Erin Bates's Wedding - Part 2

[BirthingGodsWarriors]

Another new and FINAL E&C Wedding post up. Kelly is on quite the roll this week! Honestly, I am tired of looking at pics of Erin and Chad, they all are starting to seem similar and blurring into one... Either he's carrying her, or gazing adoringly into her eyes while she caresses his face or he's gazing off to the side while she smiles at the camera. Seriously? Ok I get it, weddings are photo heavy events but lets take a break from The Royal (ATI) Wedding and bring on the Zach and Whit posts already!

Also I am dying to know what the interior decoration of both couples homes is like. Kelly said E&C have recently finished painting et al so hopefully pics soon.

[nokidsmom]

I think they only reason that they seem like they are more involved is because we have seen less of them. Didn't the sister-mom of one of the Bates babies be the only one who got to know if it was a boy or a girl before it was born? And then traveled with Gil and Kelly to care for the baby after it was born when they went on a trip? And she was a fairly young teen, but the newborn was her responsibility? I do think Kelly likes children while Michelle only likes babies, but both of them are fairly shitty mothers who are nothing but child hoarders. I also think that without all the money Michelle and Jim Bob would be marrying their kids off super fast like Gil and Kelly are.

Agreed that Kelly does like her children and does look to be more involved with them as opposed to Michelle but probably not by very much. Let's face it, with 19 kids, she's going to have to rely on the girls as sister-moms because she's going to have so much time and energy for them herself. Add to the fact that it's expected in ATI land for older girls to look after younger siblings in large families. So make no mistake, the older girls are taking care of the younger siblings, it's just that the Bates don't have the visibility that the Duggars have. FTR I never had any illusions myself that the Bates employ the buddy / sister mom system just like the Duggars. Gil and Kelly are no better than the Duggars in that they have a bunch of kids that they can't afford in terms of time or money. They got the time aspect covered by having their older daughters raise their younger children, they just don't have the money aspect covered the same way as the Duggars, meaning lots of TLC money. They do have some but the rest of it is grifting by Gil and taking from Lawson, a situation that I don't consider very laudable.

Agree that Michelle and JB would be marrying off their kids if they didn't have the money they have. With no TLC money they wouldn't have the need to keep them around for the show plus they would be anxious to have a few less kids to support and get them out ASAP.

[karismanic]

Another new and FINAL E&C Wedding post up. Kelly is on quite the roll this week! Honestly, I am tired of looking at pics of Erin and Chad, they all are starting to seem similar and blurring into one... Either he's carrying her, or gazing adoringly into her eyes while she caresses his face or he's gazing off to the side while she smiles at the camera. Seriously? Ok I get it, weddings are photo heavy events but lets take a break from The Royal (ATI) Wedding and bring on the Zach and Whit posts already!

Also I am dying to know what the interior decoration of both couples homes is like. Kelly said E&C have recently finished painting et al so hopefully pics soon.

I LOLed at the first black-and-white photo. The lady in stripes to Chad's right looks to be in prayer. Maybe praying Erin won't be as fecund as her mother? Or thanksgiving this royal wedding is almost over? :)

[Guest]

One reason that I find the Bates marginally better than the Duggars has to do with how their show ended. The last episode was obviously slated to be a courtship announcement for Erin and Chad. But after Zach's failed courtship, they decided, likely at the last minute, not to air it. Their show had low ratings, but it seemed that cutting that announcement was the nail in the coffin for United Bates of America. In this instance, they put their children over TLC "fame and fortune," which I can never see the Duggars doing. They have taped incredibly private moments in their children's lives and aired them. They even went and did the opposite of the Bates - they announced Jessa's courtship (in a weird way, like it was added last minute) despite their previous "rule" not to announce anything until an engagement, to assure themselves another season of TLC. Might be small, but that move speaks volumes to me.

[Kira]

I thought Kelly and Gill were going to announce they were expecting baby #19 or 20 on the last episode of their show? Didn't Kelly have a miscarriage before the premiere of the episode?

[Guest]

The episode description was this:

When you have a family of 21, what's a few more houseguests added to the mix? The Bates get a visit from their friends the Paines who are a family of 12. Later, we get a lesson on dating, and the family has one very big announcement to share.

It would have been right around the time of Erin and Chad starting to court, but also right before Kelly miscarried. There's been speculation as to what the announcement was, but I tend to think it was the courtship.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Has this been discussed? Bates going to Duggar's after Erin's wedding?

Courting in the works?

