"I never imagined having a wedding with a thousand guests. That's two-thirds of my town."
-Abbie Burnett Duggar
Plans for John-David Duggar's wedding are underway! Jana Duggar and Duggar family friend Laura DeMaise are the wedding planners, so they take a trip to the wedding hanger where the reception will be held to start nailing down details. The hanger will certainly be big enough, but they end up running into a significant roadblock (video below).
Monday, February 25, 2019
8pm: Jinger Has a Baby
9pm: Sleepless in Laredo NEW!
Jinger and Jeremy get a dose of reality as they adjust to life as parents. Meanwhile, Ben tutors the Duggar kids, and they must use their math skills to make a meal for 40 people. Later at dinner, one couple makes a special announcement.
60 min
If you enjoy this blog, be sure to visit Ellie's other blogs (NashvilleWife.com and BatesFamilyBlog.com).
Photo/video courtesy TLC
If Abbie never thought of a wedding with 1000 guests, then why did she agree to have one?! Just once, I'd like to see this family do a "family only" wedding instead of a giant TV spectacular with so many people that they can't even talk to them all at the wedding. Remember how fast Joy wanted to get out of her own reception? These weddings have gone from meaningful events to media circuses.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's all a big publicity thing for them. Since it's shown over and over on TLC, I gather TLC is footing the bill.
DeleteI think its nice. It is closer to the gospel description to go out and gather a crowd to fill up the wedding hall with guests.
DeleteTotally agree when Michelle and Jim bob did their vows over years ago it was just family ...now they have security ( no shade we all should in this crazy world) ( they look like secret agents tho) everything is so secretive ..much love but their wedding is no different than everyone else in love ..they don’t reveal genders of babies and we all wait so views can be up on the season if u don’t wanna tell it’s your business but don’t be like” we not telling “ everything is so different now with them still love them still tune in but it’s not like it used to be years ago :(
DeleteShe said that because very large weddings are not something you normally picture for yourself unless you've grown up in a large or prominent family. Since she didn't know she would be marrying a Duggar until last year, it wouldn't make sense for her to have pictured that ahead of time.
DeleteTLC doesn't pay the bill. Abby parents are paying for the wedding.
DeleteI think it would be great if the next one just runs off and elopes. These mega weddings following one after another make my head spin. I can’t imagine being in such a large family that wedding planning never takes a breather. Must be exhausting.
DeleteWhich of their family members do you prefer that they not invite and which friends should they leave out of their wedding? They have a right to invite whoever they want to their wedding!!!! Of course, Abbie would not picture marrying into a family that large, so it wouldn’t occur to her that there would be that many people at the wedding. She didn’t say that she didn’t want that many people there. Friends and relatives who have been to the other weddings would expect to be invited to this one as well. Why not invite everyone to join the celebration?
DeleteYou're misunderstanding what she said. She was talking about the fact that up until meeting John David, she had never thought of having a large wedding, because she doesn't know that many people and would have no reason to think of it. She had no way of knowing that she would be marrying into a family with so many connections. Think about all the large families they see regularly through their ATI events and have undoubtedly befriended over the years, for example.
DeleteThey have a BIG family and friends with big families.
DeleteSometimes I wonder why I read these comments; there are so many negative ones. No, it would never occur to me to invite a thousand guests, but I didn't have 18 siblings, BUT, I never did public speaking, didn't attend home school conferences as well as religious gatherings. And, I'm sure that the Duggars can afford to pay for their own weddings; after all, the parents and children probably share in the earnings from the television program. Please....if you don't like this family, don't come to the blog.
DeleteJust because some siblings announced their baby's gender doesn't mean they all have to. You can do things differently than your siblings.
DeleteI can´t believe Joy said not to serve any tea and they will be fine with two!!! Really, two!?!?! She comes from a large family, surely she knows from personal experience that two is nowhere near enough!
ReplyDeleteThat's nuts. If there were just two, everyone at the reception would be in the restroom line and not the buffet line. lol
DeleteShe was JOKING 🙄
DeleteI think she was being sarcastic 😂
DeleteShe was kidding.
