I would totally hire a day of planner if I could find one for $300! Maybe I could just hire someone I work with to do it, lol. Def. look into, I didn't really search for one, just got pricing from the ones at the expo I went to (maybe they were high?)
That photographer is awesome! Since you already know the date, maybe you could reserve him now with a deposit at his current rates? Everyone I've talked to so far was booking for my 2010 date already.
I haven't found my wedding photog yet, but we do have someone picked to take our engagement pics in Florida over the summer.
http://www.john-michaels.com/photo_album.html My fiance has taken me to Florida for my birthday every year since we met so it's special to us, plus I really wanted engagement photos on the beach! I wouldve loved a beach wedding too but we have grandparents that we want to be there that cant really travel, so were doing it here in Michigan! What I didn't realize when i booked our Florida beach session is that all the wedding pkgs around here include an engagement session, so it looks like I'll have a lot of pics!
Anyone notice how on wedding photographers websites they'll have their 'pricing' section titled 'Investment' ... as if to make the high prices sound more logical or something, lol.