Benjamin & Chris
December 4, 2021
The online love story of a First Sergeant and a college professor – Ben & Chris. Rightfully so, these two had quite the busy schedules. They landed on the idea of a first date over breakfast. Who doesnโt love breakfast? The truth is, it started as breakfast, then breakfast turned into lunch, lunch turned into drinks, and drinks turned into the beginning of their lifetime together.
A year after their first date in December 2019 they embarked on a weekend getaway to attend a Christmas party. Their first stop of the weekend was at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens which was covered in sparkly Christmas lights – dreamy already, but it gets better. Not only was the garden lit up, but it was also crawling with dogs in sweaters! The dogs made Ben a little more nervous than he originally was for lack of privacy, but Chris was in Christmas dog heaven! They stopped for a quick selfie when Ben got down on one knee and popped the question.
As Chris says, โThere are no rules for gay proposalsโ, and it was his turn to surprise Ben! The plan was for Chris to propose to Ben on Valentineโs Day 2020. Instead of the perfect morning envisioned, the water heater broke. This resulted in spending lots of money and Chris wondering if he should delay the proposal. Instead, he realized that โlife and love are not about perfect moments, but those gloriously imperfect days and moments that define a relationship.โ Chris got the fur babies (two Great Danes and a hound) all dressed up. Ben walked in and saw the adorable pups and Chris on one knee ready to propose.
It was a true winter wonderland-themed wedding. With the help of friends Megan and Jenna, many came together to bring Benโs vision to life. This included around thirty Christmas trees! They were married by Chrisโs aunt, who read the same poem that she read at Chrisโs parentโs wedding in 1978. As if that wasnโt more than perfect already, they walked down the aisle after the ceremony to Sleigh Ride and had the guests sign a Christmas ornament to hang on a unique tree.
Leading up to the big day Chris and Ben had been secretly practicing for their big showstopper with a dance coach and choreographer. Letโs just say the crowd was VERY blown away by their performance at the reception! This became the highlight of their winter-wonderland dream wedding.
