Wedding food has gone gourmet. With interactive food stations and decadent dessert buffets (yum), creating the perfect personalized menu is a top priority and, in actuality, part of your wedding style. Your choices go far beyond chicken or beef. From choosing a style of service to finding ways to infuse a menu with some personal flair, many decisions must be made to create an unforgettable meal. Begin by asking yourselves the following questions.

Dinner receptions are the most common, but brunch and lunch receptions are gaining popularity. Tea, cocktails, and dessert receptions are affordable and stylish alternatives.

This is where the personalization comes in. Jot down some of your favorite foods, flavors, and restaurants, and use this list to decide which of these categories best captures your palate preferences: continental cuisine, regional, seasonal, comfort, or ethnic.

Consider the style of your wedding. Decide whether a casual buffet; a family-style plated, seated meal; or a very formal French-served affair would complement your celebration best.

How many courses will be served?

The traditional reception meal is a sit-down, four-course meal: appetizer, soup, entree, and dessert. Additional courses include hors d'oeuvres, salad, fruit and cheese, and pasta.

Standard options include beef, chicken, or seafood. But you could also go for pork, lamb, and pasta. Decide if you want to give guests options.

Consider your vegetarian guests and those who keep kosher or halal when mapping out your menu. You may want to look for a caterer who can create a few alternative meals in addition to your choices.

Keep in mind that you'll want to order a mix of cold and hot hors d'oeuvres and that everything you order should be easy to handle.

-- Passed (staff-served) hors d'oeuvres

-- Hors d'oeuvre tables (more casual)

-- Food stations (raw bar, crepe table)

Depending on the formality of your wedding, you'll want to match the food you serve to the type of tableware you use. Consider china and silver for a formal sit-down dinner or colored glass dishes for a more laid-back affair.

Add a little sweet something to the end of your reception meal beyond the wedding cake. Consider:

-- Cultural treats: Maybe it's a French croquembouche or a Danish dough ring cake.

-- Miniature bites: Consider mini ice cream sandwiches or mini pieces of French toast.

-- Retro favorites: Serve Oreos and milk or your favorite snacks from your childhood.

-- Seasonal items: If it's summer, serve Popsicles; if it's winter, serve warm pudding.

If it's a formal dessert to follow dinner, have it served plated to each place setting. If it's a little more casual, set it up on a fun dessert table so your guests can grab some sweets as they head to the dance floor.

Decide what drinks you're going to feature for each part of the day.

-- Cocktail hour: Could be signature cocktails named after the bride and groom.

-- Dinner: Perhaps you'll have bottles of wine on the tables for dinner.

-- Reception: Typically, a full open bar.

-- Toast: Champagne, and for the kids, sparkling juice.

Here are some things to cover:

-- If you're having a buffet, decide where you want the food set up in your reception hall.

-- If you're having a sit-down dinner, figure out the order in which you want the tables to be served. (Grandma will not be happy if she's the last one to get her meal!)

-- If you're having cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres, start considering if you want everything brought out at the same time or if you would prefer one type of hors d'oeuvre passed around at a time.

Will we need to make extra orders for the day beyond our reception dinner?

-- Staff meals for your on-site vendors (the band and photographers).

-- Snacks in the bridal suite (fruit and cheese are a good idea).

-- Boxed lunches for the day of the wedding.

-- Midnight snack (for you two when the party is over).

Many couples choose to include this info in the invite with the RSVP.

Excerpted from "The Knot Book of Wedding Lists" (Clarkson Potter December 2007).