Hey Tyler,

I think you are right. The first thing you need is information. The wedding photographer, because of the very nature of the job, often winds up being the defacto 'wedding coordinator' for the event. We need to have everything arranged, from the time the bride puts on the dress until the time that we last dance is had.

Once you can begin to determine the conditions, I think we can definitely help out a bit more. As to the footing the lens/flash rental - I think that is a good idea. If you rent some very fast lenses, you may want to rent them a few days early and practice shooting in some diferent scenarios. The bokeh is very different, and you want to know essentially what you can get away with (and what you can not).

James

PS I know I said to go to DWF earlier, but I just want to emphasize that again. It is a phenomenal resource for wedding photographers, and they have a very good beginners forum.