Choosing a church — as difficult as that experience can be — is a cakewalk compared with finding a reception hall that suits your every wedding need (the need for good, reasonably priced food and drink, the need for clean surroundings, the need for plenty of ladies' bathroom stalls). This experience often ends up being the most time-consuming, most expensive, most frustrating part of planning a wedding. This section offers up a little advice in how to choose the right spot for you.

Narrowing Down the Choices

You won't choose your reception site from the Business Listings in the phone book. That's a perfectly acceptable way to choose a dentist or a mechanic, but this is your wedding. You need to ask around — get some real opinions of the reception places in your area.

You need solid anecdotal evidence here, and it's easy enough to find. Even if none of your friends have taken the plunge into marriage yet some of their family members have. Some of their other friends have. You have relatives who can tell you about their wedding experiences. All you need to do is ask. Most people will be more than eager to offer their take on the whole thing.

If you're looking for a nontraditional reception and someone can tell you about a certain place (a picnic grove or an old converted theater, for example), you'll be able to get a feel for the entire experience — which may help you decide if you'd rather go the traditional route, or if you want to have a more creative wedding day.

The Array of Choices

Finding the right reception spot is essential to the good vibes of your wedding. The wrong place can ruin the whole day. The problem is, every place you and your fiancée have discussed looks great. How do you get down to brass tacks and find out which place is the right place? A few well-phrased questions can narrow down the list fairly quickly:

How long has the place been in business? How many events are typically held there each year? What size?

How many guests can the facility serve?

Does the facility have an on-site caterer? Are outside caterers permitted?

Does the facility have a liquor license?

Where's the dance floor? How big is it?

Where will the musicians set up?

Get an itemized list of what the price quote includes. Are linens, tables, and chairs included or will they cost you extra? Is there a cake-cutting or champagne toasting fee? Is there an extra charge for setup and cleanup? Is gratuity included in the quote?

The Caterer Interview

If you decide to work with a caterer, you'll want to be prepared with a list of questions. A few to throw at him/her (the last five also apply to the on-site caterer at a reception site):

Is this person a full-time caterer?

How many servers will be at the wedding? How will they dress?

How long has the person been a caterer? How many events has the person done? How large an event can he or she comfortably handle?

Does the person have any type of formal training?

Does the caterer have a liquor license? A health permit?

Will a bartender cost extra?

Is it possible to book a “taste consultation”?

Is gratuity included in the price quote?

These questions will get the conversation rolling, and from there you can move on to other topics, such as your wedding cake (does this caterer provide one, or will you need to find a separate baker? Does this caterer charge a cutting fee for an outside cake?) and your payment schedule (will you have to pay the total at one time, or in installments?).