Hitch’d is the creative baby of Kira and Morgan, two innovative young women from Perth, Western Australia, who met as teenagers and instantly bonded over the love of food.
After what seemed like a lifetime of working together in catering and events and filling their spare time with fun and memories, Kira and Morgan decided to combine their organisational and creative talents to start a new adventure together. Hitch’d Weddings & Events was born! We chatted with the pair to learn the ins and outs of their business, and its overseas home. Scroll down to read what they had to say!
What’s the inspiration behind Hitch’d Bali?
Having worked in the wedding industry in Bali and knowing what is available, we understood what was missing. The inspiration behind Hitch’d is the want and need for the ability to create different events - Detailed, unique events that aren’t the same as the last. We want to create a wedding personal to the couple so they can look back at their pictures and know they had a wedding unlike the previous or next couple in that venue.
Bali, as we all know, has its gorgeous beach or cliff backdrops, luscious greenery or fabulous villas, but we wanted to focus on filling these venues with a ceremony and reception just as gorgeous as the surroundings itself.
How did you go about starting it up?
We won’t get into all the nitty-gritty details of licensing and all that, but already living in Bali and working with companies based here, we had a good understanding of what we wanted and how to achieve this. Having great relationships with amazing suppliers on the island, their support pushed us to pursue this and everything else pointed us in the direction of opening this new and fabulous company.
What services do you provide?
We like to think of ourselves almost like a personal assistant to our couples. We of course help the couple plan their dream wedding from start to finish, helping in booking their wedding venue, booking all their suppliers and decorative details, putting it all together on the day and coordinating the wedding day itself. But in addition to their wedding, we can help organise all of their events during their stay in Bali in the form of our ‘Love Festivals’. This is a week long festival in which the clients can organise events with their family, bridal party and guests. We work with the best venues and suppliers here in Bali to make each event perfect – Kicking off with a personal meeting with Hitch’d on Day one over a glass of celebratory champagne. Day two is an intimate breakfast at one of Bali’s best brekkie locations for the couple and their close family. Day three is put aside for an amazing Hens & Bucks day for the couple and their Bridal Party. On Day four they’ll relax during the day but can organise a sunset cocktails & canapés mini-event with their guests for the last ‘get-together’ before their Big Day. Day five they will check into their amazing wedding venue with the option of an in-house romantic dinner. Day six is THE day – Their special wedding which we will plan separately, and lastly Day 7 is a recovery Pool Party for the couple and their guests.
Just like our weddings are, each Festival is planned and tailored to what the client desires. We provide our clients with options such as restaurants, activities (golfing, spa days, etc), sunset locations, etc. and they then pick and choose what they would like to include. If they don’t want to include a sunset cocktail event then we won’t include it. It can be as big or small as the couple want it to be.
We are super excited about our Love Festivals and feel it will be hugely appealing to couples wanting to wed in Bali. We know it can be hard to entertain your guests in a different country/city, so we are here to help our couples make it a week to remember for their time in Bali.
We work with our couples going into as much detail as they choose, offering our professional styling advice and alternative options along the way to make their special day unique.
As we are based in Bali, we offer regular contact by phone or Skype, and when in Australia we meet with as many of our couples as we can. We love talking everything through with couples and know it gives them that much more confidence in knowing their day will be exactly how they dreamed.
What makes your business unique?
We know Bali is one of the top destination locations, we also know some planners on the island can take a large number of bookings. We have found in our research that although they are larger companies and do a good job, the intimacy and uniqueness of each couple can get lost leading to some weddings looking the same. We aim to show our couple’s personality and love for each other within their wedding. We focus on each wedding individually and in detail to ensure it’s not the same as the last. For example, if a decoration or lighting is trending, we will help the couple find a way to make it their own.
In addition to this, we believe we are one of the only, if not the only event planners who offer a ‘Festival’ service in the form of our ‘Love Festivals’. Organising a full week of events leading up to the couple’s wedding and finishing with a relaxing Pool Party before their departure from Bali.
What’s your favourite thing about working with couples?
That every couple is different and unique. We love seeing the personal side of their relationships and helping them let their personalities shine through on their wedding day. And of course we love hearing all of the engagement stories! We are suckers for love in general, so being able to be apart of one of the most special days in anyone’s life is an absolute honour for us.
What does marriage mean to you?
Marriage is letting your family and friends see the love you have for each other in the form of celebration. It’s a (hopefully) once in a lifetime event where you can tell the world you have found your soul mate; why not make it a big hoorah?
Love is so special, so when you’ve found it with that someone special and sealed your love with marriage, it’s everything one needs.
What will customers come away with after working with you?
A whole lotta love, happiness and a day to remember for the rest of their lives! We make the planning process as fun as possible for our couples. We know planning a wedding can be stressful, so we try to take on as much of that stress burdening our couples as we can. This way they can enjoy every moment of it, their holiday and of course their special day.
We get excited along side them, sending them little countdown emails with tips each month. So they know we are there for them every step of the way, giving them that trust, sense of security and even venting if they need it, hah!
It can be difficult building a relationship with your planner from overseas, so we think the way we do our ‘thing’ with our couples leads to not only a gorgeous wedding but also a friendship.
