A few "rules to live by" if you're planning on keeping bees.
Don't wear black cloths, even a white t-shirt will get you stung less than a black long sleeve shirt.
Same with dark glasses, the bees will go for your eyes
Don't swat at the bees, you'll just p1ss them off
If you are comfortable wearing the gear do it, I still don't like getting stung and wear gloves and a veil.
If your veil and hat are seperate get a needle and thread and stitch them together, nothing is worse than having your veil fall off your hat with a bunch of mad bees buzzing you.
A little smoke works better than a lot of smoke.
Don't go overboard with a lot of hives, start with three or four and learn from them.
Stick with one equipment supplier for woodware, mixing different manufacturers will cause a lot of burr comb and problems.
Use 9 frames instead of 10
Beekeeping is fun, enjoy it, after 10 years as a hobby beekeeper I'm still learning and having fun with it.
Taking a class is the right way to learn the basics, make sure you keep in touch with the instructor and the other members of the class, you might be able to get some used equipment down the road. Not everybody has what it takes to keep bees. Two packages of bees will be plenty to get started with cause you will need to purchase two complete hive setups and you can compare the two hives as they build up. Luck with it and please let us all know how it works out ;D