Ive been shooting with my D850 for a while now but mostly just used natural light or this old beat-up speedlight I found at a garage sale years ago. But Im doing my cousins outdoor wedding next month in Portland and I know the lighting is gonna be tricky with the trees and potentially gray skies. I really need a proper setup for portraits that wont fail me. Ive been looking at two main options but Im totally torn between them and could use some perspective from people who actually shoot Nikon.

The first one is the Nikon SB-5000. Its obviously the pro choice and since Im already in the Nikon ecosystem it feels like the safest bet for TTL accuracy and that legendary reliability. I heard the radio control and the cooling system are top notch so it wont shut down on me during the reception when things get busy. But man, that price tag is steep... its like 600 bucks just for the unit and that eats up my entire budget for accessories.

On the other hand, everyone is talking about the Godox V1-N. It has that round head which people say gives a more natural falloff for portraits, and its literally half the price of the Nikon. Plus the lithium ion battery seems way more convenient than carrying a pocket full of AA batteries like a crazy person. Im leaning toward the Godox because I could basically buy two of them for the price of one Nikon flash, but Im worried about the build quality or if the TTL will be inconsistent on my camera body. I dont want to be fiddling with settings while the bride is walking down the aisle.

My constraints are basically:

• Budget: Trying to stay under 600 total including maybe a trigger
• Use case: Mostly outdoor portraits and some indoor reception stuff
• Timeline: Need to buy it in the next two weeks to practice before the event
• Reliability: Cannot have it overheat or misfire during the ceremony

Is the Nikon name really worth that extra 300 dollars? Or is the Godox V1 actually better for portraits specifically because of that round head design? I also looked at the SB-700 but it feels a bit dated now and I dont want to buy something I'll need to upgrade in six months. Just trying to figure out which way to go...