If you were to divide all the wedding arrangements into two big pieces, one would be the ceremony and the other would be the reception.
With the ceremony things like the venue and type and the officiate matter a lot but a reception has far more things that need to be organized.
At the center of everything else is the food which matters a lot and if you've decided to hire a caterer instead of a wedding planner it means that the theme and decorations are coming from you, your family and your friends.
The caterer has to provide food to match and to do that you need a good caterer.
Always ask for references before you hire a caterer.
If you attended a wedding where the caterer did a particularly good job track him down.
If there's a caterer that your friends and family warn you about; stay away from him, a wedding is no time to take chances.
Meet with caterers again and again and discuss with them what they can do for your wedding and wedding theme.
Good caterers will give you ideas and build an actual vision of how the food will look when it's served.
Good catered food is simple and elegant; if you were to have a Hawaiian or beach themed wedding then fruit would be a must have at the reception but it would be up to your caterer to find something unique like fruit arrangements or fruit bouquets to fit in with the wedding arrangements.
Check how experienced is the staff that the caterer is providing and always read the contract carefully.