Back to nature for new Shropshire wedding and event venue

A brand new woodland wedding and event venue has been launched in the heart of the Shropshire countryside.

Located at Wrekin Forest School on Crudgington Moor Lane, Telford, the new rustic ceremony site has been created by owner Judie Ellis in response to demand.

Judie, a trained forest school leader and educator, has become well known across Shropshire over recent years for her innovative approach to the outdoors and teaching children and young people a range of unique skills.

Now, the business owner is giving couples the opportunity to get back to nature and explore the wonders of the woodland site by hosting wedding ceremonies.

The site, complete with tree-lined lawn and meadow, rustic barn, tipi, shepherds huts, bar area and fire pits, is also being made available for other events including milestone birthdays, renewal of vows ceremonies and anniversary celebrations.

Judie said: “We are absolutely delighted to officially announce the opening of our new wedding and event venue and we are looking forward to welcoming guests from across Shropshire and further afield.

“We have hosted a number of events already and I’m delighted to say, they have all proven extremely successful. We have of course been super lucky with the weather this year and when the sun shines, the forest backdrop provides the most spectacular setting for a friendly, rustic-romance style wedding or other celebration.

“The venue really is perfect for those wanting to get back to nature. The relaxed and informal space is the kind of place where you can get married in your wellies, flip flops or heels - anything goes really!

“We love to encourage guests to add their own personal style with bespoke decorations such as bunting and colourful wildflowers. Of course, we can be on hand to assist in any way needed but generally we like to leave the personal touches to those hiring out the venue as we know everyone likes to add their own individual twist.”

As well as using the ceremony site, guests can also make use of the forest school area by trying out some of the adventure activities such as archery and air rifle shooting. There is also an off-grid campsite available for those wishing to stay overnight at the venue.

Judie, who hosted her first wedding at the site earlier this year following a request from a friend, said: “Our venue isn’t an alternative to a hotel wedding or celebration. What you get here is truly unique and is for those really wishing to embrace nature and everything that comes with it.

“The idea was borne after a friend of mine asked to hire the site to create a surprise wedding. At first, I thought she was a bit mad but slowly I began to picture how amazing a wedding day or other celebration could be here in the woodland and that’s when we started to seriously consider transforming the site.

“It’s taken around 12 months to get the venue event-ready with the addition of the barn, tipi, shepherds huts, piggery and all the other unique elements such as log seating.

“It now looks fantastic and the celebrations we’ve had so far have been spectacular. Every single one has been very different but they’ve all had a fun, friendly and natural vibe to them which is exactly the kind of memories we are trying to create for our guests.”

Events held at Wrekin Forest School Events can accommodate up to 130 guests and there are three different packages to choose from depending on the type of celebration to be held.