Meet Jennifer Benson | Wedding and Event Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Benson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I’ve always been a bit of a daydreamer, and I think that’s because I find so much inspiration all around me every single day and it’s difficult not to get lost in it! But if I take the list of the people, places, and things I’m most inspired by, a few themes emerge.

First, I’ve always been inspired by aesthetics. I grew up in a small midwestern town with one stoplight that was always red and blinking – not a place that most would consider aesthetically appealing. But my mom is an artist and has always had the ability to make beautiful things out of nothing. She could take some leftover fabric and create a Broadway-quality talent show costume, turn a concrete storage space in our basement into a jungle-themed birthday party lounge, and transform our outdated school gymnasium into the Under the Sea prom of our dreams. Through her, I learned to see the beauty and potential in unexpected spaces and things.

My personal aesthetic has evolved over time, as these things tend to do, but I’ve always been attracted to bold colors, unexpected combinations, and things that are just a little bit odd. I’m currently very attracted to maximalist interior design and fashion, and I’m obsessed with the idea of “purposeful tackiness” as coined by the fabulous Trixie Mattel. I appreciate the unexpectedly beautiful, like a city alley full of graffiti, the iridescent purple and green of the pigeons on the local pub’s rooftop patio, or an untouched mid-century modern house with orange shag carpet. And while no one has asked me to design them a pigeon-themed wedding (yet!), I think my instinct to find or create beauty in the ordinary or odd allows me to help my clients create unique and authentic events that reflect their personalities and interests, instead of the latest TikTok or Pinterest trend.

I’m also inspired by people who proudly wear their imperfections and quirks. I’ve found people to be curious and interesting all my life, which is probably what led me to major in psychology and pursue my first career as a high school guidance counselor. People are fascinating, complicated, messy, beautiful, and provide a never-ending source of inspiration. I’ve often said that I love “a character,” meaning someone who you can count on to do or say things that are out of the ordinary and unexpected, someone who carves a space in your memory because you’ve never met anyone quite like them. When I imagine my dream clients, they are people who have really specific interests and unique points of view; they are unapologetically themselves, and their people love them for it; and their celebration reflects this and sticks in the memories of their loved ones for being so damn real. Now that is inspiring!

Finally (and maybe unsurprisingly if you’ve read this far) I’m inspired by good, old-fashioned rebellion. I’m inspired by people who aren’t afraid to shake things up, who find new and creative ways to solve problems, and who expand the boundaries of how we think about things. And I’ve never met a more inspiring group of boundary-expanders than women creatives and entrepreneurs. The women I’ve met on this entrepreneurial journey of mine are some of the most inspiring people I know. What’s more rebellious than leaving the 9 to 5 grind that isn’t serving you and building something brand new? Starting a creative business, especially as a woman, is so risky, and these women are just like “what the hell, I’m gonna do it anyway!” And then they pour more energy, passion, love, and intention into it than you thought was humanly possible. I can’t think of anything more inspiring than that!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Let’s be real – there are a LOT of fabulous wedding planners in Denver. And I would never claim to be “the best,” whatever that even means, but I do think that what Hitched AF offers is different than anything you can find in the Colorado wedding industry.

My story isn’t uncommon – I decided to become a wedding planner after planning my own wedding. I’ve been planning events all my life, from political fundraisers to community festivals to dance competitions. I knew I had the right demeanor, experience, and skill set to make an effective event planner, but there is something very special about weddings that hits me deep in my soul. Planning my wedding was the first time I’ve experienced a true “light bulb moment” – after years spent exploring careers in counseling, law, dance, agriculture, government, you-name-it, I finally felt like I knew exactly what I was supposed to do with my life.

I created Hitched AF as an answer to some of the frustrations I experienced in planning our wedding. Nick and I had a very specific vision for our day that didn’t look or feel like any wedding we’d ever experienced. Our vision was to throw a house-party-style bash in one of those epic Vegas suites – think the Hangover or Vegas Vacation. No sit-down dinner for us. Instead, we’d have party food scattered around for people to graze on throughout the night. The bar would be fully stocked and generously flowing, especially with all the fixings for margaritas and negronis. Our guests would be invited to dress in their dream Vegas ensembles – sequins, feathers, and Elvis-inspired couture were highly encouraged. And there would be karaoke. So. Much. Karaoke. But when we set out to start booking vendors, we didn’t see ourselves or our vibe anywhere in the wedding world, even in Las Vegas! It was difficult to navigate and hold true to our vision in an industry that has become so formulaic and prescriptive. The pressure to conform – from wedding vendors, family members, and already-married friends – was intense, but we resisted and our day turned out exactly as we had pictured it, our favorite day ever!

And that’s what Hitched AF does. We encourage you to throw everything your wedding “should” be out the window and instead focus on the celebration that makes the most sense for you. There are no rules! I get amped when my clients feel empowered to ditch the “wedding formula” and do things their own way, from highly themed celebrations to nontraditional venues to innovative ceremonies with no officiant. There is no idea too weird or out there, all that matters is that you have an authentic celebration that reflects your personalities and love for each other surrounded by the most important people in your lives.

Creating Hitched AF ignited a passion and determination in me that I didn’t know I was capable of, but it hasn’t been easy! I launched my business in 2022 amidst one of the largest wedding booms in history, and now I’m in the middle of my first full year in business during a post-pandemic wedding lull and a time of great economic uncertainty. But I believe in what I do, and I’m consistently validated by clients and colleagues who see a need for a new perspective in the wedding industry.

