Erin & Chad are offical...

[Ralar]

If a knife (or scissors, iirc) is given as a gift, the recipient needs to make a token payment for it (so that it is effectively purchased, and not a gift). Otherwise the relationship will be "cut."

We registered for a range of things, from a KitchenAid mixer on the higher end, to silicone potholders on the low. I don't think that items on either end of the scale is too strange: it gives people a choice of how much to spend. However, MrShadowy's Polish grandpa was appalled that we didn't register for bone china or sterling silverware (we selected some stoneware place settings, and have stainless silverware that we love, plus we were going to inherit a set of sterling).

My ex-DH and I received virtually NOTHING off our registry. I think we received a couple sets of towels, one set of flatware (we registered for two as we kept a kosher home), and some serving/display dishes. We also received a bunch of kitchen gadgets packaged together in a colander (like a gift basket). Our circle of friends and family generally give cash as a wedding gift. $100 would be on the lower end and then multiples of 18 (All letters in the Hebrew alef-bet correspond to a number. 18 means "Life"). We received many checks for $180 and $360, several for $540, and one for $1800.

I don't find Erin & Chad's registries to be strange, but I'd find it a odd if someone went to the wedding and their entire gift was a veggie peeler or a set of pot holders. But, a few gadgets tossed onto a mixing bowl or colander would be a nice gift.

[scc12]

If they touched elbows or stubbed toes accidentally, they are not virgins anymora.

and if he winked at her,he gave away a piece of his heart. :pink-shock:

[nokidsmom]

and if he winked at her,he gave away a piece of his heart. :pink-shock:

When Kelly announced their break-up, months after the fact, she emphasized that in spite of the courtship not working out, they managed to stay pure and all that. I suspect they all bought into the courtship idea, not giving away pieces of your heart, etc. until it didn't work out. Of course, Kelly doesn't think of her son as damaged goods and he's certainly not, but it was interesting how she and Gil tried to explain that their purity was still intact. They relaxed the courtship thing a bit as shown with both Erin/Chad and Zach's new courtship, plus the potential one with Alyssa.

Do wonder how Sarah is doing these days; probably still playing with her band.

[freedomjesusfootball]

Thrifted?

Regarding knives - My mother told me never to buy a bride a knife as a gift. Her words: "What if she cut off her husband's THING with the knife YOU gave her?" Thanks, mom.

Yes, thrived= thrifted in autocorrect.

Pretty sure if one of my friends cut off her husband's dangle I would be worried about 1000 other things before worrying if she used "my" knife! Moms are so weird.

[nelliebelle1197]

Oh, I was hoping it was some cool inexpensive brand :(

[missbrooklyn]

I googled Miss Sarah Reith, and found a blog wherein it is reported that she is involved in another courtship, but is keeping it under wraps (go figure!). It also says that she and the band have been winning awards. You go, girl!

[nokidsmom]

I googled Miss Sarah Reith, and found a blog wherein it is reported that she is involved in another courtship, but is keeping it under wraps (go figure!). It also says that she and the band have been winning awards. You go, girl!

Glad to hear that her career and the band are doing well! I listened to some of their music back during around the Zach courtship was announced and they are very, very good. While I wish Zach well in his new courtship, I highly doubt she would have been allowed to travel and perform with the band had she married him and therefore wouldn't be where she is today. And I can see her keeping any new courtship under wraps; the one with Zach was all kinds of awkward and I don't think she was too thrilled about the courtship proposal being filmed and this is someone who is used to performing in public.

[sunshine]

I googled Miss Sarah Reith, and found a blog wherein it is reported that she is involved in another courtship, but is keeping it under wraps (go figure!). It also says that she and the band have been winning awards. You go, girl!

