Lady Edith

But seriously...zoom in on Derek's hand. His wedding band is about 2 sizes too big. The guy was pretty thin when they got married. But now? YIKES!!!!! That just drive it all into perspective

Chances are, Jessa bought the outfit second hand and (because she has never heard the song) figured it was cute. Ben probably just didn't say anything to her about it and Derek probably paid no nevermind to it.

The thing I noticed about Jill is that, Instead of prepping for all eventualities in Izzy's birth, she bought a birth pool and some supplies and called it a "plan". There was never a solid plan in place. Something detailed in case of emergency. With Dillard #2, I can be certain in saying that she will once again eschew medical supervision and attempt a home birth. My first child (10 lbs, 4 ozs) was an unplanned cesarean and a traumatic birth experience. It changed me. My second was to be a VBAC for about 4.3 seconds into my pregnancy in an effort to "fix" my bad birth experience . My second chunky monkey was born at 12 lbs and there was no way my doc would let me attempt it after only (although I was 6 years postpartumwndvheekrf). vbacs are NOT for everyone and the decision to attempt one should be made only under the watchful eye of a doc who has been by your side the whole time. Come on, Jil. Woman up and get some prenatal care for the baby and you.

Nope, no splurging for Jim Bob. He is drinking soda from what appears to be a complimentary water cup. They are slightly different from the soda cups. In the majority of the Paneras I've eaten in, the water cups do not have the Panera brand printed on them. He most likely ordered lunch with four waters and, as the drinks at Panera are largely self-serve (aside from the specialty coffees, teas and smoothies) he simply served himself the soda as opposed to water. Please, Derick, PLEASE have a milkshake with that salad. Or better yet, trade it in for a vat of cream of mushroom soup and a scone or seven.

Amish and Mennonites are separate sects...kind of. The simplest way to explain it is that the Amish are, well, Amish. The Mennonites are kind of like Amish light, with similar religious practices but different societal practices. For example, Amish don't own cars, technology or have electricity or phones in their homes. Mennonites do own cars and cell phones and most have indoor plumbing and electricity in their homes. They do folllw a strict dress code (they mostly wear similarly styled plain dresses in pastel colors) and (like the Amish) the women do not cut their hair or leave home without a head covering. At least that's what the Mennonites who live near my family's cabin do.

Not a thing. Other than an inability to meet other kids and build real relationships, being sequestered from everything that does not correlate with their warped world view, and an underdeveloped sense of self aside from their religious identity. The REAL crisis is not letting people develop lives for themselves. It's a tragedy.

There is...and these folks apparently meet semi-regularly. http://letthemmarry.org/

I agree. This does NOT look like a "house". This looks like an old church that's being remodeled. There is a rather large parking lot (shown with foam insulation sheets lying on it, ready to be used). Oh dear LORD...this all makes sense now. The need for the girls to marry men who are "called" to pastoral service in one form or another. They say they want to marry "Godly men", but it's not enough to just marry someone who attends church regularly and who is a believer and practitioner of their faith. They marry potential pastors. Or current pastors. Or missionaries. My mind is racing...20 kids (including the foster). 20 potential churches all spreading Jim Bob's brand of Gothardism. Add in the expected 200+ grandkids either becoming or marrying "pastors" and you have yourself quite the cult. If he takes it, the opportunity is there for JB to establish and staff (with a ready-made pastor) four "churches" in every state. And with Derek's background in missions work, he could effectively expand outside of the US.

I could've missed it, but were there any such pix of the Batesses or the Rodriguii doing these types of PDAs? IMHO, this type of thing is reserved for Jim Bob and Michelle for control and security purposes. He probably feels that he needs to be lip locked to her to show the world that she is "his". Like a tomcat marking his territory. And I can see where the Vuolos would participate, thinking it's a cute idea for a pic. ?

Eric the Shrubber provided the backdrop. Arwen, I heart you.

And from the looks of it, Jana will be Jana'ing around for many years to come. Joy got her ticket out, though I feel she is jumping from frying pan into fire. She has now officially excluded herself from any responsibilities around the compound but is unknowingly prepping for a life working for her inlaws...50 years hard labor at the family business/bible camp. Jana at least knows the lot in life she chose for herself. In 20 years it will be her and JD taking care of Michelle and Jim Bob as they start the next "season" of their lives. The rest will have run off to fulfill JB's vision of 200 grandkids. But maybe then she can have some peace. I can see Jana as a preschool/kindergarten teacher. She could teach the kids and send them home to their parents. She DOES have an eye for design, even if it needs honed a bit. With some real training she could be good. But these are all unattainable dreams for her while she is stuck on the compound.

Interesting...so Joy's courtship is announced in November, the engagement in February, and the wedding in May. Very formulaic, IMHO. Even if the couple waits a while to get engaged they can still announce the engagement in May and have a late summer wedding to be televised in November. Way to go, Duggars and TLC. You just ensured another season (and higher ratings during sweeps) by marrying off another daughter. Joy is, what? 19? That is WAY too young to make any serious life decisions like this. At least Jinger is a few years older and a little bit more mature, IMHO. Joy is still a kid, comparatively.

