the limo to save.

basically, i'd say avoid anything with the word 'wedding' in it. for example, most florists know how to arrange flowers, but if they're marketed as a 'wedding florist' they'll over charge you. just do your research and check out the local stuff first before venturing into 'wedding world.'