It was bugging me that there wasn't a link. ;-)

raisingservantsofchrist.com/2013/07/25/zach-bates-is-courting-again-with-whitney-perkins-and-sarah-reith-is-winning-gospel-awards-with-southern-raised-bluegrass-band/

Edited to break link - lilith

[RainbowSky]

If we ever get married, we probably won't register. He's been married, and so far we have lived together over a year and a half. I have my grandmother's China that is sitting in boxes right now. Plus we don't really have many friends to even bother doing it unless we got a gift card for signing up :? Oh, and it would take a LOT of China to just have enough for a plate and bowl per person in our family. :lol: So to me, things that cost as much as I make in a month is :o . We need house fixing supplies rather than more crap to overrun us anyway, haha.

I also thought maybe Erin has to share the hair dryer? Or wants a better or newer one. Or it was done as a :P type thing from all of the talk about her hair and being a princess.

[BullyJBG]

It says that IF Sarah is courting again it's under wraps. And same as if any of the other Reith siblings are in courtships.

I saw something interesting in the comments, about Whitney. She used to wear pants but recently started wearing skirts. Kelly insisted that Zach told her that she doesn't have to switch; he would love her either way. I can understand she'd feel self-conscious around the family being the only female in pants......well, time will tell. We probably would never know if she'd continue to wear pants at home(whether that be her home now or the home that she and Zach plan to share) and/or for activities where pants are more appropriate like certain sports. Or if she has a pants-uniform for work. And do the picture show what kind of shoes she wears? Hopefully they're at least shoes that work good for her feet.(I'm NOT a fan of flip-flops)

[scc12]

When Kelly announced their break-up, months after the fact, she emphasized that in spite of the courtship not working out, they managed to stay pure and all that. I suspect they all bought into the courtship idea, not giving away pieces of your heart, etc. until it didn't work out. Of course, Kelly doesn't think of her son as damaged goods and he's certainly not, but it was interesting how she and Gil tried to explain that their purity was still intact. They relaxed the courtship thing a bit as shown with both Erin/Chad and Zach's new courtship, plus the potential one with Alyssa.

yes,and it seemed to me that Sarah got thrown under the proverbial bus by Kelly,imo,when she stated it was Sarah who ended it.I would have just said it was a mutual agreement.They are so young..it happens.Ppl change their mind,esp. at that age.I can understand Kelly wanting to maintain Zach's reputation in that respect,still,it didn't seem right to publicly state it.Zach could have easily explained that to any other potential courtship candidates in a private manner.

[walnut]

When Kelly announced their break-up, months after the fact, she emphasized that in spite of the courtship not working out, they managed to stay pure and all that. ...

So no elbow touchie! Oh... whew!!! That sure is a weight off my chest! :lol:

[VenusDaisy]

We know that Whitney works at Sonic, but what exactly does Zach do for work?

[nokidsmom]

yes,and it seemed to me that Sarah got thrown under the proverbial bus by Kelly,imo,when she stated it was Sarah who ended it.I would have just said it was a mutual agreement.They are so young..it happens.Ppl change their mind,esp. at that age.I can understand Kelly wanting to maintain Zach's reputation in that respect,still,it didn't seem right to publicly state it.Zach could have easily explained that to any other potential courtship candidates in a private manner.

Re: the bolded, yep, it was noted at the time how Kelly had to explicitly state that it was Sarah who made the decision. Not classy at all but suspect she and Gil were in serious shock that this courtship (which was their first foray into the courtship thing for their kids) did 1) not work out and 2) the young woman actually called it off. I think they rethought things after that.

Interesting that Sarah's family scrubbed posts about the courtship from their blog; I suspect that it wasn't so much to get rid of evidence that Sarah had a failed courtship (I suspect her family is more fundie-light anyway and may not taken the courtship idea as seriously as the Bates) but just of consideration for both Sarah and Zach. Much like a purging when a dating relationship doesn't work out. Had Kelly kept it to "it didn't work out", it actually might have helped maintain Zach's reputation that they were so worried about.

[mrs]

Do fundies have wedding showers?If so, I think the smaller items would be appropriate for a shower gift. Especially if each Duggar Daughter bought Erin a $20 gift from her registry.

