I have landed my first paid assignment (possibly the last depending on the result:)) and it's a wedding.
I am taking pictures of the happy couple in a clearing of a patch of large beechtrees. It's a lovely spot. I met with the couple there last monday and we are all happy with it. They have asked for mainly b/w but I will be shooting everything in colour and do the rest in PS. I will also be making them some sepia versions for that old-school fun. Perhaps even some soft-focus stuff.

We will be taking the pics this saturday around 4pm/1600hours, so the light shouldn't be too harsh.

I have the following equipment:

Canon 350D
Kit lens
Sigma 100-300mm 4,5-6,7
Sigma 50mm DG Macro 2,8
Sigma E500ST Super II Flash

I also have the option of borrowing 2 slave flashes with umbrellas and a small reflector.

I intend to use my Sigma 50mm with the Sigma flash on the camera for fill together with the reflector.
I'll try and keep around f6-11 for that perfect dof feeling.
I intend to use the histogram view on the camera to ensure the wedding dress doesn't turn in to one big white burnout.

I am unsure about using the slaves/umbrellas, as I don't have the option of testing it first.

Should I put them in the sun and rely on the flash to fill or put them in the shade and use the reflector for some extra light?

I was wondering if anyone have any tips for that sort? Any help will be much appreciated particularly by the couple:)

I really want this to be good, so they can tell all their friends about it and I can get some more gigs:)

Can you practise with someone (your wife) at the location before the actual day?

Outdoors just eats up flash light.

You will have to watch colour balance as the flash will be cool compared to the sun and warm compared to the shade. Watch the shade making people and wedding dresses blue.

Here the sun goes down at 8:00 right now so 4:00 has quite harsh sun still (as well as 35+ temps)

You may not need the flash at all if you can get the reflector in the right place.

Do you have a large reflector? Like as big as a person? You want something that can be held from a distance so as not get in the shot while also providing enought light to make a difference. A small reflector is good for closeups but I'm not sure it would have much effect on a full length shot.

For a homemade reflector (for still life) I use foamcore with silver foil/ silver window film attached with spray glue. I also found some mactac that is silver and comes in a roll (for drawer liners)

You will probably want the 100mm for closeups and 50 for full length shots.

Use the lowest ISO possible as it will give more detail. Use a middle f-stop around 8 or so. I have found larger than F11 and detail is drastically reduced on most lenses.

Use a lens hood, this will block errant light from entering the camera and increase colour saturation.

Use a tripod.

Slave flash maybe a good idea as you can position the light where you want it, instead of straight on from the camera.

Watch stuff from the background getting into the shot. One wedding I was at the photographer didn't notice that there was an air conditioning vent reflecting the sun in a building behind the garden where the shots were taken. It was 300ft away but still showed up as a bright highlight.

Shoot RAW and bracket, use a hand held meter if possible. If nothing else it will allow you time to think and not rush from shot to shot.

Check depth of field, manual focus if possible.

Watch the wedding dress but be careful not to under expose. Remember RAW files have extra latitude in the highlights.

A ND filter will reduce contrast if you find your subject very contrasty.

Good Luck :)

Thanks for taking the time to help me out on this one. Might see if I can get hold of a larger reflector. The one I have is about half a person.

The bg is woods, so shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Unfortunately I won't have the time to practice on location beforehand, which is why I am a bit wary about the light and using the slaves, mostly because I will only have a maximum of 45 minutes to get good shots on the day.
I'll pack the slaves and umbrellas and set them up. I can always choose to leave them out.

I have a crazy fear about overexposing it all, but I suppose the danger is in underexposing and losing detail entirely in the shadows.

Thanks again, Andrew. I'll post the results:)

The midtones will probably be the problem, you will have to lighten them more than likely (pulling the midpoint of a curve upwards). If the exposure is too much under then as you said there will be less detail and skin tones pick up wierd hues when under exposed.

For the black and white you actually have a bit more latitude as it is usually the red chanel that clips before the others and can discolour the image if you try and reduce the exposure too much.