What to Look for in a Reception Venue

The biggest suggestion I have is to look at what is included for your precious money.  While you may have found the ideal location, there may be some hidden costs that you're not seeing right away.  You also don't want to go too cheap, because you'll have the same problem of things not being included.  When we were looking for our reception venues, I had two that I was seriously considering going with.  I didn't realize that I had already made my decision until we came home from the second venue.  The first one I looked at was the Embassy Suites.  Their packages were a little expensive but super tempting (not to mention I had a great deal from a wedding fair), but we wanted to check at least one more location before we made a final decision.  Our next stop was the Holiday Inn across the street.  While I liked the interior of the reception venue better than the Embassy Suites (and I did change hotel locations for the Embassy Suites to one I liked much better), the packages weren't as nice--they were definitely cheaper, and that was evident by the things that they included.
The other piece of advice while looking for a venue is their preferred vendors.  While you may have someone who has agreed to make a wedding cake for you at low cost, the venue may not allow it.  This was an issue that I had encountered as I was deciding upon my location.  While I would have loved the cake balls to be my wedding cake, I think it was a good call going with Embassy Suites and using their preferred cake vendor.  The same goes for the reception flowers.  They include different types of center pieces based upon the package that you choose when you go to your tasting.  Now, we've made the decision already about the package, but that's because we weren't able to get the tasting date that we wanted.
Something else you'll want to be careful of is the venue's liquor license.  If the location has a bar, you're usually okay, but if they provide a bar and don't have one on site, your beverage choices may be limited to beer and wine.  This can be a problem for your guests if they don't like beer/wine.
You also may want to ask if the venue will allow you to have more guests arrive after dinner (to save you money).  While a few sources call this being cheap, I call it being smart.  Who cares if everyone isn't invited to dinner?  Are you really that close to everyone that you're inviting?  It will make seating guests much easier, and it means that you can have people come to your wedding reception who may have had to work earlier in the day (this is especially nice for me since my wedding is on a Friday afternoon, and I'm sure a few of the people that I am inviting won't be able to get the time off requested).  It will also help add to the party atmosphere of the reception by having people who are really energized (and not super full after your reception dinner) come in for the best part of the night.
Be sure to ask about what days are cheapest at your venue as well!  All venues have a food minimum and some even have a beverage minimum that will need to be met in order to have your reception at that location. The cheapest day is Sunday, but it will make it a little harder to have a hopping reception unless Monday is a holiday (this is the case with my aunt, so she's in good shape here).  Fridays are also a little cheaper (but not as cheap as Sundays), but sometimes it can really make a difference in the price (there was a big difference at my venue for Fridays vs Saturdays).
When you've picked your location, you're also going to want to make sure that you put in your room block as soon as possible.  In some hotels, blocking the room when the price is the cheapest can alleviate the cost for your guests, since they'll lock that price in for them.
I hope that these small tips can make a difference in your venue choices!

Picture from: http://embassyweddings.com/ceremony-bloomington.html