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I am going to my wife's sister's wedding this next weekend. I won't know more than 5 people at this wedding, so I figured I'd bring along the camera and occupy my time. I think I have set on which lenses I will bring in a small bag. Right now, here is my lineup:

Its an outdoor ceremony, so I think I will bring the trust Beercan, 70-210/4 for the outdoor shots. It will be on the beach, so I am not worried about low light. However, since it will be close to (if not at) sunset, I will put on a polarizing filter on it. Its a bit of an odd choice, but its so small compared to anything else in its range, it fits the small bag I'm using easily.

For the reception indoors:
Tamron 28-75/2.8 - Fast and flexible
Minolta 50/1.7 and 135mm/2.8.
My external flash with a diffuser.

I badly want to bring the new Sigma 50/1.4. However, its just too large. If I take it, I lose out on the 135/2.8, in addition to the 50/1.7 it replaces. I'm bringing a 50mm for low light fun, with the intention of not using a flash. I've also got spare batteries (camera and flash). I traded the 90mm Tamron for the Sigma 50, so it isn't an option anymore.

Given my lens choices, would you do anything different?

My choices would be a 70-200mm f/2.8, probably my 24-70mm f/2.8, and maybe a couple of fast primes (bit of a toss up between the 50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, or 135mm f/2.0. I don't think I'd bother with the 85mm f/1.8, but it isn't that big, so I might throw it in if I had the room.)

Flash, definitely.

I'm not entirely convinced, with the massive improvement in high-ISO capabilities in modern DSLRs, the there's much difference between a 50mm f/1.7 and a 50mm f/1.4, especially if the bokeh is of a similar quality. However, this depends very heavily on your body (mine's a 5D III.)

If the wedding is actually on the beach, you will have to deal with the danger of getting sand on the sensor every time you change a lens (especially if its windy). I might be better to choose one or two lens that have a lot of versatility to minimize lens changes.

So what lenses did you end up taking?

I just attended an outdoor wedding this past week, myself. I only used my EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 and EF 70-200 f/2.8L. One of my cousins got married about three years ago and the official photographer was shooting everything using two 7D bodies and those same lenses, except he had the IS version of the long zoom. You can do almost anything with that combination.

I ended up taking the Sigma 50/1.4, Tamron 28-75/2.8 and the Minolta 135/2.8. Truthfully, I used the 135/2.8 for everything I would have used a 70-2x0 for. I used the Tarmon for just about everything, with and without a flash throughout the night. But I used the Sigma after dark almost exclusively. It was such a perfect lens for night shots.

For me, it'd be the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM.

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