Adam and Ben: A Sunset Affair
With a romantic and intimate sunset ceremony, Adam and Ben said their I Do's overlooking the city of Atlanta. Treating guests to a 'Family Style' dinner post-ceremony to celebrate their nuptials, Adam and Ben's wedding was all about creating an environment that honoured their connections with their family and close friends.
Venue Four Seasons Hotel, Atlanta | Photographer Michelle Scott Photography
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How and when did you meet?
We meet at a housewarming party in September 2013.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Ben: We met in Atlanta, while I was doing a rotation program for work. The guy who was cutting my hair became a close friend and was inviting me to different events on the weekends, which was a nice break from work and helped me to explore the city with someone “local”. One weekend, he invited me to a housewarming party. We noticed one another from across the room but didn’t get the chance to talk. My friend and I then relocated to a bar to meet up with some more people. I separated from my friend to go to the bathroom, and when I came out, I quite literally turned into Adam and a group of his friends. He sparked up a conversation, and we hit it off from there. We chatted more and more, even danced, it was a fast connection. Suddenly my friend comes to get me and insists that we should go to another bar where his friends were having a birthday party. Since I was really hitting it off with this incredibly handsome and charming guy, I tried everything I could to convince my friend to stay at our current location. Though I threw out many excuses or distractions, my friend was insistent it was time to go to this birthday party. Reluctantly, Adam and I parted ways. My friend and I arrive at the next bar and grabbed a drink, bummed I didn’t get more time with Adam. Not long after that, guess who, by chance, walks into the same bar – Adam. I thought to myself, we’ve been at the same three parties tonight, it’s a sign! We pick right back up from where we left it, and the rest is history! We started dating soon after that, and in September 2020, we’ll have been together for 7 years.
Adam: In a word, at a party. It was a Saturday night and my friend called to see if I wanted to go to a party. My actual thought, “yeah, there will probably be cute boys.” Instead, I met the man I would eventually marry. I didn’t know it at the time, but the cute guy in the grey blazer who kept staring from across the room was the most wonderful person on the planet. As it turns out, Benjamin Touchette, was a dream come true.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Adam: Actually, I can still see that night clearly. Ben was wearing a blazer, which seemed odd to me. Weather in Georgia in September can be a bit hot & humid. Ben’s outfit was perfectly assembled, and his cheekbones were striking. He seemed curious to me; different from everyone else.
Ben: I felt like the conversation between us was easy, right from the beginning. His witty sense of humour, laugh and smile are some of the first things I noticed.
What does marriage mean to you?
Adam: Marriage is the expression of our commitment to each other. It is a statement that says we are in love, but we also chose to love each other.
Who proposed, and how?
Ben: I think our “proposal” was fairly representative of our relationship. It wasn’t a huge reveal to one another, but more of a collaborative discussion that was talked about through several angles, both pros and cons. One weekend while vacationing in Provincetown, after running through all sorts of scenarios, we held hands on the beach and together decided, “Let’s do this!”
Adam: as an accountant, I have really strong opinions about the financial and legal consequences of getting married. It likely sounded like I was trying to convince Ben to NOT marry me with my never-ending discussions about the tax implications of marriage, but my love for Ben truly outweighed those implications. I knew for a long time that I wanted to get married and planned the trip to Provincetown as a way to make it official. It was a joint ask that we both agreed we wanted to do, simple and straight-forward like most of our decision making.
Ben: Because our engagement was more of a decision we made together, we didn’t immediately have rings ready; however, we started the search after that. We looked at several big-name designers that felt top of mind when thinking of “wedding rings”, but nothing really jumped out at us. At the time, we were splitting time between Atlanta and Philadelphia for my work, so we found someone local in Philly to make a custom piece for us. The design we wanted wasn’t anything incredibly unique or extravagant, but the team at L. Priori gave us the simple and streamlined look we were going for.
When did you get married?
Our wedding day was November 9th, 2019.
Adam and Ben’s Story Continues Below ↓
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Adam: the wedding was designed to be a close and intimate experience. We are a couple with deep personal connections with our friend groups, or our “chosen family”. We wanted our wedding to feel the same. The wedding itself included 67 guests comprised of close family and long-time friends. The venue was designed with one very long dining table that demonstrated our interconnection with the guests, making it feel like one family was seated all together. We celebrated, dined and dance together in a space curated for a small group.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Ben: The most important thing to us that our guests truly enjoyed their experience. We tried to shed wedding norms where we could so it was a celebration, from start to finish.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Ben: We sourced much of our visual inspiration from the venue itself. We intentionally did not try to over-design the space, but rather embrace the aesthetics that were already apart of it. It was mix of sleek metal light fixtures, plush furniture, and the skyline of the city, so we didn’t want to take away from any of that.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Adam: We selected our suppliers through the connections of several close friends here in Atlanta. I have lived and worked in Atlanta for the last 20 years and have an extensive list of friends and clients who work in the wedding industry. We received referrals from many of these connections and then spent several months selecting the best person/supplier to work with. As we evaluated each potential supplier, we would look for people who understood our vision and relationship.
Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding?
Adam: We found it very freeing to approach our wedding outside the norms of a traditional wedding. We extensively researched traditional weddings norms and modified to fit our own needs and personalities, but never felt pressured to include anything we didn’t want.
Did you incorporate any sentimental or traditional elements into your wedding day?
Adam: My favourite moment was having my mom walk me down the aisle. Being from a religious background, I grew up thinking I would never get married, and my family would never be part of my life. Having my mom walk me down the aisle meant the world to me.
Ben: One of the more traditional portions of the wedding that we did was the lighting of a unity candle. While we didn’t stick to or didn’t feel we needed to incorporate many classical elements of a wedding, we thought the lighting of “one” spoke to bringing our two families together. Two families with different backgrounds, journeys, and even very different views at times, that were brought together by our relationship.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
Ben: I don’t know that this went completely “wrong” per se, but on the day before our wedding President Trump was in Atlanta, which caused major back-ups on the highway. My poor mom was stuck in traffic for hours but managed to get to the ceremony rehearsal right on time. I’m sure she can laugh about it today but let’s just say, I don’t think she was giggling about it in the car ride to the hotel.
What was the most challenging thing about planning your wedding?
Ben: We both travel for work often, and before the pandemic, it was weekly for me. I wouldn’t call it “difficult”, but it did take more coordination in meeting vendors in person when you’re going in and out of the city.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We did a two-week trip to Australia. We first flew to Gold Coast and Brisbane and spent several days relaxing on the beach. From there we flew to Melbourne for sightseeing and wine tasting in the nearby wine country. We concluded the trip with several nights in Sydney.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Adam: Start early! There is an extensive amount of work to do and figure out.
Ben: Before looking at a ton of inspiration, take some time to reflect on what you both want the day to be like. Define what experience you want your guests to have, what are your own “must haves”, and hold that close as the planning continues.
Suppliers
Venue Four Seasons Hotel, Atlanta
Photographer Michelle Scott Photography
Suits The Modern Gent
Planning/Design Chris Confero at Confero
Flowers Chris Confero at Confero
Stationery Minted
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