Grand Rapids - The West Michigan Wedding Association, and State Representative Brian Calley announced Friday the Wedding Business of the Year for 2008 on February 6, 2008.

      

Representative Brian Calley from the 87th District, of the state of Michigan, presented April Butler and Celebration Banquets and Catering with the Wedding Business of the Year Award at the WMWA's second annual Honors Banquet.  Celebration Banquets and Catering was recognized as the leader in the wedding industry by former brides and grooms, as well as their peers in the industry.  More than 7,000 former Brides and Grooms were polled for the award, and there were thousands of nominations for the honor.  Nominees did not have to be a member of the WMWA, they only needed to be a wedding-related business in the Grand Rapids area.  Brides wrote many stories over the year praising April Butler and her staff at Celebration Banquets and Catering and their dedication to service.  April was chosen from hundreds of nominees, as the one person who stood out as going above and beyond for her clients over the past year.

Grand Rapids - The West Michigan Wedding Association, and Senator Bill Hardiman announced Friday the Wedding Business of the Year for 2007on February 8, 2008. Dunhill Tuxedo won the honor. Owner Scott Coleman and several of his staff were on hand to accept the award.

Michigan 29th District Senator Bill Hardiman of Kentwood presented Scott Coleman and his staff of Dunhill Tuxedo the Wedding Business of the Year Award at the WMWA’s first annual Honors Banquet.  Dunhill was recognized as the leader in the wedding industry by former brides and grooms, as well as his peers in the industry.  More than 7,000 former Brides and Grooms were polled for the award, and there were thousands of nominations for the honor.  Nominees did not have to be a member of the WMWA, they only needed to be a wedding-related business in the Grand Rapids area.  There were more than 50 businesses nominated.  The criteria for selection included web site nominations, charitable contributions, contributions to the WMWA and/or the wedding industry, commitment to family and number of years in the wedding industry.

The selection committee, (volunteer WMWA members) narrowed the selection to the top ten, then debated for countless hours about each individual business, and narrowed to the top 5.  Then each top 5 business owners were interviewed by the selection committee member.  A detailed report was shared with all committee members and each member placed their secret vote.  The rest in history.  Dunhill Tuxedo now has the distinct and exclusive honor of being the first Business of the Year recipient.  This is an honor that Dunhill Tuxedo will be able to advertise forever. 

Special thanks to Bunny Tuxedo and MW Tux (formerly After Hours) for allowing us to poll past brides from their leads list as well as our own.  We are proud to be associated with such a great group of wedding professionals, and look forward to seeing more nominations come in over the next 11 months as we prepare for next year’s Business of the Year recipient.  If you would like to participate on the selection committee next year, be looking for an announcement in or around August as we start forming the committee.

Special thanks to Megan Zonavetch as well as she put together a top-notch party.  The food was fantastic, Prime-rib and Chicken Cordon-bleu.  The entertainment was excellent.  Special Thanks to the Band Azz-Is and our MC and DJ Jim Batchelder from Diverse Sounds.  Not to mention our decorations provided by Nance Neville from Creative Events and the linens and chair covers provided by Penny Waltman, from Special Occassions. Lisa Patow and her staff really helped to make the event flawless and beautiful.  Be sure to plan on attending next year!

The Black-tie event also raised more than $2,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of West Michigan with a Silent Auction.

