Depends on a.) Your definition of "necessary" b.) Where you live (ie sunny part of the world or somewhere where it rains 11 months of the year) c.) Indoors or outdoors d.) Your shooting style e.) Your budget :P


Personally I would say BARE MINIMUM a solid flash (I'd go with something Canon, a 580 if you can do it) with some sort of a dome diffuser (the Gary Fong Lightsphere if you don't mind the goofyness of it is pretty good if you don't have the $$ for a proper bracket), fast lenses (Brian's lens recommendations are definately good ones), and I personally think at least one of the x0D bodies... the rebels don't really cut it if you're looking to do it for a living IMHO. I personally think every wedding shooter should have a 50 f/1.8 in their bag - considering that it's a $100 throwaway lens - or the 1.4 if you have the $$....


I've got the 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 all 2.8 and the 50 1.4 as well.... a fisheye lens doesn't hurt but for how often you use it it can be a hard purchase to justify. If you're shooting with two bodies (makes life WAY easier) and you have the $$ to spend you can put the 16-35 on a 5DMK2 and the 24-70 on a x0D or a 1D (not s) then you effectively have a 16-100ish (depending on the second body ) range at f/2.8. Having said that, some brides want you up in front flashing shots left right in center during the ceremony (they like the "pure" looks of emotion that happen during the ceremony the first time around) while other want you to stay out of the way, in which case you're not gonna use the 16-35 unless you "recreate" the ceremony afterwards so as not to interfere with the guests' experience. I've personally found that around here a lot of younger brides want you up in their faces (so to speak) and would rather spend the time afterwords getting their couples shots done versus some of the "older" or "more traditional" brides who don't want to see or think about you until the ceremony is done (or not at all in some cases :P)