The wedding reception is about music and food.
People listen to the music and they eat the food.
They interact more with the food than the music.
If your wedding food is bad, the entire reception will be bad.
People tend to rate weddings by their closing which is the reception and once that goes below average, your guests will think they have just wasted their time.
If you are not going to cook the meals yourself, then you need to hire a caterer.
The caterer is entrusted with all the food and drink arrangements so she determines what the guests will get.
For such an important role that a reception plays in the wedding event you would not want to make all that elaborate preparations only to be let down by a poor caterer.
You need to make good choice with the caterer so you end successfully.
Before you hire the food vendor, first decide on the kind of reception you want.
Do you like a sit down dinner or a buffet? A buffet will require less tables and chairs, suitable for young people and will cost less.
Guests are free to choose their combination of food but it is less elegant.
A sit down dinner will call for waiters, linen, tables, chairs and strict food choices.
It is more expensive and guests feel restricted as to what they can eat.
So you need to analyze your guests, their preferences and your budget so you come up with their right type of dinner.
Some caters will charge according to meal type, number of guests or hours of service.
Decide which is affordable first before you run into unnecessary expenses.
If your dinner is going to last a few hours, you will save by avoiding daily rental charges.
Before you get the contract going, ensure that you are satisfied with the caterer's tableware, linen and waiters.
The people going to serve the food should be smartly dressed.
The linen must also be decorative and neat.
You will have to ensure that the caterer has centerpieces and other table decoration to match the theme for your wedding.