Gimics
 

Some gimmicky things I've either been guilty of taking to weddings or thought about taking:

-- Mannequin. (Surprisingly non-costly, incidentally.) Dress looks so much better than arranged on a bed, or hanging on a door or a window. I think the placement of the mannequin makes a big difference -- better to place in an elegant room, or somewhere scenic outside -- next to water, under a tree, in a field... Though, frankly, there's also a freaky/ghostly aspect to filming headless figures.

-- GoPro. Only ever use it to hide in the flowers when they're delivered in the morning, or in car shots. Trying to think up more interesting ways to use it... Maybe I should put it on the waiter's tray when he's serving canapes...

-- Puppet. Seriously. Can be used to get good reactions from kids. Haven't done this myself, but have had it done to me! But obviously, there could be issues with presuming to interact with kids. This sort of thing could easily get weird.

Once saw a photographer go so far as to bring gifts for kids -- a plastic tiara for the flower girl.

-- Slip-on shoes. Must remind myself to wear slip on shoes, not lace-up shoes to weddings. Easy to remove if you need to stand on someone's bed or chair. Easy to put on/take off if you're running in and out of an Indian temple moving gear or if someone has a no shoes in the house policy.

-- Glass. If you really don't have an ideas for a shot, hold it in front of half of the lens, adding some relatively smooth blur and isolating your subject.

-- Lazy susan. For ring shots, bride's shoes, groom's cuff links...

-- Candle. To cast flickering on rings during macro shots. Works wonders.

-- Bluetac for ring shots. If you've ever tried to balance rings on their sides, you'll know what I mean.

-- Rose petals for people to throw around during photoshoots.

-- Thinking about bringing something more creative lighting-wise to receptions. Had one wedding where the DJ complained about the lights; he felt it was driving people from the floor (it wasn't). But I think if I at least gelled them blue or something, maybe they would be more partyesque.

Strobing lights or lights with with some sort of gobo pattern I think might also work well, assuming you're not stepping on anyone's toes by using them. Shot a wedding last week where the venue had a large gobo pattern that rotated around the room, and it was amazing. Definitely created a lot of visual interest when it went over the cake, across guests, across the lawn outside, etc.