I am seriously panicking right now because I have a big wedding shoot coming up this Saturday in Seattle and my old reliable speedlight just decided to give up the ghost this morning during my gear check. It wont even power on now so I am officially in the market for a new flash and I need to buy it like... right now so it arrives by Friday. The venue is this massive old converted warehouse with dark wood everywhere and really high ceilings so I know I am gonna need something with some serious kick to get any decent light.

I am shooting with a Nikon D850 and I am basically torn between a few options but I cant decide if I should go for the gold standard or save some cash. The first is the Nikon SB-5000 which I know is the pro choice but man that $600 price tag is stinging a bit right now since I just dropped a ton of money on new memory cards last month. Then there is the Godox V1 which everyone seems to be obsessed with lately because of the round head and that lithium battery pack. It is way cheaper and the recycle times look amazing on paper but I am scared it might glitch out on me in the middle of the ceremony since it isnt native Nikon tech and I've heard some weird things about the hot shoe being flimsy.

I also looked at the SB-700 as a budget save but I am worried it wont have the power I need for those big bounce shots in a dark room. My absolute max budget is $500 but I would really prefer to stay under $350 if I can help it so I can actually afford to eat this week lol. I need something that wont overheat after fifty shots and has really reliable TTL because I wont have time to fiddle with manual settings while the couple is doing their first dance.

Should I just bite the bullet and get the SB-5000 for the peace of mind or is the Godox V1 actually reliable enough for a high-stakes paid gig like this? Or is there some other Nikon flash I am totally overlooking that fits the bill?