Can't help in the Houston are, but I can offer a bit of advice. You get what you pay for Good luck & Congrats
I take that back, I do know a guy who travels for weddings and is considered one of the top in DFW He's done weddings in Houston, Antiqua, Florida etc. He's pricey, but well worth it. http://www.teshornjackson.com
Myself and several friends have used Jessica Pledger photography, she's really good. Used AGB productions for video, they are solid and affordable (but not too cheap, be careful with those). I am in video production myself and have actually done weddings but don't really have time for them anymore, I will say that these guys are not the best in the business but you will also pay 2-3 times more for that. They are a good value though. Definitely search around and get some different quotes and watch plenty of samples to gauge their ability.
I expect to pay a pretty penny, most the people we've talked to are around 5k. I just want to make sure if we are dropping that kind of money it's worth it.
There was some dude here on CF a few months back whose wife was a certified photographer and eh could probably hook you up with some good deals. His name escapes me now. Nevermind did a quick search and found it. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=273929 http://www.angelanobles.com
Yea I gave my fiancée that link too. We are getting married in Angleton so that's a decent drive from Beaumont.
I don't have a good photographer recommendation as our guy was pretty good but nothing spectacular. But what I do have is some whining that you didn't ask for and don't need, so I spoilered it. Spoiler Ha! Wedding in Houston will essentially be $20K+ flushed away for one drunken evening you'll hardly remember... or at least that's how it was for my wife and I. Months after the wedding she told me we should have just had a small wedding and used that money elsewhere - an additional honeymoon or something, or just lengthening the one we had already planned. Of course this is exactly what I had suggested several times during our wedding planning while she was insisting on some big thing... but what's the point in bringing that up. I just said "Yeah, you're right. Good job, wife. So smart." So I guess the takeaway is... the wedding will be fun and all, but nothing about it will be "worth it". It's just the most expensive fun party you'll ever throw, and will probably only last 4 hours. I definitely had a good time at my wedding and reception, but was it worth $5K an hour? No. God no.
Oh I no, and I've voiced my opinion... But at the end of the day it's what she wants to do. I've already talked her out of some ridiculous ideas she'd had because of Pinterest.
Make sure you don't get roped in by a company that specializes in wedding photography. Most of the time they employ multiple photographers and the sample photos you are seeing will not be taken by the same person.
I definitely get this and agree that it is a huge expense and you should only spend what you can afford, but I have no regrets on what we spent. IIRC we spent about 12k of our own money plus about an equal chunk from parents. We also had been setting aside money for a while so it wasn't all racked up on credit cards, at least not ones that didn't get paid off immediately after the wedding. It can definitely be a challenge if you have to pay it all yourself, and you (i.e. your fiancee) have to be very careful not to get caught up and overpay. Find a good deal on food from a restaurant that caters and doesn't charge $30 or $40 a person for mediocre buffet food, buy your own tablecloths wholesale instead of renting for 3x the price, etc.; things like this saved us a ton. $20-25k can turn into $50-70k very quickly. Point is, I thought it was worth it even though the spending was stressful at first; it's pretty much the only day in your life that all of the people you care about (and some you don't care for, ha) will be in one place and having a good time. Also, a good rule of thumb is not to invite someone that you wouldn't want to give a hug at the wedding. You'll have more fun if your guests have fun and you don't want a bunch of acquaintances that don't really know anyone else.
in preparation for our wedding we avoided anyone we didn't want to invite for a whole year so we would not be obligated to invite them.
Yeah we paid in cash too so at least that wasn't a concern. Still, that money could have been allocated differently/better and that's what rustles my jimmies. If we were 100% refunded and had a do-over, our wedding would probably be much different. Anyway sorry for the derail.
Tomas Ramos. He's expensive, but the quality of work is out of this world. He's written books, won awards, and is insanely creative. It was literally worth every penny plus more using him for our wedding. http://www.tomasramos.com/
