Ben and David: It Began With Lady Gaga
Ben and David’s love story began with a chance encounter at a Lady Gaga concert in Brisbane, leading to a whirlwind romance that spanned over eleven years. Their wedding at The Calile Hotel doubled as a celebration for their 40th birthdays and was a testament to their style complete with Dion Lee suits.
Photographer Daniel Neucom Photography | Location Brisbane, AUS
“Marriage to us is the legal ratification of our relationship which has always been in our hearts and minds since the day we met over 11 and a bit years ago.”
How and when did you meet?
Ben: I visited Brisbane from Adelaide for work and a Lady Gaga concert back in 2012. At the concert, I noticed David from afar, but I didn’t have the nerves to approach him. For me, it was love at first sight. There was definitely something about David, a connection I couldn’t put my finger on at the time, but whilst in town I scoured the dating apps to find David and finding success, I invited David out on a date. I was in town for 10 days and once we met, we spent every day together.
It wasn’t until six months into our relationship that a lightbulb moment for me resulted in the realisation of where the initial connection/familiarity had come from. David was the boy that I would check out walking past my hotel each day while I was in town for work the months before the concert.
Tell us a little about that first time you met…
David: Ben and I's first date was at my favorite sushi place in Brisbane at the time, Ginga. Sitting down at the restaurant, Ben ordered himself a Japanese beer and I joined him. I noticed Ben's excitement when I ordered a beer too, as he mentioned not many other guys he'd met enjoyed beer.
When it came time to order the second round, I chose a different drink. Ben asked me if I liked beer, to which I revealed I had ordered it to impress him. He found that very endearing, and from that moment on, we hit it off. For the next 10 days, while Ben was in town, we were inseparable.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
David: I first noticed and loved how outgoing, confident and charismatic Ben is as a person.
Ben: I first noticed that whilst David is a quietly spoken person, he is very engaging and warm.
It was clear from that first meeting that we were complete opposites, yet complemented each other perfectly.
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship…
Ben: David and I have enjoyed an amazing eleven and a bit years together. There have been so many milestones over this time. I made the move to Brisbane from Adelaide after flying back and forth to be together for a year. David and I bought our first home together, and recently, we bought our next home.
We also welcomed our fur babies Brooklyn & Dakota, dachshund sisters, into our lives five years ago. We're a couple that loves our beautiful friends and have travelled the world with them, always enjoying their company.
Throughout the last 11 and a bit years, we've celebrated countless moments together. And no challenge was ever too great for us to overcome as long as we worked together as a team.
What does marriage mean to you?
Marriage to us is the legal ratification of our relationship which has always been in our hearts and minds since the day we met over 11 and a bit years ago.
Who proposed and how?
David: Ben and I worked through everything together so once we discussed getting married, we worked together to arrange our rings through friends of ours who own a jeweller in Adelaide ‘Archer and Holland’ then we planned our proposal to occur on their 9th anniversary at Spicers Peak Lodge, one of our favourite places in the world.
To make the proposal extra special we organised through the resort to have a helicopter take us to a mountaintop on the resort that can only be accessed by helicopter. On the day of the proposal, the lodge was encompassed in cloud cover and the helicopter couldn’t make it up the mountain to collect us. The beautiful staff at Spicers let us know they wouldn’t be able to take us to the mountain top of ‘Mount Mistake’ due to the weather, this was the first time we actually heard the name of the mountain we were being taken to and given the name of the mountain, saw it a blessing that the proposal didn’t go ahead on ‘Mount Mistake’. A beautiful fireplace was prepared at the lodge and was the perfect place for us to propose to each other.
When did you get married?
16th December 2023.
David and Ben’s story continues below ↓
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Ben: David and I both turned 40 in December 2023 and were planning a big celebration for our combined 40th birthdays. Given we had not made wedding plans, our parents provided the nudge to turn the 40th birthday into a wedding, especially with most guests living interstate and overseas. Initial plans were to have a 40th Birthday that would be a surprise wedding, though as the wedding planning progressed, it was decided to go all out and have the wedding of our dreams at The Calile Hotel, one of our favourite places to wine and dine over the years.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
David: With so many family members and friends travelling from far and wide to attend the wedding, it was most important to Ben and me that we had the opportunity to reconnect with our family and friends prior to the wedding day. A week of celebrations was planned with dinners and drinks every night of the week leading up to the wedding to allow everyone to reconnect, ensuring that on the wedding day, everyone would be free to enjoy themselves and no one was seeing each other for the first time in six - twelves months. Whilst this required a lot of extra work for us to plan many other events, it allowed us to really relax on the wedding day itself and not have to worry about making sure we spoke to every guest on the night.
Did you incorporate any family sentiments or traditions?
Ben: Our celebrant was my auntie. My mother's side of the family also has a tradition of doing shots of scotch at family gatherings, so we ensured The Calile was well stocked with scotch on the night. As we walked down the aisle together as a couple, we held a single red rose and after arriving at the ceremony, we handed the rose to each of our mothers as a sign of love to our mothers.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
David: Ben and I have always had a unique style and wanted to do things in what felt most natural to us. From our Dion Lee suits and the most colourful flower arrangements, the day was perfection in our eyes.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Ben: Instagram was where we sourced most of our suppliers, it’s a great place to easily search for what we were after and then see examples of their work. We struggled most with finding a florist, we had such a clear vision of what we wanted with our flowers and even had a full mood board we were sending out to suppliers and we were not really content with the responses received from most. Sharing frustrations with friends, we discovered their relatives own a florist and we were connected with the beautiful Laura from Kenmore Village Florists. Laura completely understood our vision and we felt her genuine excitement to bring our vision to life which we were lacking from all other communications with florists. In the end, the flowers will be one of the standout memories of our wedding, they exceeded all their expectations and created the perfect space for their ceremony and reception. Our friends owning a jeweller in Adelaide also allowed us to reengage with them for our wedding bands. As we had opted for quite extravagant engagement rings, we opted for slightly more understated wedding rings, though David still went with the full diamond band again, due to his love of sparkly things. We were also blessed with having a friend who was a photographer, Daniel and Daniel then linked us with our videographer Jake, both their work was exceptional and far exceeded all expectations.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
David: The decision to turn our 40th Birthday into the wedding of our dreams with only six months’ notice, required a lot of effort to plan all the details to bring the event together.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Ben: We returned to Spicers Peak Lodge for our honeymoon, the location of our engagement, as it is one of our favourite places in the world, then celebrated New Year’s with wedding guests who had travelled from New York and Sydney.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Ben and David: As much as you think your wedding is all you can talk about with people, you’d be surprised how much was resolved with our wedding planning by discussing issues with friends and family, your loved ones want to be on this journey with you, lean into them for support and guidance.
Ben and David’s Team
Venue The Calie Hotel
Photographer Daniel Neucom Photography
Florist Laura from St Lucia House of Flowers
Photobooth The Photo Booth Guys
Lighting Out of the Dark
Cake Jocelyn’s Provisions
Makeup Artist Helena Chapman
Stationery / Welcome Sign Lily Maree Designs
DJ Brad James
Jeweller Archer and Holland
Suits Dion Lee James St
Shoes Untitlab
Champagne Tower Allure Aisle
Dog Wedding Service First Class Pets
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