Antonia Swinson is an expert on weddings, flowers, fashion and beauty. She began her writing career at Vogue and for three years was assistant editor at Brides magazine. Her books include The Wedding Planner, Wedding Etiquette and When I was a Bridesmaid. Here are some of her thoughts on choosing a venue for the reception.

If you or your parents have a large garden, you could have the reception at home in a marquee and hire a caterer. Hotels and restaurants can usually take care of all the arrangements, including organizing the cake and flowers, which is useful if you are short of time. Finding a venue is an important part of wedding planning. Popular venues get booked up months or even years ahead, particularly over the summer, so it's never too early to look. Word of mouth is a good start, or look in the Yellow Pages, local papers, hotel guides, wedding magazines and on the internet. Your local register office has a list of licensed venues countrywide.

When you've found a venue, there are lots of questions to ask. Is it available and is it the right size? How close is it to the church (if you are having a church wedding)? Find out whether there is an in-house wedding coordinator and an in-house caterer; whether there will be other weddings there that day; whether they can recommend other services, such as musicians; and how late the reception can carry on. The Wedding Planner, offers a multitude of hints and tips on planning a wedding and helps you to compile a timetable of what to do when.