Do a search for "beginner" "starting out" etc. and you'll find a lot of good advice. Personally I think one of the decisions that you will have to live with the longest is what kind of boxes to get. They last a very long time, I have some 31 years old with bees still in them, and you have to lift them.
A ten frame deep full of honey weighs 90 pounds.
A ten-frame medium full of honey weighs 60 pounds.
An eight-frame medium full of honey weighs 45 pounds.
A deep is usually used on the bottom for brood, so usually (if there's a lot of brood) it doesn't weight that much, but often they fill the top deep or the bottom deep full of honey. Then, in my opinion, they are painful to lift.
I've converted from deeps and shallows (as all the beginners kits have and all the books seem to recommend) to all eight-frame mediums. I cut down all the deeps to mediums and then I cut all the 10-frame equipment down to eight frames. But it's MUCH easier to buy what you want in the first place instead of reworking it later.
Also I've gone to all small cell to control the Varroa. You can either buy small cell foundation or do some variation of letting the bees build their own comb.
These two (all mediums and small cell) are things that require retooling if you start off with the normal (all deeps and "normal" large cell foundation) setup. Other things aren't quite so critical and difficult to redo.
Personally, though, on other things, I would buy a large smoker. They are easier to keep lit (more room for air). I'd buy an Italian hive tool from Brushy Mt (the only ones carrying it now as far as I know). It has a well-designed lifter (better than the one from Maxant) and it's longer and lighter. The Thorne with the lifter from
www.beeworks.com would be my second choice and the Maxant with the lifter my third.
I'd buy a jacket with a zip on veil to start off. Later when you're more comfortable you can get just a veil for the hot days, but even then I prefer a bug baffler jacket and pants. The bug baffler isn't sting proof, but it's nice and cool. If you have both the jacket and pants you can wear it over shorts and stay pretty cool on a hot day.