A Shropshire wedding venue is putting the West Midlands on the map after beating off tough competition from across the UK to scoop second place at a national awards ceremony - one of two award wins to start the year.

The success in the Best Wedding Barn category at The Wedding Industry Awards 2023 (TWIA) is a major coup for the Hundred House, near Bridgnorth, and follows on from winning the regional round before Christmas - the fourth time the venue has taken that particular title.

The team at the Hundred House were still celebrating their national success when they were informed of another win - in the Shropshire Wedding Venue category at the Hitched Wedding Awards 2023.

A team of 11 from the Hundred House travelled to London for the national finals of the TWIA - an annual event committed to recognising and rewarding excellence within the wedding industry across 26 categories, each producing a winner and a Highly Commended. The Hitched Wedding Awards recognise venues and suppliers, with more than 18,000 businesses involved across more than 20 categories.

Stuart Phillips, of the family-run Hundred House, said: “It’s raining awards at the moment - but we are not complaining!

“Taking the Highly Commended award at the TWIA, essentially the silver medal, is a magnificent achievement for our talented, hard-working team and recognises the effort they put in on a daily basis to ensure our high standards are maintained and our wedding guests are always assured of the best service from us.

“We were absolutely delighted to take the TWIA West Midlands regional title for the fourth time before Christmas and this latest accolade really helps to put the West Midlands in the national spotlight when it comes to wedding venues.

“It has got 2023 off to a flying start for us and we have a busy year ahead with bookings having flooded in from couples choosing the Hundred House to host their big day.

“The award is all the more pleasing because the judging process is primarily down to feedback and votes from couples who have experienced their wedding with us. These valuable contributions along with judging critics on our website, social media and within our literature are all collated to form the basis of what amounts to the wedding industry’s ‘Oscars’.”

South Farm, at Royson on the Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire border won the national Best Wedding Barn award and the Hundred House was a close second - with the Shropshire venue achieving a score of 69.48 out of 70.

Mr Phillips said: “It was really close and we were up against some very stiff top quality competition, including big budget venues with many having a much higher price tag than us, but second place was still an excellent result, particularly with the amazing score we achieved.

“We took a team of 11 down to London for the awards at The Underglobe. We stayed overnight and enjoyed a meal together prior to the awards. Then, within days of getting back from that ceremony we heard that we had won the Shropshire Wedding Venue award in the Hitched Wedding Awards, which we had no idea about!

“It is a tremendous double achievement and it is our team which makes the Hundred House special - the care and attention they put into every moment of a wedding we host really sets us apart from other venues.

“We have so many people within the team that are family, sisters and brothers, couples, mums and daughters and cousins and everyone consistently gives their all - we really couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Weddings at the Hundred House, located between Telford and Bridgnorth, are held in the 17th century tithe barn at the rear of the successful country pub, restaurant and hotel and is fully licensed for all civil marriage ceremonies.

For more about The Hundred House, call 01952 580240, email weddings@hundredhouse.co.uk or visit the website at hundredhouseweddings.co.uk