Wedding vendors near Trenton, NJ

Hiring a DJ typically costs anywhere from $300 to $1,200. It all depends on how long they’ll be working at your wedding and other various factors. The cost to hire a wedding DJ is usually higher than the cost to hire a DJ to play at a birthday party or similar event. 

To find out exactly how much your wedding DJ will cost, ask for a cost estimate from several professionals in your area.

Pulling off a large, complex wedding or an elegant, small affair requires juggling myriad details, including the officiant, food, drink, wedding cake, entertainment, transportation, rehearsal dinner, photography, equipment rentals, venue reservations and more. A wedding event coordinator can help you keep track of these details, overseeing the planning process and managing everything on the day of your wedding. Each wedding coordinator (and wedding) is different, but in general you can expect an event coordinator to:

• Help you devise a realistic wedding budget and hold your vendors to it.
• Map out a master plan that includes all of the details including ceremony music, favors, the guest book and more.
• Suggest ceremony and reception locations that fit your wedding size, budget and vision.   
• Suggest florists, photographers, bands, caterers and other vendors that fit your budget.
• Negotiate vendor contracts for the best deals.
• Create a timeline for the day of the wedding that includes each vendor and member of your wedding party.
• Mail invitations and track RSVPs.
• Answer questions about wedding etiquette and current wedding trends.
• Manage the wedding day from supervising vendors and setup to handling last-minute emergencies.

A party photo booth is a fun, interactive experience where guests can take a series of photos (usually three or four) that are immediately printed out on a strip as a keepsake. When you rent a party photo booth, the company sets up the booth or photo station at your event; a photographer staffs the booth and coaches guests on how to use it throughout the event. Often the photo booth rental company provides props like silly hats, wigs and glasses. There are different types of party photo booth rentals. An open-air booth has a curtain or backdrop that allows more freedom of movement and enables more people to use it at one time. The traditional enclosed photo booths that you may have seen at the mall or the fair tend to cost more to rent, as they are harder to transport and also cost more for the pros to purchase. The national average cost for party photo booth rentals is $400-$500.

Use Thumbtack to find wedding DJs in your area. Here, you can quickly see which local DJs have the highest ratings and best reviews. You can also see how many times each DJ has been hired, whether they’re responsive and if they’re in high demand.

Hourly rates for DJs can vary depending on where you live, the event type (weddings, prom, birthdays, etc.) and many other factors. For an accurate hourly rate, request cost estimates from top-rated DJs near you.

Creative or DIY-savvy couples can make a wedding photo booth backdrop in no time. You can ask your rental company to incorporate a custom backdrop into your rental party photo booth, or do your own custom photo booth with a friend serving as photographer. It’s easiest to make your own backdrop for an open air photo booth, which you can hang on a wall at an indoor reception, or hang from a tree or in a homemade frame at an outdoor reception.

One simple yet glamorous option is a tinsel curtain. Choose silver or gold for classic elegance, or go for a wild color like bright pink. For a more refined look, you can purchase three or four yards of a luxe fabric that fits your wedding color theme. Creative couples may want to get funky and spray-paint or hand-paint designs onto a cotton canvas backdrop. Don’t forget to provide props for your guests; the props are half the fun and encourage guests to get playful for the camera. Paint an oversized picture frame gold (don’t forget to take out the glass!) for your guests to hold up. Provide a chalkboard where they can write cute messages to hold in their photo, and colorful items from your costume box: think hats, wigs, funky sunglasses, and sequined accessories.

Renting a party photo booth for your next event will get your guests engaged and provide a take-home favor for attendees. The cost to rent a party photo booth will vary depending on the type of booth, the day and time of year, the length of the rental, and any add-ons you select. The national average cost for party photo booth rentals is $400-$500. Here are some examples of average party photo booth rental costs:

• Weekday packages: $300-$550, depending on features included and length of rental. A three-hour weekday package for $500 could include guest book, personalized photo strips and DVD of all the photos.
• Weekend packages: $450-$700, depending on features included and length of rental.
• Additional hours: $100-$150 per extra hour.
• Add-on features:
• Photo guest album services: $75.
• Personalized photo strips: $30-$50.
• Custom photo backdrops or vinyl skin branding of the booth: $150-$300.
• Live social media connectivity (ability to share photos to social media accounts): $100-$250.

A day-of wedding coordinator makes sure that every detail of your wedding day goes off without a hitch, and deals quickly and quietly with any last-minute emergencies. For many brides, the day-of wedding coordinator is their best investment! The average national cost for a wedding coordinator is $800 to $1,000. Although full-service wedding coordinators often charge a percentage of the total wedding budget, most day-of coordinators charge a flat fee plus an additional hourly fee if the day runs long. For example, a 15-hour day-of coordination costs an average of $600, plus an additional $45 per hour if the coordinator works more than the planned 15 hours. Another option is to hire a coordinator to manage the last-minute details leading up to the event; for example, 25 hours of month-of coordination costs an average of $1,200. Several factors affect the cost of day-of coordination, including the region, the planner’s experience, and the specifics of the wedding. If the ceremony and reception are in two different locations, expect to pay more than if they’re in the same place. Also, extra details, such as managing food trucks or setting up snacks in addition to the meal, will increase the cost.

When you hire a wedding coordinator, you want to make sure he or she gets you and can execute perfectly your vision of your dream wedding. To find the very best fit, it’s important to ask these five questions:

• Are you available on my wedding date? If the coordinator isn’t available on your big day, there’s no reason to continue the interview — unless you’re willing to shift your date to accommodate their schedule.
• What’s average cost of most of your weddings? If the coordinator’s usual wedding is outside your range, they might not be the right coordinator for you. Ask whether the coordinator requires a minimum wedding budget. In general, the wedding coordinator’s fee should be about 15 percent of your budget.
• What is your speciality? Some coordinators specialize in day-of coordination, some create the overall vision, and others act as a producer. Make sure your wedding coordinator provides the type of services that will most help you create the event you have in mind, such as selecting vendors and handling their contracts, or managing the guest list and invitations.
• What are your ideas for fulfilling our wedding vision? After you describe your dream wedding — rustic or sophisticated, traditional or funky — the wedding coordinator should be able to suggest appropriate venues, menus, decorations, etc..

Do you have a portfolio? Ask to see photos of their favorite weddings, especially if they’ve managed any that are similar to what you have in mind. This will help you see if you like their style and if their ideas seem fresh and creative.

Even if you’ve handled every detail of planning your wedding, you might appreciate having a day-of wedding coordinator in your corner. Usually, the coordinator meets with you a few weeks before your wedding to put together a detailed timeline of everything that needs to happen on your wedding day. Then, on the big day, the coordinator makes sure everything goes according to plan — and handles any emergencies that pop up, such as party crashers, missing tuxedos, late vendors, disappearing bridal party members and more. Most wedding coordinators also handle:

• Distributing the wedding day timeline to all of your vendors.
• Coordinating all of your vendors, including the photographer, florist and baker.
• Conducting the wedding rehearsal.
• Helping the bride and her wedding party get dressed and take photos.   

• Checking floor plans, lighting levels, cake placement, menus, favors and more.
• Collecting the wedding gifts and keeping personal items safe and accounted for.

Even if you don’t think you need a wedding coordinator, check with your venue. Some require that couples hire a day-of wedding coordinator for the day of the event.