Congratulations!!! What a fun time. Of course I'm 100% biased, but my wedding was a blast. People kept coming up to me during the reception, then for months afterwards too, and talking about how much fun it was. Our whole goal was to make it a great party. I focused my planning efforts mostly on the food, drinks, and music, and planned it from the perspective of the guest.
For instance, when I first walk into a reception, I want a drink and and appetizer right away. By that time, people are ready for a cocktail and a snack. So I had waiters at my reception hall greeting guests with their choice of a glass of wine or beer right when they walked in, and then waiters walking around with trays of appetizers that I chose during our planning. That sets a tone right away. Make sure it won't be crowded when people arrive (talk to the planner at your venue about this) so that people get there, have space to roam about and mingle, and don't have to fight for a drink or bite to eat. Sometimes adults are like toddlers - give them their sippy cup and snack and they are happy campers! :)
We did a pasta bar in addition to our buffet table, which was a huge hit. The chef at the pasta bar cooked up made-to-order dishes, and guests got to choose type of pasta, type of sauce, and veggies/meat, then the chef would prepare it in the saute pan right there. Obviously not every place has the space/equipment to do something like this, but you can check to see what options of you have in terms of giving people reasonable choices for food and keeping it within your budget.
Finally, we kicked off the dancing with sort of a surprise. I wanted to do all of the traditional wedding things like the cake cutting and throwing the bouquet, so of course we did the father-daughter dance after my husband and I did our first dance. My dad really wanted to dance to Butterfly Kisses, so we did, and then right at the end of that, the DJ broke into Brickhouse and we got down, just me and my dad on the dance floor. People were totally revved up by it, and the dance floor was PACKED all night long. The party even moved to my parents' house afterwards because no one was ready to go home after 4 hours!