In my family you normally receive your shower gifts from the wedding registry. Wedding gifts are 99% checks or gift cards.

[nokidsmom]

We know that Whitney works at Sonic, but what exactly does Zach do for work?

He's on the city council (or something like that) but it's an unpaid position. He was working in Gil's tree cutting business but given that his dad doesn't make much (relying on Lawson to help provide) he can't be getting paid much either, if anything. He was studying for a "degree" but forget what it was in. I never got the feeling that he was doing very much but hopefully that's changed. If not, Whitney might want to keep that job at Sonic.

It was speculated that one of the reasons for courtship fail were his limited prospects (at least at the time) and his family's financial situation vs. Sarah's obviously successful music career. Don't know for sure, but given the obvious difference between the two families' means of making a living, it could (and should) have made Sarah hesitate as she would have been giving up a lot.

[GeoBQn]

Zach was originally majoring in political science and history, but now he's changed to some Bible classes, probably to follow Gil in being a preacher at the family's new church.

I think Kelly specified that Sarah broke things off because the fundies follow a Jane Austen-type custom in which only the man can propose courtship and marriage, while only the woman can refuse or break up the relationship.

[Kira]

I think Kelly specified that Sarah broke things off because the fundies follow a Jane Austen-type custom in which only the man can propose courtship and marriage, while only the woman can refuse or break up the relationship.

Haven't some fundie men broken up courtship/engagements?

[nokidsmom]

I think Kelly specified that Sarah broke things off because the fundies follow a Jane Austen-type custom in which only the man can propose courtship and marriage, while only the woman can refuse or break up the relationship.

I don't remember Kelly saying that but you may remembering things better than I am! :)

One thing is that I always got the impression from fundies is that a courtship breakup, especially by the woman, was rather an earth shaking event. So even if the woman has the "right" to refuse, it's really going against the grain, against fullfilling her true role as a woman within the fundie world and it means withstanding a lot of pressure. Plus the woman in particular seems to be "marked" for having a failed courtship.

Haven't some fundie men broken up courtship/engagements?

We have examples of both men and women breaking up courtship/engagements in the Maxwell family. Christopher's first engagement was broken by him (or Steve, the fiancee definitely didn't do it) and then there was Liz Munck's narrow escape.

[sunshine]

Do fundies have wedding showers?If so, I think the smaller items would be appropriate for a shower gift. Especially if each Duggar Daughter bought Erin a $20 gift from her registry.

In my family you normally receive your shower gifts from the wedding registry. Wedding gifts are 99% checks or gift cards.

Yes, they have wedding showers...provided someone can afford to throw one. Anna's sister had one.

[mrs]

Yes, they have wedding showers...provided someone can afford to throw one. Anna's sister had one.

Great! I hope she has one.

Chad must be awesome. Erin chose a VERY girly bedding set! :)

[noni alabaster]

Try tellin g that thatto

[Mela99]

Great! I hope she has one.

Chad must be awesome. Erin chose a VERY girly bedding set! :)

I got such a kick out of that. I love Shabby Chic and the fluffy, girlyness, but the fiance wasn't as excited as I was. I had the gray and pink set (which I retired when we bought our house). Our bedroom is now ocean shades of blue and sandy taupe. I got to explode the guest bathroom with yellow, lace and butterflies, so it all works out. I got my outlet.

[scc12]

Great! I hope she has one.

Chad must be awesome. Erin chose a VERY girly bedding set! :)

he must be.my hub would never sleep on that.he wouldn't even carry my pink lunchbox when his blue one had a wardrobe malfunction.

[gypsygirl22]

On the blog where Kelly is talking about Michael's recent trip, she mentions SOS Ministries...anyone know if this is Share Our Strength? Way back when, TLC had some show where they redecorated a room for people. I think it was pre-Trading Spaces. I vaguely remember they redecorated an office/ meeting room for Share Our Strength. I don't know anything about the organization, just remember the name.