DeleteI mean, she's still tomboy-Joy at heart!
DeleteShe sounded serious to me
DeleteIf Abbie didn't expect a huge wedding, why on Earth did she agree to marry a Duggar? That was rather disingenuous at best.
ReplyDeleteAbbie loves John David. Growing up she probably didn't expect to have 1,000 people attend because few families host weddings of that size. She's willing to have a large wedding because she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.
DeleteYes, what 6:53 said. Our expectations don't always match what really winds up happening, and there is absolutely nothing disingenuous about that. It seems a strange conclusion to jump to.
DeleteProbably cause for some girls it's not all about the wedding
DeleteI think she meant that growing up when she imagined her wedding, she never thought it would be that large. I didn't hear her say she didn't like it or agreed reluctantly.
DeleteVery disingenuous indeed
DeleteWhat are you all fussing about? She said that she didn't expect a big wedding, not that she didn't want one. Or that she wasn't happy getting married the Duggar way, out of love for John-David!
DeleteDear John and Abbie, I can't believe your wedding reception took an unexpected turn. I agree you need a lot of restrooms. I can't wait to watch the wedding/reception on TV hopefully it's the 2 hour version. Natasha B
ReplyDeleteTime 2:45PM Mon 2/25/19
ReplyDeleteSo happy for Josiah's answer 4 for the guys & 8 for the girls. Lol
I don’t get why they even invite that many people. John and Abbie probably don’t even know half of them. I would like for my wedding to be attended by not only people who I know, but people that are close to me and have a special place in my heart. I don’t want some strangers to be there because they’re friends of my parents or something
ReplyDeleteThe Duggars have met many, many people over the years, and a number of their friends have large families. Makes sense to me that they would have large weddings.
DeleteYou might want them there if they brought gifts 😀. Just kidding! Everyone is different, and some people want to share their special day with everyone possible. They are friends with a lot of families that have a lot of kids. They probably know more of the people there than you think. They have gone to homeschool gatherings for years and met people there. Plus people from their church.... Not to mention people they have met and become friends with from speaking engagements and traveling.
Deletedefinitely I agree
DeleteI agree!
DeleteShe's marrying a Duggar. How could she not expect a huge wedding? Does she watch the show??
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you didn't expect it doesn't mean that you don't like it! The size of the Duggar family is extremely unusual, so she obviously didn't expect it. But that's kind of normal in life: life surprises you and you make the best of it. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong.
DeleteObviously she didn't expect it before meeting JD.
DeleteSave the money and have immediate family only. These huge weddings are circuses and hardly any food is served.
DeleteLaura's dress Jean combo is interesting!
ReplyDeleteI know, she didn’t need jeans over that, the dress was long enough
DeleteI agree, not very fashionable.
DeleteA special announcement? You mean Jessa and Ben are pregnant? Or will it be something new?
ReplyDeleteIt was Josiah and Lauren’s pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage
DeleteI agree that it now looks like it was probably Josiah and Lauren's pregnancy. If you look at the promo, it asks about someone else. Josiah and Lauren were included in the clip from Austria, so that made me think it was not them. Jed and Jer were asked the question about another person in the their family with a surprise, so it did not seem like them. I wonder if the Duggars possibly waited and did not inform TLC about the miscarriage until AFTER the promo clip was made, since the TLC people seemed excited, not sad, in the clip. There might have been a leak about the pregnancy as well and not the miscarriage. I still wonder why the producer suggested straight out to Jana that the different person with a surprise was her. In the clip she did not answer. But I hope that there is something special to come out about her after that exchange. If there isn't, TLC should not be using Jana in that way. I should also add that it looked like the miscarriage was added quickly into the episode, since there were only a few seconds added about it and they did not edit out the celebrations. TLC may have had the promo ready to go and then just learned about it.
DeleteAnon 7:27. They showed THAT? How tasteless when they already knew what was going to happen.
DeleteI'll bet Lauren wanted the whole pregnancy announcement thing shown so she could show the world how she dealt with the disappointment.
