Glenelg Golf Club named Australia’s best club reception

The club beat popular local and interstate venues to win the coveted award at the Australian Bridal Industry Academy’s 2017 Designer of Dreams Awards.

ABIA chairman John O’Meara said Glenelg Golf Club’s win was “a big surprise” because its category was hotly contested.

“That was a big win for them because that’s a huge, popular category,” he said.

“There’s a club in Sydney called Manly Golf Club and they have taken it out quite a number of times.”

Renmark Club and The Grange Golf Club also won top 10 spots in the same category.

Wedding businesses must be registered with the ABIA to be considered for the awards, with qualifying vendors receiving ratings from their own clients over four consecutive years.

While there were 2869 registered vendors, 295 finalists were announced across 36 categories.

Other SA winners included Prospect business Princess Collection, which took out the “bridesmaid gown” category, while The Lakes Resort Hotel won first place for function co-ordinator.

Glenelg Golf Club events manager Lynn Kschammer said the win was “such a surprise”.

“It was a really wonderful reward for four-plus years of hard work doing something we love,” she said

Michael and Lauren Rugless, who tied the knot at the Novar Gardens club on Saturday, said they were excited to hear about the venue’s win.

“It reassured us that we had picked a really great venue,” Mrs Rugless, 24, said.

“It was a great local location and the grounds are beautiful. We actually attended the open day they had last year and the staff were so friendly and went above and beyond to assist with any questions we had. After the open day we didn’t think about any other places.”