The planning episode is next week. They are doing it as a retrospective I suppose.

I actually got a little indignant that Michelle stole the spotlight from Jinger to put it on Josie. She invited her NICU nurse to the wedding just to put the flower crown on Josie's head. Why?!?!? Her birthday is Dec. 10. And she went home from the hospital in the spring. This was NOT an anniversary of any kind that we knew of, and it's clear that this is some sort of "make Josie feel even MORE special" thing that no one cares about other than Michelle. Otherwise it would've been done along with the rest of the family. It felt like Michelle snuck that in there for extra TLC footage and to get herself more face time. There was a HUGE focus on Josie this episode. She is cute and all but this was supposed to be about JINGER. And to a lesser extent, Jeremy ?. Sorry, but this was Jinger's day to shine. It should've stayed that way.

I have to agree with you. I never saw Jeremy in any kind of sinister, creepy light. I think he is a little backwards with a lot of things, and maybe isn't as experienced as his pro soccer career may leave us to believe. But regardless he is now forever hitched to Cringe, a blossoming stage 42 clinger. That's gotta be one heckova wake up call. What was sweet in small doses is now his daily reality... I wonder...do they have a "covenant marriage" like Jill and Derek? How hard will it be for Jer to run the first time the inlaws pop in for a visit...all 18 of them?

I believe smartphones require data plans. But there are apps out there that help with "accountability" and notify your partner when you access "questionable" content. Or it sends details of your web surfing to an accountability partner.

That's the same drippy Sunday that they served to Joy on her birthday...I recognized the side of sauce. ? Maybe the Family gets a discount?

I'm still in shock that they actually did it...they actually pulled the wedding off without the news being leaked till the week if the wedding. I know there has to be something on the invites...but 1,000 people ALL keeping their lips zipped about the wedding of the year? Amazing. Maybe JB has more influence than we thought. And that's enough to keep one up at night. ?

I totally agree. This phenomena seems to exist in other places, as well. I've been watching "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding" and am really surprised at how similar their child rearing is to the Duggars'. Where there are certainly differences (dress, behavior), the similarities are many. Their girls are trained to be at home, raising babies and keeping house. Few attain a high school diploma, let alone a college degree. They are sheltered from boys and meet them only at events. The girls are not permitted to be alone with a boy until they are married and their communication with said boys is closely monitored. Girls marry very young (16-ish) and tend to have babies young. According to the show, the majority of the girls marry boys who they barely know, much like the Gothard girls. And many marriages are arranged because of the strict segregation between boys and girls...no real opportunity for getting to really KNOW someone before jumping into a courtship. I just can't fathom how these young, inexperienced girls can go from the protection of their parents and family to full-on housewife, mother and willing HEY hey HEY participant at the drop of a hat. There is no life experience there!!! They can't automatically know what to do without having lived it and learned.

Even though I don't agree with the whole belief system the Duggars espouse, I truly am happy for JinJer. A wedding is a new beginning and I wish nothing but happiness for the couple. Jinger truly looked beautiful and happy, if not a little stressed (which is to be expected, being the focus of a 1,000 guest wedding!). I'm looking forward to watching the episode to see how it all unfolds. I'm sure there will be plenty of SMH moments provided by JB. I'm just hoping that Mr. Vuolo truly took the reins with the ceremony and didn't allow JB to do anything embarrassing when it came time to kiss the bride. If I had one word of advice for JinJer, it would be this...spend as much time as you can together. Really get to know each other and build a strong foundation before having children. They WILL change the whole dynamic of your relationship, try as you will to stop it from happening. As you won't have the Duggar support system in Laredo, you will only have each other to rely on inbetween the intrusive visits. I think this is what happened with Jill. She felt the full brunt of raising a child a far distance from home and without her normal support system. And she was emotionally stunned because of it. Just take your eyes off of the baby prize for now and enjoy your time together as a married couple. The babies will follow.

Holy cripes! They scooped People!!!!! ? And wow, does she look like Famy in that wedding pic...

Ok...did anyone notice that's not the same venue? I say this was taken either last night or at another time, at another venue. The COTO does not have a huge cross at the front of the church. There's a pipe organ. And the walls are wood paneled. Not black. I think they filmed the message at Cross Church at another time.

Maybe this was shot yesterday. But yes, it's a button-down shirt for sure. Maybe a shirt dress??? But informal nonetheless if it IS the wedding. She is the MOTB for goodness sakes...

My biggest question is...how in GOD'S NAME did they send out invitations to all those people and there hasn't been a PEEP dropped by anyone until THIS WEEK? You would think that getting an invite to a Duggar wedding would be brag-worthy in these circles. I cant wait to see the episode!!!!! I'm dying to see how this all goes down.

Thorncrown would be a GORGEOUS place for a fall wedding. But the venue wasn't large enough for JinJer's nuptials, unfortunately.