DeleteI’m not familiar with their faith. Do they just invite everyone from their church or is it all family? And I never see them have a meal for the weddings only cake. Every wedding I’ve ever been to has a meal with it. :-). Just curious. Been following the Duggar’s since the beginning!
ReplyDeleteMost people I know from church invite the whole church as well as family and friends. The Duggars don’t usually serve a meal. Can you imagine the logistics of trying to have hot food for 1,000 people? I have been to a lot of weddings with just cake or just desserts. When people invite the whole church to attend, it makes sense to keep the food simple.
DeleteIt would be nearly impossible to host a sit down meal for 1000+. Keep it simple, desert and punch and call it a day.
Delete"Cake and punch" weddings are how things used to be done back in the day, I think. It's not so unusual.
DeleteYou’ve been following them from the beginning and you aren’t familiar with their faith? The beginning was in 2004 and they’ve talked about their faith and beliefs hundreds of times.
DeleteServing a meal at a wedding isn’t a tradition everyone holds to. I’ve been to over 50 weddings and only 1 served a meal but they were older, she was an only child, and her dad had been putting wedding funds aside for 35 years. Other than that it’s cake, punch, and snacks.
Lately, there has been a little more food at the receptions than there was before, but those pictures and that info was not shown or given here, leading everyone to think that they're still doing rootbeer floats and that sort of thing.
DeleteI've only been to one wedding in my whole (long) life where it was cake, punch, and snacks! That was an older couple and second marriages for both. Every other wedding I've been to has been a dinner, whether sit-down or buffet. Cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres while the couple is having pictures taken, and then the dinner. And then the music & dancing! These "once in a lifetime" Duggar weddings have been big on attendance but skimpy on reception.
DeleteUgh...all content we’ve seen or read about already.
ReplyDeleteKimmie: if you've been with then since beginning you know more than most! lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked that your comments are so rude and unfriendly. If you don't agree with how they do things then stop following them.
ReplyDeleteI don't care how many the have invited. That's up to them and the individual person getting married.
DeleteAMEN!!!!!
DeleteSuch a lovely couple. Hopefully the wedding is/ was enjoyed...
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking how many rude hateful folks try to post and detract from the joy the family is finding!
Abbie didn't look the least bit thrilled to have their wedding reception in John David's choice location... an airplane hangar. No restrooms...with 1,000 people? Silly choice. Can't imagine what renting enough porta-potties would have cost; not to mention how tacky they all would look lined up outside the venue. No taste or class at all, really about this.
ReplyDeleteAbbie looks like she always does. She doesn’t appear to be very emotionally demonstrative so I don’t think you can confidently say she wasn’t thrilled. I loved my wedding reception venue but at no point did I jump up and down, squeal, smile incessantly, gasp, or show any emotion other than calm, polite, peaceful happiness. It’s a personality thing.
DeleteAlso, all opinions about taste and class are just that...opinions. Learning to not step all over someone else’s happiness is, in my opinion...the epitome of taste and class.
My first thought was how a bride in a huge billowing white dress could fit in a Portapotty...
DeleteThis video gave me a good laugh. Thank you. I needed that today.
ReplyDeleteGreat,show I enjoyed watching them as I always do. Love seeing the younger kids last night. Love the family. Natasha G
ReplyDeleteIf the Duggars had never found themselves with a TV show and were just living their lives out privately in Arkansas, I think that these weddings would look entirely different and without a crowd of 1000 guests. These ceremonies and receptions are clearly orchestrated for the camera crews.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the weddings would look different. The weddings would be similar to Josh and Anna's wedding where it was Anna's church community who helped plan and decorate the church as well as helped make food for the reception. The current Duggar themed weddings are to keep the audience's attention. It would have been more interesting to see Abbie's ideas for her wedding and more about her community.
DeleteIf I was dressed up attending a wedding, I would have been horrified to see that the only restrooms available were porta-potties! How awful for ladies with long dresses trying to maneuver inside one of those tiny porta-potties
ReplyDelete