First things first

The bride's family is usually responsible for making all the arrangements and absorbing the cost, which can mean shelling out for food, drink, a wedding cake, caterers, waiting staff, a toastmaster, flower arrangements, a band or disco, entertainers or musicians and any security arrangements. Sometimes, couples cover the cost of the wedding reception themselves, or share it between the families. Whoever's paying, it's the wedding reception that is likely to be the single biggest expense of the wedding, so plan it carefully.

Planning for your reception should begin as soon as you set the wedding date - usually at least three months in advance. Popular venues (or any venue on popular dates like a bank holiday) may need to be reserved up to one year before the event, so get a provisional booking in as soon as you can.

And remember, the sky's the limit. Celebrate your marriage in a style that suits you and don't feel forced into the conventional sit-down meal in a marquee, if you'd rather eat fish and chips in a pub, like Kate Winslet!

When to have your reception

As long as it fits in with your wedding service, the timing of your reception is really up to you.

You can have a wedding breakfast - the traditional name for what is actually a sit-down lunch following a morning wedding ceremony.

Or an afternoon reception, held after a two-thirty or three o'clock service. Usually this is followed by an evening party/disco held some hours later to give everybody time to change in-between if they wish. Sometimes the 'evening do' is hosted by the couple themselves and invitations are issued in their names. It's also a chance to invite people you couldn't afford to feed!

Recently made fashionable by Sophie and Edward, is the more continental late-afternoon service, followed by an evening reception with dinner and dancing. Guests are invited to wear evening dress to the ceremony (remember the Queen's purple-feathered affair?)

If you are getting married abroad, in a hot climate, a late afternoon, or early morning ceremony, is best, unless you want to fry!

You might find your reception timetable is partly dictated by licensing laws. You need to check how late a venue's license extends before you make a firm booking. Even if your reception is in a hotel, where overnight guests can continue to purchase drinks legally, there may well be a limit on how long the music is allowed to go on.