Something I’m very proud of and excited about is our new service offering – the Pop-Up Wedding Chapel. I’ve expressed how fondly I think of the wedding industry, but there were a few things about my new path that were keeping me up at night. One is how expensive and consequently inaccessible weddings have become. This is a soapbox for another day (hint: wedding vendors are primarily woman-owned small businesses with high costs who are charging what they must in order to survive), but it felt like an unavoidable truth that I would just have to accept, that in order to get married in Denver you need to be willing to spend a bare minimum of $30,000. In addition, weddings can be so wasteful. The amount of food, flowers, and other wedding leftovers that are thrown out at the end of the night is disheartening to say the least, especially in this age of an impending climate crisis. Our response is the Pop-Up Wedding Chapel. Think a Las Vegas wedding chapel, but elevated! For just a few thousand dollars, participants get all of the elements of a traditional wedding – a ceremony and short reception for the nearlyweds and 20 guests, flowers, music, light bites, cocktails and professional photography. And because we can host multiple weddings in the same space in one day or weekend, there is far less waste than a traditional wedding would produce. It fills a gap that exists in the market – something between an elopement and a full-blown wedding. We’re hosting our first Pop-Up Wedding Chapel at Realm in Denver on October 7th and 8th and hope to host more at various locations across the Front Range in 2024!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1: We’d start with a day exploring my neighborhood of Baker. First we’d have brunch at Postino. Then we’d grab a cold brew limeade at Huckleberry for a day of thrift and vintage shopping along South Broadway. We’d stop at Players Pub for some skeeball and pop-a-shot, maybe a tattoo at Sol Tribe if we’re feeling bold, and a pre-dinner spicy margarita at The L. We’d end the night with dinner at La Loteria (the fried avocado taco is a must-try) and then sing the night away in a private karaoke room at Punch Bowl Social.

Day 2:
We’d spend the next day literally and figuratively feeding our inner children with “Act Like a Kid Day.” We’d start off with a breakfast pizza and Biga** Lemonades on the patio at Happy Camper followed by a day of roller coasters and water rides at Elitch Gardens. Dinner would be enchiladas and sopapillas with a side of cliff diving at the new and improved Casa Bonita, and we’d finish the night off by taking in a Rockies game or laughing our faces off at Comedy Works.

Day 3:
Did you really see Colorado if you didn’t spend at least one day in the mountains? We’ll head to my favorite part of the state and spend the day exploring Buena Vista and Salida, starting with a coffee at the Buena Vista Roastery Café to fuel the obligatory Colorado hike, bike ride or rafting trip. We’ll soak our post-activity muscles in the pools at Mount Princeton Hot Springs, and after drying off, we’ll enjoy a delicious dinner at Wesley & Rose before capping the night off with a bottle of wine on the porch outside of our room at the Surf Hotel.

Day 4:
For the last leg of our (hypothetical but now absolutely necessary) trip, we’ll spend the day in the place that made me fall in love with Colorado in the first place – Boulder. The day begins with a leisurely brunch in the adorable backyard of River & Woods. We’ll then hop on the Boulder Creek Path and take a walk through the gorgeous University of Colorado campus. We’ll grab a beer at the famously quirky Dark Horse, then head back to Pearl Street where we’ll have dinner with the best view of the Flatirons on the rooftop of Corrida (don’t skip the Verde Gin & Tonic from the cart!). And no trip to Boulder would be complete without a late night darts game in the basement at the Pearl St. Pub with some fried mac & cheese bites.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The path that led me to start my own wedding planning business has been full of twists & turns, steep hills, and some pretty deep potholes, and I’d have never found my way without some very important guides and supporters.

I acknowledge the extreme amount of privilege I’ve experienced with having parents who support me, not only financially but also by allowing me to take this winding career path without judgment or criticism.

I also would not have had the space or confidence to leave a reliable government job to launch a new business without the support of my husband, Nick. He is my number one cheerleader, confidant, and sometimes wedding day assistant!

In addition, I’m fortunate to have an incredible community of supportive friends in Denver, some of whom were some of my first clients who trusted me to bring their wedding dreams to life even though I didn’t have a portfolio to show them I could.

And finally, I’ve found the Colorado wedding industry to be unbelievably welcoming and supportive. As the “new girl in town” to an industry that some believe to be too saturated already, I was lucky enough to cross paths early on with new colleagues who welcomed me, believed in me, and helped me get started. Special shoutouts are owed to Loni (LP Creative Events) & Mariah (Details Details), two planners who allowed me to join their teams and learn the ropes; Cassie & Mallory (Wild Social Microweddings & Wandering Wagon) who are my favorite kind of industry disrupters and provided invaluable coaching and friendship; and Dani (Indy Pop Photo), Kara (KaraKara Blooms), Tirzah (Nearlywed Coaching), McKenzie (McKenzie Bigliazzi Photography) and Alex (Alex Medvick Photography) who generously promote my work and bravely collaborate with me no matter how wild the ideas get! I count myself incredibly lucky to have found my place in an industry dominated by strong, passionate, creative, and giving women, and I certainly couldn’t have done it on my own!

Website: www.hitchedaf.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hitchedaf_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hitchedaf

Image Credits
Ashley Marie Myers, Indy Pop Photo, Savannah Chandler Photography, Mastrosimo Wedding Photography