Beginner DJ Equipment Tips???

Yep, most definitely active speakers. Imho there is no longer any advantage for DJs using traditional passive speaker/amp setups anymore. And an added bonus is if you have 2 (or 4 depending on the venue/crowd size) active speakers, even if one stops, you can still continue on the other. If your amps quits on you, it’s dead silence.
Obviously less cabling work, lighter cabling (XLR audio cables are definitely easier to handle and lighter than thick SpeakOn speaker cables) and less chances of making mistakes.

Lighting is always a discussion. Although I have played many parties without light, light DOES make a huge difference in setting the atmosphere, BUT … this is using good quality light, knowing how to use is (not set to auto and/or sound activated all night) and actually spending a decent part of your time on controlling the lights. Especially cheap lighting effects have too little power and/or look tacky, especially when used non-stop.

There is a reason that lightjockey is a seperate skill in our business. In the “old” days, we would always be with two guys when we did a mobile gig. One would DJ, the other operate the lights.

If you buy strategic light fixtures, use them in the right way, nowadays it’s possible to do without breaking the bank. But it’s something that need careful thought and planning, imho. So, running out to the store and just buying a few things that are on sale and/or caught your eye is not what I’d suggest.

Depending on the size of the room and the number of people and the kind of music (guessing lots of bass-heavy dance stuff), you might want to consider extending the two active speakers with one or two subs. But if you have this information and supply it to the rental company, they should be able to give you some real good advice about what gear to get and how to set it up around the room. If you go talk to them, bring a few pictures of the room with you and dimensions if you have. That will be a big help for them in order to help you.

@Tuomas: In general I agree with the (small) PA mixer, but in this case it really depends on how and how often he is gonna use the mic. If he is gonna be a really vocal DJ, both his mic and the ability to have some more (tonal) control over it, as well as fader or on/off switch will need more than his MTP2 can offer. If it’s just for the odd announcement here and there, I’d be willing to wing it with the built in Mic option in the MTP2.
Just don’t try to shout OVER the music, bring down your current channel fader a bit when you speak, and you should be fine.