The odd new things on my list

Since most of Chaz's friends live in the UK, we're going to have a UK wedding reception as well as the US one. His house is way too small for that kind of thing, and we may have sold it by that point, anyway. Thus, a castle. Wouldn't it be cool to have a wedding reception in a castle? Anyone have any suggestions for an affordable one, that rents out its hall for parties?

ETA: Ah. It should be near Newcastle Upon Tyne, which is in the northeast of England, about twenty miles from Edinburgh and near Durham Cathedral.

Even more things for the list

I was deadheading some roses a little while ago, and my neighbors invited me over for a barbecue. One of their stepmothers is planning a wedding for her daughter, so we had a great discussion of weddings and wedding planning. She recommended Freedom Hall in Santa Clara for the reception, but also suggested the Del Monte building in Sunnyvale. She also mentioned things like engagement announcements, and it occurred to me that I should probably look into that. Hmmm....