Craft, DIY skills become TC Decorating Co.

Mar. 12—TRAVERSE CITY — As the weather starts to warm and the snow starts to melt, northern Michigan marches into the unofficial start of another season.

It is a time of glitz and glitter, sashes and surprises, balloons and banners. And of course personalized goodie bags.

It could be called Vino Before Vows, The Last Disco or a different theme. As clocks are moved forward and the vernal equinox arrives, it is often time to plan a weekend trip to Traverse City with female friends and family.

Welcome to Bachelorette Season.

As Traverse City has increasingly became a destination location for bachelorette parties over the last decade, so has the need for assistance in planning these final soirées. It's a job entrepreneur Jenna Pizarek and the newly-formed TC Decorating Co. is happy to handle.

"I started this business on the side because I like doing this stuff," said Pizarek, who works remotely as a portfolio manager at a downstate medical technology company. "I wanted something I could do at night and the weekend. It's really kind of taken off."

TC Decorating Co. has planned two parties already this year and has 11 others on the books, including five in May and four in June.

"I'm learning that bachelorette season really starts in May," said Pizarek, who started the business late last summer.

Decorating packages start at $275. There are several customized add-ons like drinkware and party favors. It's also not limited to bachelorette parties, even though it composes the bulk of the business.

Pizarek said she had a golf-themed 65th birthday party in Williamsburg where the disco ball was replaced by one that was white with dimples. The birthday party included a do-it-yourself box for the rare times when Pizarek is geographically prevented from fulfilling her decorating duties.

The concept behind TC Decorating Co. is simple.

"The idea is that you're coming in from out of town, they don't want to get there at 8 o'clock at night and then have to decorate," said the 27-year-old Pizarek, who relocated to Petoskey 18 months ago and is moving to TC later this spring. "It's already done for you. It's intended to be a nice surprise when they walk in the door."

That was the case for Gretchen Klein's bachelorette party March 3-5. Taylor Rick, who is sharing the maid-of-honor duties at the June 10 wedding, traveled to Traverse City from Buffalo, New York while others, including the bride-to-be, were coming from downstate.

"Jenna, the owner, is awesome," Rick said. "She was very responsive and really excited to decorate for us. I got up there a little early and got to meet her and her boyfriend as they finished up decorating.

"It looked amazing. Gretchen, the bride, was very, very happy. She was impressed because she thought I had done it."

Pizarek said she's always been interested in craft and do-it-yourself projects. Add in an entrepreneurial spirit and it isn't a surprise to see she ended up running her own side hustle.

"I always wanted to start a business, but I didn't know what would be a good idea," Pizarek said. "I kind of discovered this. I was able to take my hobby doing projects and make money doing it."

A friend's bachelorette party in Frankfort gave Pizarek the final push. Pizarek said she helped pick out the Airbnb for the event and plan activities, then got there early to assist with decorating.

"I had a great weekend," Pizarek recalled. "Sunday when I got home I was sitting at the kitchen table and I thought, 'That was fun, but it was also a lot of work.' I feel like a lot of people wouldn't want to do that and they would rather have someone else do it for them."

After she "kind of just jumped in" to the business, Pizarek said a lot of time last year was spent working on her website and search engine optimization. Pizarek said www.tcdecorating.com is now the top site that comes up under a Google search.

That's how Rick was able to find Pizarek's business.

"I was looking for a company to decorate our Airbnb before we got there," Rick said. "I Googled decorating company near Traverse City, found her website and sent her an email."

The initial inquiry form on the website includes information about the party like location, theme, budget per person, color palette and add-ons. Pizarek then develops a decorating proposal.

"Then we work closely together to determine what they want," said Pizarek, who said half of the agreed cost is due up front with the other half just before the party.

"I take their idea and make it come to life. It's really fun for me because everyone is different and I get to get creative with it."

That's especially true when most of the party are coming to Traverse City for the first time. That was the case with the Klein party.

"It was sort of a destination," said Rick, who admitted March 3 was the first time the New Yorker had been to TC. "Her family has a place up north in Harbor Springs. We decided on Traverse City because of the wineries and it still felt like a destination because some of us had never been there before."

Rick said the trip, which included Saturday visits to a handful of wineries, was a success.

In addition to decorating services, Pizarek has blog posts about suggestions on activities including beaches, paid excursions, free activities, drinks, shopping and night life.

Pizarek said her 'territory' extends north to Elk Rapids and Leelanau County, south to Kingsley and west to Frankfort. Pizarek said most of the parties are in Traverse City and there may be an additional mileage charge for outlying areas.

Wherever it is at in the region, Pizarek said she is happy to take the lead, especially for those making Traverse City an up-and-coming destination location for bachelorette parties.

"Most people have never had to plan one before and they don't know what they're doing," she said.