A WEDDING venue owned by Welsh cycling icon Geraint Thomas won prizes in the regional and national categories at the 2018 Welsh National Wedding Awards.

It scooped the award for Best New Wedding Business regionally, before winning the national honour of Best New Wedding Business in Wales.

A social media post on the site’s Facebook page said: “This is such a big achievement for us as a venue and we can’t thank everyone enough for all the support you have shown us.

Thank you to all of our couples past, present and future on behalf of all the team at St Tewdrics House.”

Thomas and his wife, Sara, fell in love with St Tewdrics House, near Chepstow, when they were looking for a place to hold their own wedding.

They decided to not only hold their wedding there, but to buy and renovate the venue, allowing other couples enjoy the location on their special day.

Based in Monaco at the time, the couple they handed day-to-day duties to Mrs Thomas’ parents – Eifion and Beth Thomas.

Her father said: “We knew the venue was really special for Sara and Geraint, so when they purchased St Tewdrics House and asked if we would run it, we happily said yes.

“We’re at a really exciting stage now seeing the business grow, having just won a national award. We’re looking forward to 2019 and beyond.”