Welcome and congrats on the Tv and Receiver. They are both solid componants and I'm sure will give you years of enjoyment.
Regarding speakers, we will need to know the budget you have set aside for them. A lot of people underspend on speakers, so if your budget for speakers is the same as you spent on the receiver, you will most likely get the "upgraditis" bug sooner than later.
A general rule of thumb for a good HT sound set-up (5.1) is about 3-4 times the amount you designated for your receiver. If the receiver cost you $400, then your 5.1 speaker setup could cost you $1,200-$1,600. I understand that this isn't always possible right away.
I personally would forego the 7.1 option as there are few BD's out there to take advantage of this. If you need to pre-wire (an in-wall installation), then go ahead and wire so, but I would refrain from purchasing the addional speakers and instead put that towards your 5.1 set-up.
Also, don't forget that a good 2.0, 2.1, 3.0 or 3.1 setup is a great beginning and you can always add-on later. That's how I started and I couldn't be happier. Go for quality first.......you won't regret it.
John
