Wilde Lodge sits above a river at Lower Stanage Farm, a little way out of Knighton on the Welsh side of the border and within easy reach of Ludlow and the south Shropshire hills. It is 15 acres of exclusive-use countryside rather than a house with a function room attached: streams, woodland and hills in every direction, with a lodge at the centre of it sleeping 14 across 6 bedrooms.
What makes the place unusual is how much of the day happens outdoors, and how much of it is yours to arrange. You can be married in the Oak Beamed Long Barn or the Open Barn, on the Front Lawn, in the Entrance Field or the Oak Field, or — best of all — on top of a motte and bailey mound, with the fields taking up to 120 seated and the barns a little fewer. Around those there are safari and sail tents, fire pits, camping fields and access down to the river, plus bell tents pitched on decking in the lodge garden through the summer and a larger bell tent village run with a specialist supplier.
Hire is measured in days rather than hours: midweek runs Tuesday to Thursday and weekends Friday to Monday, so there is time for a welcome night, the wedding itself and a slow, unhurried breakfast before anyone has to go home. Catering and bar you choose yourself from a curated list of local suppliers, which is both a freedom and a responsibility — this is a venue that rewards couples who rather enjoy the planning.
Where the band plays
There is no house PA and no fixed stage, so a band sets up wherever the party has landed, and the choice genuinely matters. A barn gives you cover, walls to bounce off and an obvious place for the drums; a field or a tent gives you the view and asks a good deal more of the logistics. Settle three things early — power, cover and a flat, dry base for the stage — and everything else tends to fall into place. The venue keeps a list of local sound and lighting hire, including battery-powered rigs for anything happening away from the buildings, which is a sensible route if you want music out by the fire pits.
How the evening runs
Evenings here run to around midnight, with the band’s last set landing while everyone is still out of their seats and the fire pits taking care of whatever comes after. Because the celebration spreads across a weekend, most couples put the live music on the wedding night and keep something simpler — a playlist, a single guitar — for the night before and the morning after. It is worth confirming the music finish time and any noise conditions when you book, since an outdoor party has different rules from an indoor one.
Bands available in Shropshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Shropshire.
- Shropshire Wedding Bands
- Shropshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Shropshire
- Wedding DJs in Shropshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Shropshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.