Perfect 1st wedding for a NOOB!

My sister in-law is getting married by a Justice of the Piece this comming Friday. What a perfect scenario for someone like me to experiment and learn without the pressures of screwing up a big wedding shoot.

Has anyone done any of these types of small/tiny events? Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Ed

You are not going to understand the pressures of a big wedding until you do some. Find a photographer in your area and see if you can second with him/her.

Follow davidfig's suggestion. Doing a small wedding won't help you that much for the bigger ones, because the scenarios are not the same, especially inside a church, if there is one. If you must be the only photographer, have more or a photojournalistic approach - just shoot everything making sure to vary angles, and positions, so your photos don't look like snapshots.

If you (can) use flash, practice bouncing the flash on nearby walls, and ceilings, using a white card back to the face to reduce or eliminate raccoon eyes (shadows under the eyes). I suspect you know your equipment and your flash, if not hit the books fast, and do some practice runs. Do some research on the Internet to get additional ideas on poses, and hit photographic wedding books at the local library.

There is always a first time for everbody. If you have the opportunity to assist an experienced wedding photographer, you'll save a lot of learning time.

Last note. It's always an additional risk to take wedding photos for family or friends. Family ties and friendships have been broken when photos of such an important event have been ruined. It's hard to forget, and forgive.

I did a Justice of the Peace ceremony in the judge's chambers in Nov. Afterward it was nice because they let me have a lot of time w/the two of them since there wasn't a reception to go to, and there was only two other people there w/them. You'll get experience w/indoor photography (if you're in the chambers or in a house), and you'll also be able to practice w/posing, but if you want to be prepared for larger ceremonies, then you'll need to become a second shooter for a pro, as the others have suggested. I'm assuming your SIL isn't expecting much since she knows your level of experience w/shooting weddings, so I doubt any family ties would be broken, just surprise her w/some good shots and post the results.

Thanks everyone. I figure I'll at least be able to get some "posing" experience. If I think weddings photography is something I really want to get into, I'll definitely go the second shooter route....I just think I still have so much to learn about photography itself.