Bachelor Ben Higgins Marries Jessica Clarke In Tennessee Wedding

Ben Higgins is married. The Season 20 Bachelor and wife Jessica Clarke married on Saturday, November 13, in an estate wedding near Nashville.

"I am so excited," Higgins, 32, told People exclusively while revealing his first wedding photos. "We have so much to look forward to. And I know we will have a beautiful marriage."

The couple chose The Estate in Cherokee Dock for their venue. Given the pandemic's ongoing impact, the couple required guests to either be fully vaccinated or to have negative COVID tests, People reported. Fellow Bachelor reality personalities to attend the nuptials included the likes of former fellow Bachelor Nick Viall and Higgins' close pal Wells Adam, who was a groomsman in the wedding.

Prior to exchanging vows, the Generous Coffee founder shared a tribute to Clarke. "Tomorrow the guests begin to flood into Nashville for the wedding. My heart is at peace and my amazement continues that I get to marry [Jess]," he wrote on Instagram. "She brings me to praise and thankfulness everyday (for the last 3 years). This is something I have dreamed of, my family has prayed for, and now we will celebrate! Because of the weekend ahead, I am going to gladly with joy and excitement put my phone aside to soak up every second of the weekend. Soon after the week ahead (wedding and honeymoon) I will share the photos and videos on social! Until then, if you would like wedding updates, check out @people! Thanks for the support from you all, and making our day feel so special! I write this caption with a massive smile on my face!"

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Who Is Ben Higgins' Wife?

Jessica Clarke, graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2018 with a degree in integrated marketing and communications. She is currently working for Valet Energy in Nashville and is also a co-owner of SweatNET Nashville and SweatNET Denver. Aside from her dating and professional life, she is an accomplished runner; Clarke was a member of her university's track and field and cross-country teams.

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How Did Ben Higgins Propose to Clarke?

Clarke and Higgins revealed the news to Entertainment Tonight on Saturday, March 28. According to the reality personality, he had originally planned to propose in New York City, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic thwarted his plans, bringing the moment closer to home.

On Friday, Higgins proposed just as Clarke joined her side of the family in Tennessee. The couple, who was practicing social distancing from his parents' home, made the drive to Franklin, Tennessee, where he popped the question for one great reason: so that Clarke could celebrate with her loved ones.

"I went back to a pond behind her house, and we had set it up with sunflowers near a bench," he told ET. "It's right in their backyard, but a little hidden. I proposed and her family and mine were watching from a distance, and then we all celebrated together."

"I was super nervous," he added. "She's my best friend, my partner and I love her. I was nervous to kind of do this whole thing in front of her. I wasn't anxious, it's just a big moment!"

How Did Ben Higgins Meet His Fiance, Jessica Clarke?

The pair first met on Instagram—yes, he slid into Clarke's DMs. After much speculation about Higgins' mystery girlfriend from 2018 on, Higgins and Clarke shared their relationship with the public in February 2019.

With several years of courting under their belts, Higgins decided it was time to pop the question to Clarke.

Thankfully, the ring arrived on time. Higgins, the co-founder of Generous Coffee, worked with Gnat Jewelers in his native Denver to find a sparkling option. "I got the ring like, two days before we came to [Tennessee], so that was a stresser on me," he said of the custom piece. "I'm pretty happy with it. It took a lot of work and big team effort."

"This ring's never coming off!" Clarke added.

Aside from his own proposal, Higgins has continued to publicly dabble in the romance world thanks to his stint on The Bachelor. Most recently, he joined a venture related to weddings--by leading an 11-couple wedding festival. "I really think there is something special about people coming together to celebrate something special and meaningful, and weddings are just that," Higgins told The Knot in an exclusive interview. "The reality of it all, though, is marriage has become an extremely expensive and stressful undertaking. Oftentimes the core idea gets lost. The production of the event takes precedence over the foundation of it all. This new approach that we have come up with keeps the excitement very fresh for the couples and their families and by collaborating with other like-minded couples, they help each other do what weddings fail to do: be truly inventive."

Now with his new fiance, Clarke, Higgins has the opportunity to dream up his own wedding down the road as he goes from eligible bachelor to future husband.