Are you sitting here wondering how to plan a wedding reception? Then you came to the right place. There are so many moving parts when it comes to planning a wedding and we aim to make it a little easier on you by having a place to start. Weddings should be a day filled with joy and happiness, not stress and exhaustion from all the planning beforehand.

Wedding Reception Planning Checklist

1. Set Your Budget

First and foremost, you always want to set your budget. Deciding on an overall budget and then breaking it down into sub-categories will ensure you don’t overspend. It will also make planning a wedding reception on a budget easier to track when broken down into more manageable categories such as venue, activities, décor, food, etc.

2. Choose a Date

Once you’ve set your budget, it’s time to choose a date. You will want to obviously coordinate with the date of your wedding, and it’s important to have a few different options in case the venues for the reception are booked. The time of year can also affect the date you choose in terms of budget and you will also want to decide what day of the week you will have it based on your budget.

3. Decide on a Venue

It’s hard to narrow down options for the best venues for wedding receptions, but a good place to start is deciding if you want to look at outdoor or indoor reception venues. This will give you a good jumping-off point. You will also want to make sure you are looking at wedding event venues that are in your budget and also have availability on the date you’re looking at. The more venues you look at and tour, the more room you have for negotiation.

4. Reception Flow

With various types of wedding receptions, you will want to decide on your reception flow and what you want to focus on and include. Do you want to be officially announced when you enter the reception? Do you plan to have toasts throughout the night? Will there be dancing? Are you going to hire a DJ? Live music? What types of photos do you want? Do you want a videographer and photographer? Will you play on traditions like tossing the bouquet and/or garter? These are things you will want to think through thoroughly so you can plan out the flow of your event.

5. Seating Arrangements

Next, you will want to take time to look at your guest list and make seating arrangements. This is a nice way to ensure all of your guests have people they know at the table or other guests you think they will enjoy sitting with. You can indicate places with little name tags, and typically the bride and groom sit front and center at the ‘sweetheart’ table, with friends and family sitting close by. Or you can scrap a seating arrangement altogether and let people sit where they would like to.

6. Menu

Finally, the food. There are numerous options you can choose from such as sit-down dining with plated meals, buffet style, cocktail reception, brunch, etc. This is where you can play around with creating your own menu and catering it exactly to your taste buds. Make sure you consider guests and dietary restrictions as well.

We hope this list of steps helps you navigate your way through a busy wedding season. When it comes to wedding reception venues in Los Angeles, we at Ovation Square have one of the largest event spaces located in the heart of downtown Long Beach. We have hosted many receptions and would be more than happy to help you plan yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If I want to hire a catering company, can you help me find one?

A: Yes. With a full event planning staff behind us, we can help provide any third-party services you may need.

Q: Do you think allowing people to sit where they want instead of a seating arrangement is a bad idea?

A: Not necessarily. This can allow people to sit with whoever they like, however, we recommend asking people not to shift chairs around, so when it comes to photos, you have people evenly distributed.

Q: Can the venue help me decide on dates too for peak season?

A: Yes. A venue will be able to go over all the details and pricing differences when it comes to the different times of the year, as well as the various days of the week.