Top 10 Wedding Reception Planning Tips

White roses, white gown and words of love and promise...that's what a wedding day is all about. It's the one day that's most treasured in any girls' life. But what goes on behind the scene? The days, weeks and months before that are full of details and planning. Planning a wedding reception can be very stressful especially if you are a perfectionist who wants the perfect wedding. But don't let all the planning get you down or let you not enjoy your own reception.

10 Things You Need to Plan Before Your Wedding Reception

1. Venue: One of the first things to do is decide on the venue for the reception. The venue is going to be the basis of all your plans. You can plan the theme around the venue.
2. Date and Time: Most people would say selecting the date and time for the reception is the first thing to do. But the date and time are easy to settle upon, after the venue is decided, and they can be easily changed before the invitation cards are printed. If you haven't settled on a date, you can at least settle on a season first and then take it from there.
3. Budget: Decide on a budget before proceeding with any more plans. The budget will help you decide what you want and what you can afford.
4. Setting: This is in relation to the venue, but different. You need to decide whether you want an outdoor wedding or an indoor church wedding, and what sort of reception you want. A garden reception or a house reception.
5. Guests: Decide whether you want a big wedding or small, how many guests you want to invite and what kind of seating arrangement you want.
6. Food and Drinks: This is the time to decide on the food. The food will depend on a lot of things, the season, the venue and preferences of family members. Also you need to decide on a sit-down dinner or a buffet. Wedding cake is a big part of the menu, white chocolate or dark, filling or full cake, how many tiers on the cake? Does your budget allow for alcohol and of what kind? Do you want a full bar or open bar? Are you service champagne for the toast? All these choices need to be made.
7. Decorations: These need to be selected, the kind of flowers to be carried by the bride and bridesmaids, the center pieces, other wedding decorations need to be considered. A cost-effective way to decorate is by using greenery, which is cheap and pretty.
8. Music and Entertainment: Music is a big part of the wedding. Not only do you need to choose the music for the wedding but also for the reception. The guests need to be entertained, you can do this by hiring an experienced DJ, depending on the crowd or you can hire a live band that can keep things lively.
9. Photographs: You need to select a photographer who will take good pictures of you and the reception. Make sure you get a professional who understands light and other technicalities as these photographs are the only memories of your happy day.
10. Wedding Favors: Make sure your guests have something to take back from the wedding reception, it can be something for them to keep and remember your reception by, it could be a candle or something small depending on the budget.

Don't forget to have fun in the midst of all the planning and pre-wedding jitters.