Available light wedding

[drew]

Hi there,
I'm relatively new to this list, but I would like to ask about a
scenario I have not been able to find much discussion about in the
archives.

I nearly always use available light in my photographs, and I still use
film. I do work for a weekly newspaper and use a Nikon DSLR as time
restraints and deadlines dictate, but my love is shooting with my pair
of Pentax MXs and soon, a Pentax 645, which will replace my Mamiya C33
as my primary medium format rig. (I also have a few Brownie Hawkeyes and
a Graflex 22 TLR that round out my low-budget yet fun to use MF gear.)

To the scenario... I have been commissioned by some acquaintances to
shoot their wedding this fall. Ceremony will be outdoors, mid September,
at 4:30 p.m. at a mountaintop resort in West Virginia. (About three
hours before sunset, according to the US Naval Observatory.)

Weather permitting, it should be a beautiful event, the light that time
of year is wonderful, and the backdrop will be a panorama of mountains
with leaves beginning to change.

I'm also being asked to photograph the first hour of the reception,
which will be indoors, in a typical banquet hall setting at the
resort--the luminescent and aesthetic antithesis of the ceremony. Guests
are being provided with disposable cameras for the remainder of the
reception.

Browsing this list's archives and a number of other respected forums, I
see the vast majority of folks shoot weddings using zooms (typically
~28-70 and ~80-200) and flash (often using a stroboframe or similar
bracket). My style, as mentioned before, however, is natural light and a
collection of prime lenses, excluding my "new" SMC-A 35-105mm f3.5. 

While it's not the way the majority of folks shoot weddings, this couple
approached me because they like my work. (And I've offered a reasonable
fee, since this is my first wedding gig. I warned them of the risk of my
inexperience, encouraged them to shop around for other photographers,
they did, and they came back to me.)

I'm rather inspired to see that until recently, Jeff Ascough was
shooting by available light and on film, with Leicas, of course, rather
than the much under-rated MX. ;)  He has since gone digital.

The glass I plan to use includes the SMC-M 50mm 1.4, an Elicar 90mm 2.5,
and I'd like to pick up a SMC-M 34mm f2 for something wide, fast and
affordable that won't distort group shots. For the 645 I have the 75mm
and the 45mm. I may consider picking up the 150mm. This camera will
probably be relegated to the formal portraits, as I think the MX is more
suited to the PJ coverage of the wedding and reception, being
inconspicuous and less intimidating to people on the other end of the
glass.

I'd like to hear folks' thoughts on lenses appropriate for the job, film
recommendations for such a scenario (I'm thinking Portra 160 and 400 --
likely 800 for the reception and Ilford XP2 Super), and if I'm being a
crazy for eschewing flash.

I look forward to hearing what folks have to say.

Thanks,
Drew