> Budget is around 300 bucks so the Godox fits better but Im worried about the build quality or if it plays nice with the Canon menu system long term. Tbh i totally get the hesitation with third party gear on a body like the Canon EOS 90D DSLR. But from my experience, the Godox V860III-C for Canon is actually pretty solid with the menu integration. You might want to consider that the lithium-ion battery delivers a 1.5s recycle time at full power, which easily beats the Canon Speedlite 430EX III-RT specs. I would suggest being careful with the hot shoe foot tho, as some earlier batches were a bit flimsy. Make sure to check out the Godox V1-C Round Head Flash as well. It sits right at your 300 dollar limit and the circular light falloff is much smoother for wedding portraits. If youre worried about the wedding day, having that 2600mAh battery capacity is way safer than fumbling with AAs in the dark... basically a no-brainer for the price.

Totally agree about skipping the overpriced native gear, though I had issues with some brands feeling cheap lately. Unfortunately, even some popular models arent as solid as Id hoped.

• Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II Wireless Speedlite for Canon is basically a mirror of the 600EX menu system for cheap.
• Neewer NW655 TTL Camera Flash for Canon works but recycle times arent as good as expected for weddings. Go with the Yongnuo for that native feel tho...

I had issues with inconsistency ruining a shoot once because my budget flash kept misfiring.

• Get some Nissin
• Reliable TTL Just get any Nissin Digital Flash.