The era of small and understated weddings has come to an end for a majority of wedding couples, with the dream of the big, formal wedding springing back to life. Couples want the fairy-tale wedding, and they're infusing their expansive plans with a large degree of personalization and family heritage. While budget is still on most couples' minds, they're finding ways to bring their dreams to life. Here are the top wedding and reception trends for 2007:

1. Guest lists are getting bigger.

According to TheWeddingReport.com, the average number of wedding guests is 167. We're moving away from the more intimate wedding and inviting more colleagues, distant relatives, friends, and parents' friends. It's all about the people you've gathered to celebrate with you.

2. Weddings are returning to traditional.

For a short time, wedding couples sought out strange and unique celebrations ­ like underwater ceremonies ­ but there's a return to the traditional wedding. TheWeddingReport.com says that 57% of weddings will be traditional, 19% will be casual, 21% will be unique, and 4% will be super-extravagant. Of the traditional weddings, 53% will be church weddings, 36% will be outdoor weddings, 22% will be held in a hotel or country club, and 11% will be destination weddings.

3. Budgets are getting bigger.

In 2006, the national average wedding budget was $27,690, and in 2007, the average is $27,490. Naturally, that's just a national average. To see the figures in your area, visit www.costofwedding.com and enter your zip code. This is a great way to see what couples in your region are spending on which portions of their wedding plans.

4. More thought is going into the ceremony.

Couples are actively working with their officiants to personalize the ceremony, including personalized vows, musical performances, cultural rituals, tributes to the departed, spiritual elements, and involvement of parents and kids.

5. Couples are going outside of the traditional Saturday afternoon wedding.

With those budget figures so high, couples have figured out that they can save a fortune on their wedding by planning a Friday night celebration, or planning for earlier on Saturday, a Sunday afternoon or evening, even on a weekday night such as a Thursday if all of their guests live nearby. These alternative times open up locations and experts who are booked solid on the traditional Saturday night, and they allow couples to get more wedding for their money.

6. The menu brings in family heritage.

Couples are working with their caterers to bring in cultural dishes, family recipes, and dishes from their own love stories. If, for instance, the groom proposed over a dinner of lobster and chocolate mousse, those items are brought into the reception menu.

7. The cocktail hour gets a boost.

Couples are enhancing the buffet and passed hors d'oeuvres with more elaborate and extravagant stations such as caviar stations and raw seafood bars, really treating their guests like kings and queens with unique food items and hand-passed service (with an increased number of serving staff). They're hiring live musicians to make the cocktail hour an experience. A lot more is invested in the 'opening act' to the reception.

8. Receptions are opening with a short film.

The couple has created and edited a short film montage of their childhood scenes, messages to their parents and guests, and even greetings from relatives who couldn't attend. It's like the opening act of the Oscars, with the mini-movie shown on a large plasma television screen.

9, Dinner menus are unique.

Couples and their caterers are bypassing the usual dishes (chicken, beef or salmon) and creating combination platters of unique dishes that guests can't get everyday. A lot of creativity goes into the menu, as well as the salad course, the intermezzo and even side dishes. Since guests know their gourmet foods and wines, brides and grooms are serving only the best in both categories.

10. The champagne flows.

Guests are given plenty of champagne, not just the one toasting glass full, and the champagne is dressed up with raspberries, strawberries, pomegranate juice and other blasts of color and flavor as an alternative option to a sparkling flute of pure champagne.

11. Entertainment is key.

Guests remember the food and the entertainment, so couples are bringing in soloists and musicians for special performances in addition to the playlist of the deejay or band. They're hiring talented artists for guitar solos, cultural music, Sinatra-like tributes, and other special surprise acts.

12. Couples are dancing.

The bride and groom not only take dancing lessons before the reception, they have a choreographer arrange a custom dance just for them and for their comfort level. The big trend is to start off with a slow dance, then change into a samba or tango halfway through. A real crowd-pleaser.

13. The Viennese table is back.

For a short time, the dessert hour trended down to just the wedding cake and chocolate-covered strawberries as a way for the couple to save money, and now the big spread of desserts is back! Caterers are presenting smaller bite-sized German chocolate cake, truffles, petit fours, cheesecake bites, and other decadent treats. And of course, the groom's cake has returned as an homage to an aspect of his personality and hobbies. Cupcake towers are also either taking the place of the wedding cake, or joining it as part of the Viennese table, along with chocolate fountains and fondues.

14. After-parties are hotter.

Club kids enjoy going out for drinks and dancing after the reception is over, and parents are joining them. Some couples book a room at the hotel, bring in a deejay or hook up their iPods for a personalized song list, hire a caterer to supply snackfoods or hot chafing dishes of foods, and specialty drinks like martinis.

15. Favors are higher on the priority list.

Favors are back, and couples are gifting their guests with edible treats like champagne-flavored truffles and chocolate-dipped Oreos, going either in the extravagant direction or in the return-to-childhood treats direction. Edibles are the favor of choice, because no one needs a brandy snifter with your name on it. If the couple wishes to donate to charity in lieu of favors, they still offer their guests some candies or a small offering to take home with them.

16. Receiving lines are back.

They may not take place at the ceremony, since everyone's in a rush to get those photos taken, but they do take place at the reception. If the couple doesn't wish to have an official receiving line, they make a point to go table-to-table to greet their guests during the first hour of the reception (doing so later looks like they just want their gift envelopes).

17. The bride and groom make a toast.

Tradition has the Best Man making the first toast, and the Maid of Honor making the second toast, but the bride and groom will make a toast right before cutting the wedding cake. This essential toast thanks their parents, their in-laws, their bridal parties and their guests, and they may say a few words to one another.

18. Destination weddings are on the rise.

Some couples say this is perfection for them, a savings of money, and an elimination of the gigantic guest list. A handful of closest friends and family members attend, and then the couple celebrates more informally with all of their friends and family after their return.

19. The end of the wedding calls for more slow dancing.

Which is what most of the wedding guests want anyway. Fast songs can be heard and enjoyed at any nightclub, so couples ask for the slow-down, the romantic songs, the ballads.

20. The bride and groom stay until the end of the wedding.

Why miss the fun final hour?

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 30 wedding planning books and is the Q&A specialist at NJWedding.com. Sharon will answer any wedding-related questions at www.njwedding.com/expertadvice. She is a resident of Morristown, New Jersey. To view and purchase any of Sharon's helpful books, click here to visit the NJWedding.com WedStore!