Image Source: PinClipart, Us Weekly, Toofab’s
Ben Higgins and Jessica Clarke stepped into wedded bliss after a year of engagement!
The Bachelor star Ben Higgins married his fiancee of a year on Saturday, November 13. The wedding vows were exchanged at Cherokee Dock in Nashville and included many stars from the Bachelor Nation. In attendance were Ashley Laconetti, Jared Hsibon, Becca Kufrin, Thomas Jacobs, Dean Unglert, and Caelyn Miller-Keyes.
The couple had first relayed that more celebrities would be at the attendance for the wedding ceremony. Higgins, aged 32, had told US Weekly that they were also expecting Chase McNary, Blake Horstmann, Elyse Dehlbom, Shawn Booth, Chris Soules, Nick Viall, Wells Adams, and Becca Tilley would also be attending the wedding. The happy couple could not wait for their big day to arrive, and days earlier had started counting down the days leading to the big occasion. They also posted a countdown for the festivity.
Back in August, the lovely groom had wished for a long-married life with his fiancee and had told her that he would be "putting a ring on that finger" soon! The post for his bride had read: “Kiss your single days goodbye @jessclarke_ because I’m putting a ring on that finger, and we ain’t ever taking it off!” He wrote: “Happy #bachelorette weekend your beautiful gift to this earth you!” The post featured a picture where his lady love posed cozily with a cardboard cutout of him. Clarke could not help but reply: “I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
The two had started off their romance through Instagram just shortly after Higgins had called off his engagement with Lauren Bushnell. The two had got engaged at the end of The Bachelor: Season 20. The two had broken off their engagement in May 2021. After a while of dating Clarke following his famous split, he proposed to the lucky lady in March 2020.
The "Almost Famous" podcast co-host explained his relationship as "healthy," when talking with Us Weekly and presented the same wish from his girlfriend that she thinks the same. Higgins said, “We’re great. It’s fun. It’s just healthy. I think she would say the same. Our relationship is healthy. I’m a better version of myself, a more free version of myself than I’ve been in a while.”
The two had also made a vow of staying celibate until their big day. Sharing the news in May 2020, the author and Clarke had said that the transition was not 'weird' for them, and such a decision was strictly necessary. Talking with Us Weekly, Clarke said, “It wasn’t a hard conversation or a weird one. I think as we got more serious, it became a bigger conversation.”
The Hidden in Plain Sight author said that they had come across the decision just “within the first two weeks” and continued, “It’s just something that we both felt comfortable talking to each other about. I forget the exact scenario that it came up. We had talked about it and agreed to it. Like, we still have the desires, and we still have the emotions and the physical desires to love each other.”
The two also went to purchase a home together, but keeping up with their vow, they shared how it all plays into their relationship. They said that it was not so difficult to abstain from sleeping together as Clarke said that they live at different places despite having their shared home. In December 2020, Clarke said, “Last week I started the moving process to Colorado and into our FIRST HOME!" She shared through her Instagram post, “The house is empty, but it’s ours! I’ll be living in it and making it into our little home until Ben joins me after the wedding. I can’t wait to share all of the little projects.”
Now that the two are together, they finally start starting ahead with expanding their family. Earlier this month, Higgins had shared his views about having kids and went on to state that he would even adopt kids.
He said, “We’ll have kids some way, either biological or not biological. We will have a family. Just because she’s 26, I’m 32. If I had, like, an ideal timeline where I got to pick, it would be two years when we’d start thinking about it. … We’ve obviously abstained from sex for three years, so we are off to a fast start on trying to start a family.”
The two held a "simple and beautiful" ceremony, which was choreographed by Sara Fried from Fete Nashville. The ethereal occasion was photographed by Jordan Voth. Clarke wore an Anne Barge gown for her big occasion, while Higgins looked dapper in a traditional tuxedo look. The two shared personalized vows, followed by a scripture reading, and also exchanged quotes from Winnie-the-Pooh!
The ceremony was then carried outdoors, and the guests made their way to a lakeside reception. The festivities included cocktails and personalized dinner packs that included the favorite foods of the individual guests. The menu even included pizza and sliders. Music was provided by The Taylor Pace Orchestra.
