When planning your wedding reception, the first thing you should know is it's not about your venue, food or decorations. It's more about the vibe, atmosphere and experience that you create for yourself and guests that will ultimately determine the success of your reception.

The very first thing you need to do is have a reception check list to ensure everything that needs to be done, gets done. Having a checklist will dissolve any stress you could possibly have and will bring together all of your (worry free) wedding plans.

A good checklist covers what to check...

6 Months before
3 Months before
1 Month before
2 Weeks before
1 Week before
1 Day before and On the Day of your wedding.

You can find a free editable Wedding Planning Checklist here.

At the end of the day, your reception's success depends on your "crew" Whether they are either family, friends or professional wedding suppliers, these people will bring your reception together.

The people running your wedding reception are number one when it comes to your reception's success so choose wisely and earlier the better, as most of the good suppliers are booked well in advance.

A quick tip on hiring wedding providers is to read local wedding directory forums and see what suppliers other brides and grooms have talked about. Just do a search in google for your local area discussions forums... For Example google search... your area wedding forums (or directory) Your main suppliers who will be at your reception are generally...

Wedding Planner
Entertainment (DJ / Band)
Master of Ceremonies
Photographer
Videographer
Caterer / Chef
Bar and Service Staff
Venue Function Coordinator

Each of these people play a part in your reception running like clockwork but there is only 3 of these people that will create the core experience and atmosphere at your reception.

The first and most important is your Master of Ceremonies (Or the MC) He or she will guide your reception, direct the focus of your guests and maybe even entertain a little.

The second is the Music. The difference between good music and great music can really affect the level happiness and excitement at your reception. This includes the songs you choose, the dinner music the DJ or band programs then the Party & Dancing Music.

The third is your Function Coordinator and / or Wedding planner. He or she will keep every detail of your reception running smooth as (without the bride or groom knowing it of course)

So summing up if you haven't created a checklist you are leaving yourself open to problems and this is Reception Secret Number One! (Unless of course you have hired a wedding planner who should take care of most of these finer details for you)

Planning a wedding should be fun, exciting and enjoyable and having the right knowledge before you lock in the finer details will save you a bunch of stress.

One of the big problems is information overload and its easy to get overwhelmed with the information available on the internet whilst planning a wedding.

Talk to family, friends and amongst other brides & grooms on wedding forums to stay focused on planning the right things from the start. Depending on the complexity of your wedding reception, you may find planning easier by using a wedding planner.

Reputable wedding planners will make your wedding day a dream!