The whole idea for a winter mixer came after our last party, “Golden Happy Hour,” which was a great success. We started dreaming up new ideas right away. We thought maybe we should start throwing a party each season so everyone can be a part of it. That meant winter and snow would come next. But, how do you plan an OUTDOOR party that people will want to attend when there’s several feet of snow on the ground and a cold bite in the air? We started dreaming; decoration, atmosphere, food – There was so much to decide! Bayfield has some great winter activities, but not very many. We wanted our Cozy by the Bay mixer to be the reason to take a vacation. In this blog, we are going to break down what all took place to pull off this crazy winter party, right on the edge of the best lake in the world.

Did you hear that we got over 120 inches of snow this year in Bayfield? That’s A LOT of snow. But not enough for what we had planned. So, we cleaned off the motel’s roof. Now we were talking snowbanks to your shoulders, and I wanted to throw the party right in the middle of it.

Luckily I know a guy who knows a guy. Some of our favorite people at Carrier Construction were able to remove the snow from the yard using heavy equipment. I got a phone call with the fantastic news that they successfully made a clearing through the snow and also successfully managed to get the equipment stuck in the yard… Let me put that differently. It wasn’t just stuck. It got froze to the ground! We did our best to make the massive machine part of our vibe, and as you can see, our boys knew PaPa’s machine well. They were thrilled!

Trisha from Xperience photography never disappoints. We are so lucky to have her on the team. She can see our vision and runs with it. She’s a blast to have around and can make even a photo of a toilet magical, check out our room photos! For someone who so skillfully works a camera, she knows how to hide from it just as well!

Emily from Lace and Brass events helped us pull together the whole feel and vibe. Toss words at her like snowy, cozy, modern, and woodsy, and she’ll crush it. Emily offers an array of rentals, and we were so lucky she had loads of inventory to make our vision come to life! She rocked it, to say the least.

Boda Bayfield was with us at our last gathering and had a big vision as we left that night for winter, so we continued to work together and dream up new ideas. Boda Bayfield does stunning florals arrangements as well as rentals.

Blackwoods Catering went above and beyond with our menu. They were also wonderful to work with and we loved having them as part of the winter mixer.

On the menu:

-Wonton crips with local Bayfield Jam

-Bourbon BBQ Meatballs

-Bodin’s Lake Trout on Crustini

-Mini Apple Crip in cast iron skillets

Blackwoods is based out of Duluth, and Cozy by the Bay was the first time for most of our guests to experience their delicious food! I definitely think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Blackwoods Catering at Bayfield events.

We teamed up with the amazing Fairbault Wollen Mills to provide us with all of our blankets on the beds here at Seagull Bay. They also provided many of our throws for the winter mixer. They added the perfect amount of “cozy” to our Cozy by the Bay!

Matt with Adventure Club Brewing popped over and we were thrilled to see so many hands filled tasting his wonderful brew. He is based out of Bayfield, right up the road at Howl Adventure center.

We ate great food, watched the kids play and eat too many s’ mores, we visited with guests, neighbors from all over town, and family. Cozy by the Bay exceeded everything we dreamed up and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. We are thankful for our team of staff, vendors, and family because, without them, none of this would be possible. What do you say we throw another in the spring?

There were too many wonderful photos to narrow it down, check out our Cozy by the Bay Gallery by clicking, here.

Blackwoods Catering

Xsperience Photography

Lace and Brass Events

Boda Bayfield

Adventure Club Brewing