2010 Silent Auction Items

• Keil Lasik Vision Center -Ferris coffee gift basket, $300 gift certificate to Keil Lasik.
• Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center-Big Rapids -Complimentary one night stay for two in a standard room.
• CBS Outdoor-2 $25.00 gift certificates to the Gilmore Collection Restaurants in West Michigan.
• Harley Photography-Family Portrait Session and 11x14 Portrait.
• Grand Rapids Children's Museum- 4 free admission passes to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.
• Grand Rapids Griffins- 4 tickets to a Griffins regular season game.
• Grand Rapids Symphony- 2 tickets to the 2009-2010 Classical Series Concert: Hear the Now.
• Cascade Winery- Wine tasting for 20 people and includes a cheese and cracker tray.
• Naked Plates- 2 separate- free day of studio time for one party of up to six people.
• West Michigan Whitecaps-4 reserved seat tickets to a 2010 Home Game.
• Costco-$25 Gift Card.
• Arthur Murray Dance Studios- 2 introductory private lessons.
• Koeze Gourmet Nuts -This delectable gift set includes a decanter of Colossal Cashews and a decanter of fresh roasted California Almonds, bundled together in an executive style gift box.
• Koeze- Includes 1 jar of creamy Cream Nut natural peanut butter, 1 jar of crunchy Cream Nut peanut butter, 1 jar of cream Sweet Ella's organic peanut butter, and 1 jar of crunchy Sweet Ella's peanut butter.  2 peanut butter samplers are available for bidding.
• DeGraaf Interiors -2 Hour In-Home Interior Design Consultation-let the knowledgeable team at DeGraaf Interiors show you the styles and colors that will transform your home.  Experts in the latest trends, like bamboo wood flooring and cork floors, DeGraaf Interiors can provide you with simple ways to give your home a face-lift, excellent resources for discount flooring, and much more.
• Freedom Wand -for those who have undergone surgery or are physically challenged, something as simple as bathroom hygiene can be difficult.  The Freedom Wand Toilet Aid is a personal hygiene aid and reaching tool that helps regain dignity by allowing the user to wipe, apply lotions, bathe and shave independently. 
• Rosemont Inn Bed & Breakfast -Enjoy a free night stay at the beautiful Rosemont Inn Bed and Breakfast in Saugatuck Douglas, Michigan.  Perfect for romantic getaways in Michigan, the Rosemont Inn is among the finest in Lake Michigan Lodging.  Along with a certificate for a free night, you will also receive a "Requested Recipes Cookbook," filled with the most favored recipes cooked up at the Rosemont Inn
• Two Hours of Housecleaning-Get a Spring spruce-up for your home or business. You will receive a certificate for two hours of housecleaning services from Kwik N'Kleen, as well as a Kool Broom to keep you home tidy. Donated by HCSS Elderly Home Care, with services ranging from companionship and transportation to in home health care in the Grand Rapids and Kent County area.
• SafeCall Senior Medical Alert Systems - 2 Months Automatic Pill Dispenser Service, for those who may forget to take their medication, or take too many or too few pills, a medication reminder tool and pill dispenser may be the perfect solution.  Features include a pill alarm that alerts you when it's time to take you meds, and an easy dispenser that gives you the exact number of pills you need.
• Cookies by Design-Cookie Bouquet
• Bars by Butch-Beverage Basket
• Fantastic Finds-Jewelry
• Encore DJ Service-2 Hour Photo Booth Rental in Grand Rapids area.  Fun idea for a graduation open house or to complement your wedding reception entertainment.
• Meijer Gardens Gift Pack- includes 2 adult and 2 kids admission tickets plus 4 tram ride tickets.  Donated by Lumichron, where you'll find U.S.A.-crafted large tower clocks and custom outdoor clock styles to meet your architectural needs.
• Annie Oakley Perfumery-Equestrian supplies for your horse or a perfect horse lover gift, this item includes a complete Calming Lavender Journeys Training Essentials Kit. Also from Annie Oakley cowgirl gifts, a bottle of Honeysuckle perfume, packaged as a perfume fragance gift set inside a pretty flower pot.
• T-Square Online Art Supplies- A starter kit including artist pencils, wooden manikin, sandpaper block, and more fine art tools.
• Slingshot Music T-Shirts-From their collection of Led Zeppelin Shirts, a Led Zeppelin 1977 Green T-Shirt, and from among their vast stock of Rolling Stones T-Shirts,a Rolling Stones Dragon Stadium T-Shirt.