Local Vendor Spotlight: Aunt B's Cakes & Desserts

So, we have a confession...

we love cake. Not just any cake, however. We love a gorgeously decorated cake that tastes as phenomenal as it looks. We are also lucky enough to have a vendor in Traverse City who is able to fulfill all of our (and our client's) cake dreams. Ever. Single. Time.

We would like to dedicate this blog post to a woman who is always fabulous, always professional, and always able to provide mouth-watering desserts: Ann Barraclough, owner of Aunt B's Cakes & Desserts. We asked Ann a couple of questions and also asked her to provide some examples of her absolute favorite cakes. Enjoy!

1. How long have you been in business? 

I have had my commercial kitchen since 2006, but have been making cakes and desserts for as long as I can remember. I have always loved to be in the kitchen creating baked goods as well yummy dinners.

A Cheetah-licious Purse Cake. Purrrr-fect!

2. What is your favorite flavor of wedding cake?

I love all cakes, but I would have to say that if I were going to pick a favorite it would be almond white with fresh berries and vanilla bean buttercream. (editor's note: uhhhh....yum. I had to stop typing for a quick minute so I could focus on making my mouth stop watering in the office)

Every Cake is Unique!

3. What makes Aunt B's Cakes unique?

Aunt B's is unique in the fact that I try to make each special occasion cake personalized and sculpting is one of my favorite things to do. As for wedding cakes, I like to meet with the couple and figure out what there inspiration points are for their wedding and try to make a cake that they and their guests will remember for the beauty as well as taste.

Elegant and Fun.

4. Your favorite cakes you ever created?

As far as some of my favorite creations, I think I have done some truly gorgeous wedding cakes with the help of the bride and groom in creating a great design. For birthday cakes I think some of my favorites would be the frog prince, yellow submarine and Captain Morgan girl.

The Frog Prince!

5. What made you start a Cake company in Traverse City?

I love working with clients here in the Traverse City area. We have so many local weddings as well as destination weddings. I also really enjoy getting to know locals here in the TC area.

The cake "leaves" us breathless...get it?

6. So...do you make your own Birthday cakes?

Our family chooses to have pies for our birthday's. We are fortunate enough to be able to eat cake almost everyday.

It's a girl...and an adorable cake!

Local Vendor Spotlight: 2Bays DJs

Behind every jam-packed dance floor is a great DJ. We are fortunate to have a variety of fabulous DJs in the Northern Michigan region (and many that are willing to travel to Northern Michigan from other parts of Michigan...especially because they look forward to the opportunity to take a Traverse City vacation).

However, there is one DJ company that immediately comes to mind when referring vendors to our clients and brides. That company is the always phenomenal 2Bays DJs. 

Photo via Photography by Scarlett

We contacted 2Bays DJs owner, Scott Perry, and threw some questions his way so that we could provide you with a (drum roll please...) Local Vendor Spotlight! Scott provided us with what we consider to be the best possible answers we could have received, so please enjoy this blog post and see exactly why we love to work with 2Bays DJs.

Events North: What is your favorite part of a wedding and/or reception?

Scott Perry: It'd be easy to say the dancing portion of the evening.  That's everyone's favorite part, right?  Truth be told, one of my favorite parts of your "big day" is the very start of the reception.  Friends and family are starting to trickle in, and they all have a giant grin on their face.  As a DJ, we make friends instantly as they roll in, everyone is excited to be there and excited to have 2Bays DJs there.  The best feeling at a wedding is the understanding that every guest is there to have a great time, and we're there to facilitate that.

EN: What makes 2Bays DJs unique?

SP: What makes us unique?  One of our DJs is a cyborg,  one of our DJs has a T-Rex arm, one of our DJs dresses up as Madonna on Wednesdays, one of our DJs sounds just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of our DJs can solve a rubiks cube from across the room, and only one of the previous statements is blatantly false.

(side note: we in the Events North office have come to the conclusion that the blantently false statement is that one of their DJs can solve a rubiks cube from across the room. That's just ridiculous.)

EN: What is one of the funniest moments you've experienced during a wedding?

SP: DJing around 100 weddings a year, it's terribly difficult to nail one down. But the choreographed groomsmen line dance to "Man, I feel Like a Woman" from this summer is right at the top.

EN: What led you to start a DJ company in Traverse City?

SP: I started DJing weddings at the tender age of 20 (for another company).  I was pursuing a degree at Michigan State and answered an ad in the student newspaper.  By the time I was 22, partying with strangers was my favorite thing to do in the world, and a lot of college grads were struggling to find suitable jobs.  My friends fell into two categories: those who found a job and hated it, and those who were stuck in a cycle of interviews.  In the fall of 2008, I promised myself I would never depend on anyone else for work.  Here we are 4 years later, and I can't imagine it any other way.

EN: What is the best way to get in touch with you?

SP: If you're planning an event, visit us online at 2BaysDJs.com.  From there, you can check our availability online, get a customized quote for your event, and we'll have our cyborg DJ contact you to get your event locked into our calendar.

As you can see, 2Bays DJs are a blast to work with and we are lucky to have the opportunity to do so at so many events. Make sure you reach out to Scott Perry to book 2Bays at your next event!

Let's Get Down to the Details

Event Planning is all about the details. You can plan a gorgeous event with flawless decor...but if you paint the table numbers the incorrect shade of red, your superb lighting designs and stunning floral arrangements may be overlooked. Details are extremely important- from the correct type of flowers to making sure that certain seasonings are kept off of meals.

Events North has had a lot of detail-oriented work lately (which can be credited mainly to our fantastic wedding season). We also made sure to have a photographer on site to capture all of our detailed work to share! So, without further ado, here are some highlights from a few of our past weddings...because  who doesn't love to "Oooo" and "Ahhhh"over some delightful wedding details?!

The gorgeous centerpiece was created by The Floral Underground. Events North put together the guest gift bags- each had a small bag of dried cherries inside- a Northern Michigan staple!

Place cards sometimes double as meal markers- the colored leaves were used to indicate meal choices.

Easel was rented from Porterhouse Productions. Meaghan hand wrote the fantastic (and descriptive) menu provided by the always-fantastic Epicure Catering to match the organic feel of this wedding.

The place cards/menu cards at this next wedding were caramel apples, which went well with the Fall theme and colors that were used for decor.

We painted fake pumpkins gold and modge-podged the bride and groom's initials onto them to create a fun and theme-friendly centerpiece for the place card table- it was so easy and was the perfect addition to the decor!

We used fonts from the bride and groom's wedding invitations to create this sign to go next to the cider station.  Cider was a hit and kept guests warm and content!

The candy table at this wedding was one of my favorite DIY projects I've tackled to date! We found all of the vintage candy from online wholesale websites, collected a variety of candy jars in different shapes and sizes and then found a template online to create the labels- guests loved being able to relive their childhood with the vintage candy!

Candy Labels- they were so simple to create and were definitely the cherry on top of the candy table!

We spray painted wooden table numbers gold and stuck them into The Floral Underground's stunning centerpieces. Guests were able to easily find their seats and the numbers went great with the floral designs.

Since this wedding was located at a local vineyard, it was only appropriate to create place cards out of wine corks. By shaving off the bottom of the cork and glue-dotting (we swear by "ZOTS") the corks to the table, they held up well against the wind! 

The Floral Underground (You may notice by now that we tend to play favorites...but c'mon, they're amazing) created these centerpieces, which were the perfect mix of fun and romantic.

These wooden chairs completed the look of the reception area...not to mention the weather was absolutely perfect. 

A special thank you to Dan Stewart Photography and Rebecca Kinnee Photography for capturing these details.