Nicole Faith wrote in post #4198055
Despite all the hype, sometimes you just don't have enough money to purchase an entire second body backup, but you are artistic enough that someone wants to hire you. Most will say, don't dare step into that ring.
I have shot 5 weddings with one camera body and have not had it fail. Just my experience though.
Wow, I admire your faith and ambition...but I hope you never have a lawyer (or their friends/relatives/etc.) for a client. You may be the MOST AMAZING photographer in the world. That will mean absolutely nothing when your camera fails and you have nothing to provide to the bride and groom. I'm not even sure errors & omissions insurance would cover you in that type of situation as you haven't taken the most basic precautions to protect yourself.
Yes, I'm deliberately being harsh--though I've edited this post for nearly a hour to tone it down. But it's not "hype" to be a responsible business person. I couldn't afford the gear nor the insurance nor the taxes I needed to do the job right, so I waited, scrimped, saved, and borrowed & rented when necessary until getting what I needed was possible. That also meant second shooting when I knew I was more than capable of handling a wedding on my own, simply because I was not about to be so irresponsible as to risk letting down a paying client with my lack of gear.
For the record, both 20Ds have failed on me at different times, including in the middle of a ceremony. The one is going in to Canon for service. My primary is now a 40D that I'm having to make payments on 6 months earlier than I'd planned to upgrade....but the "good" 20D still comes with me on EVERY paid gig, even portrait sessions, where it's a serious PITA to carry a second body. And guess what? The 40D threw me a curve on the last one of those--a quick fix, but not one I had time for during that part of the session.
I've had bum CF cards, lenses that wouldn't autofocus, batteries go dead, flashes that wouldn't work. Most of these problems, yes, were actually minor issues--contacts that needed cleaning, switches that were nudged, etc. But the reality is that in the heat of a wedding, there are lots of times that you don't have time to troubleshoot. Having duplicates is simply not something you can afford to ignore as a paid photographer.
All of you who want to take the risk--well, I wish you luck. 
May your fragile electronics never fail you!
)
