The Belfry is celebrating its own golden wedding anniversary by issuing an invitation to its first wedding open day.

It is 50 years since the first wedding reception took place in 1961 at the venue in Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, which has become synonymous with leisure, golf and business.

To mark the landmark occasion, The Belfry is treating brides-to-be and their fiancées, families and friends to complimentary champagne and canapés on Sunday, April 10 between 10.30am and 4pm.

The venue's wedding co-ordinators will be chatting to visitors about the facilities while the Wishaw Suite will be set up for a wedding breakfast, the Apollo Suite and Ryder Room for a ceremony and in the Sutton Suite, The Belfry's catering supplier for Asian weddings Five Rivers Catering Company will be serving samples of their cuisine.

The Belfry has also been featured on television this year as part of The Best of British Wedding Venues series, where voters are currently voting at www.weddingtv.com to choose their favourite from 27 venues for their winner.

Samantha Baker, marketing executive at The Belfry, said it seemed appropriate to mark its own golden celebrations with its very first wedding open day.

"Our first wedding reception took place in 1961 and our first civil wedding ceremony was held in 1995," she said.

"Wedding fayres are held here twice a year but we have never actually organised our own wedding day to showcase the fantastic facilities that we have.

"We are perfect for ceremonies or receptions however large or small since the largest we have held was for 250 guests and the smallest was for 20.

"Weddings are a growing market for The Belfry since our peaceful setting and stunning grounds are perfect for photographs and to enjoy a day to remember.

"This year we are hosting 71 weddings which is 30 more than last year and we are finding that we have a huge mix ranging from traditional ceremonies and Asian weddings to Caribbean and Greek receptions.

"We hold weddings throughout the year and we hope our open day will give people the opportunity to see The Belfry in its full glory and choose to spend one of their biggest days of their lives with us."