Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens, LLC, celebrates five years of providing upscale event décor throughout Michigan.

Since opening the doors of Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens in 2005, co-owners Colleen Murphy Galacz and Crystal Watkins have grown from a two-woman team to employing a 15 person part-time staff during their busy season. The company also boasts commercial machinery, over 10,000 chair covers in myriad styles, high-quality specialty table linens and a design showroom in Birmingham.
The business’s success has exceeded either of the duo’s expectations, especially given the company’s unexpected beginnings. Galacz and Watkins launched the venture with the severance pay they received when K-Mart moved headquarters (and they each declined to relocate). The women thought a chair cover business would be a good transitional job while they reassessed what they wanted to do. Instead, the company thrived and the pair went from serving 120 events their first year to over 400 in 2010 alone. In addition to the wedding market, Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens regularly works with proms, galas and corporate events.

“Since we began 5 years ago, we have moved into a 5,000 square foot warehouse in Troy and hired a full-time staff,” said Galacz, who lives in Sylvan Lake with her husband and two young sons. “Our inventory selection and design has improved dramatically, so we are able to offer our clients more table linen and chair cover options.”

In addition to serving Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne and Macomb counties, Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens has a branch in Saginaw that serves the Tri-City area.

Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens has earned several awards, including Wedding Wire Vendor of 2009, and holds membership in prominent industry associations, like the National Association of Catering Executives and the ABC Association of Bridal Consultants. Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens continuously gives back to its community by providing décor for fundraising events like Grace Center of Hope’s Women Helping Women Luncheon and the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball.

Looking forward, the company hopes to expand to a wider range of event-related services. “In the next five years, I see Affordable Elegance Chair Covers & Linens offering floral services and event planning to be a one-stop company for our brides,” said Watkins, who resides in Macomb with her husband and daughter.