The West Midlands is a built-up, metropolitan county in the centre of England with an estimated population of 2,638,700 (2009). The West Midlands was founded in 1974 and upon its creation, took parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The county itself comprised seven boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Wolverhampton, the City of Coventry, Walsall, Sandwell, Solihull, and Dudley. It is a landlocked county that borders the counties of Warwickshire in the east, Staffordshire to the north and west and Worcestershire in the south.
The county has been described as the “West Midlands metropolitan area” and the “West Midlands conurbation”. The county is one of the most heavily urbanised areas of the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Solihull and the Black Country combine to represent the most populous areas in the United Kingdom outside of London, with a population of roughly 2.27 million. As a result of this, the more creative West Midlands photographers need to use their imagination to invent new ideas for keeping their brides happy. One way to tackle this would be to create stylish, urban-style wedding pictures which would look at home in a fashion magazine. However, there are some extremely beautiful areas to help wedding photographers in the West Midlands create picture postcard wedding photographs. Coventry is separated from the main portion of the county by green belt land 15 miles across, known as the “Meriden Gap”. There is also a smaller green belt between Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall which are perfect for any West Midlands Wedding.
Although West Midlands is a rich blend of both rural and urban sites, the county’s main city, Birmingham has been reinvented to a large extent to include modern buildings, and a large part of the area is highly developed. Nevertheless, the county still preserves some of the important landmarks of its cultural heritage.
One of the most ancient buildings is the St. Mary’s church situated 3 miles west of Dudley. Being an Anglican Church for Kingswinford, it portions ministry with the Church of The Ascension at Wall Heath. According to the Domesday Book of 1086, this church is around 800 years old; this makes it the oldest church in the area.
Another important landmark in the area is the Old Iron Bridge which has been ranked as the seventeenth most attractive site in Birmingham. The bridge is open and free for all with local attractions, pubs and marketplaces located nearby.
Sarehole Mill in Birmingham was built in 1765. Being this old, it speaks of the industrial revolutions and developments in the area. It is the only working corn mill in the area that uses hydropower. Light House Media Centre is yet another unique place in the West Midlands. The place is full of art exhibitions featuring modern art. Moreover, it also has an art house cinema and media reference library.
West Midlands has over 150 ancient landmarks that show how important the county is concerning cultural heritage.