Unique and Unusual Wedding Venues in West Midlands - England

Myself and my partner had seen Thorpe by chance before it officially opened (the previous owners before Cripps took over, had done a wedding there back in 2017 and we saw the pics on Facebook). The venue was then taken over by Cripps and bookings were not being taken until July 2019 as they had big plans for a new ceremony building and were completely refurbishing the yurt. However, as we had already booked in with the previous company for May 2019, Cripps honoured our booking, despite the fact it put them under huge pressure to get the venue built and finished for a wedding 2 months prior to what they had planned. From our first meeting with Cripps, we were made to feel really special, and nothing was ever too much trouble for them, even considering the special and unique circumstance we were all in, planning a wedding in an unfinished building. Special mention here to Tom and Jennie who were our contacts- they were so reassuring, patient and in constant contact with us so we never felt worried. The first time we saw the venue completely finished was 2 days before the wedding, and it blew us away. The team at Thorpe had worked so hard to get everything finished and it was truely stunning. They should be so proud of themselves. On the day of the wedding, everything was perfect and ran so smoothly. The food was the best wedding food we have ever had, the concept of sharing platters down the table went down a treat and encouraged guests to chat a lot more. People have not stopped talking about the food!! The yurt looked beautiful, and the sun even came out to play. We honestly could not have asked for any more!

We were looking for a venue that was not going to cost the earth and would offer something a little different- away from the usual trend of formal stately home. You provided us with a day that surpassed expectation that was well organised and different. A number of the guests were small children, which had a great deal to do with the choice of venue. It was great that they could go off and enjoy the zoo and play ground. The older guests who took advantage of a walk around the zoo after the breakfast all said they had had a fantastic day and it was really useful to have the two separate rooms for the evening event, I know the older guests who stayed in Windows on the Wild were impressed that the staff were delivering trays of buffet to them. For those children who had not been to a wedding before, the standard has now been set and they are apparently all expecting weddings to be held at zoos! It was excellent value for money, top quality service and an all round great day. I think it is a wedding people will remember, we wouldn’t have changed anything and would thoroughly recommend the venue to other people. If this seems a little over the top with compliments, it is because they were well and truly deserved, making our wedding day so special. Thanks must go to the outdoor staff too. They were charming and made sure guests were ferried back to their cars whenever they left, especially as it was heavy rain later into the night. The staff had ‘umbrellas at the ready’. Well done to them too. Once again, thank you for all your help and all the staff at the zoo.

We had our civil ceremony/reception/evening reception here. This was our perfect venue; a beautiful historic building. Excellent service, food, accommodation... The staff were brilliant (especially manager Brian) and couldn't do enough to make our day exactly what we wanted. Highly recommended!

We attended New Year gala dinner and stayed at this venue, the whole event was very well planned, with great care to detail. The rooms were lovely, with fantastic Christmas decorations and table centres. The food was excellent, as well as served by happy pleasant staff. Even the entrance to the room was along a red carpet. We stayed in the hotel, and rooms were large, clean, well maintained, and comfortable.