A WEDDING venue famous for its bow tie-wearing llamas has been named the best in the North West.

Wellbeing Farm in Edgworth received the Bridebook Wedding Award 2018, which is presented to the top venue in the region.

It marks another success for the business, which was also named among the best in the country by the London Evening Standard.

Celia Gaze, manager of the Wellbeing Farm wedding venue, said: "We are pretty proud and especially when you think of all the stately homes and other venues we have to compete against..

"To come out on top against all that competition is just incredible.

"I can not get over it. I think they recognised that we offer something that is different. We don't just provide the venue, we provide all the props to help everybody create the venue they want.

"And obviously we have the llamas. It just makes us stand out from all the other venues.

"We have only been doing weddings for just a few years. There are so many amazing wedding venues out there."

A statement from Bridebook praised the farm for its incredible growth in demand since opening, going from just two in 2014 to 62 last year.

It said: "With its unique bow tie-wearing llamas, authentic barn wedding venue, its own cookery school, family butchers and stunning views, the farm offers a very unique wedding experience."

The farm held its first wedding in 2014 and has quickly grown, with 80 weddings already on the books for next year.

Ms Gaze lives at the farm with her partner Stephen Whitehead, who owns the property and runs Whitehead Butchers.

She was working for the NHS before she asked Mr Whitehead if she could transform the farm.

She undertook research and travelled around the country visiting 195 venues to get inspiration for her venture.

Many of the features were sourced by spending hours on Ebay and scavenging reclamation yards and auctions.

It took two years to transform the farm and the venue launched in 2013 during British Butcher's Week.

Ms Gaze, aged 47, said: "We have worked hard to get to this point. We are consistently working on every single wedding to improve the venue.

"It has taken a lot of research and a lot of getting to understand out market and now it is coming to fruition.

"To get this award against such competition in the North West just shows that offering something completely different is what people want nowadays."