As per blog comments:

Kelly December 30, 2013 at 3:54 am

Dear Ali,

Lawson, Nathan, Trace, Carlin, and Josie rode with Josh and Anna to spend Christmas with the Duggars. Love, Kelly

[singsingsing]

Yeah, a bunch of them were at the Duggars' for Christmas (I guess the ones Kelly listed there). But the Duggars seemed to have like ten different families visiting so who knows. Kelly did say something in a different comment which made me wonder, though... I can't find it right now but someone asked her if there was a Bates/Duggar courtship or 'bestfriendship' in the works and she kind of hedged. She said she hoped there would be a break before anymore weddings, but who knows where God would lead, and the Duggars were great friends.

Just because of sheer numbers and the fact that they know each other and they're all fairly attractive people, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a Duggar/Bates courtship eventually, but it may be a few years away.

Edit: but can you imagine the ratings if it DID happen? TLC must be dying for a Duggar/Bates courtship, they'd hype it like crazy. I bet you anything they've hinted/suggested to both families about it.

[GeoBQn]

"Bestfriendship" reminds me of the Family Guy episode where Stewie becomes friends with a Hannah Montana-type singer and they sing a song together. "Friendship is the best thing ever/except for BESTfriendship, which is a little better . . ."

[singsingsing]

I should add that 'bestfriendship' was my term, not Kelly's, but that is basically one of their stages of courtship. It seems to go 'get-to-know-ya' > 'best friends' > 'courtship'.

[RosyDaisy]

I don't think they have changed their views, just the wording to make it present better to the outside world. I doubt they are able to easily control a house full of teens/young adults, so the easiest thing to do is make it sound so easy and liberal and fun! that they are marrying them off so quickly. Reality is, they are probably losing control of them and needed a way to make sure they were still kept safely in Gothards arms. "Dating with a purpose" sounds so much better than courting, and probably tends to not scare as many potential spouses away.

They still beat their kids and take money from their adult son. They think everybody not like them are going to hell. They still keep their circle small and inclusive. They still raise their kids in abject ignorance (sorry, innocence) to make sure they love the Jesus and Gothard above all else. They still raise their girls to think that they aren't worth any more than the worth of their uterus and housekeeping skills. They keep them all so uneducated that they're destined to live a life on the edge of poverty, unless the reality shows stick around.

Not really sure why everybody likes them so much, or claims that they're better than the Duggars. They're just the same.

This. QFT. All of it. Same old shit just different wording.

[Hisey]

This may be old news, but I just found out about Chad's blog and wanted to share the link for those who have not seen it:

chadsperspective.blogspot.co.uk

Edited to break link - Lilith

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

This may be old news, but I just found out about Chad's blog and wanted to share the link for those who have not seen it:

chadsperspective.blogspot.co.uk

Edited to break link - Lilith

There's a photo of Cherin in Ireland that definitely looks to have been taken in a pub!

[mastercleaner]

At least if the Bates had their show back it would be courtships and weddings and not horrid dentist appointments and boring Josh and Anna.

It would be more interesting than the duggars!

[actuallyjessica]

At least if the Bates had their show back it would be courtships and weddings and not horrid dentist appointments and boring Josh and Anna.

It would be more interesting than the duggars!

agreed. i wish it would come back on, as i've never seen it before and even though this discussion has been had, i still prefer the bates over the duggars... not because they have less shitty beliefs, but because i think they seem like a nicer family. the duggars are just all.. awkward.

[Mela99]

Has this been discussed? Bates going to Duggar's after Erin's wedding?

Courting in the works?

As per blog comments:

Kelly December 30, 2013 at 3:54 am

Dear Ali,

Lawson, Nathan, Trace, Carlin, and Josie rode with Josh and Anna to spend Christmas with the Duggars. Love, Kelly

Hmm. Interesting. Probably one of the olders?

[Ralar]

I find this image creepy. It looks like the men are worshipping Chad, like maybe he's the next Gothard.

[singsingsing]

Welcome to the ridiculous world of wedding picture poses. When my parents got married the photographer insisted on taking a photo of my dad's younger brother shining my dad's shoes. If I ever get married I'm going to insist on no stupid poses - and definitely no jumping pictures (or God forbid, the bride and bridesmaids hiking up their skirts and grinning at the camera suggestively - yes, I've seen that one multiple times!) - just not my thing!

[actuallyjessica]

Welcome to the ridiculous world of wedding picture poses. When my parents got married the photographer insisted on taking a photo of my dad's younger brother shining my dad's shoes. If I ever get married I'm going to insist on no stupid poses - and definitely no jumping pictures (or God forbid, the bride and bridesmaids hiking up their skirts and grinning at the camera suggestively - yes, I've seen that one multiple times!) - just not my thing!

agreed. i hate cheesy poses, however, i'd love our photographer to do this for our wedding:

[Aggie2145]

Welcome to the ridiculous world of wedding picture poses. When my parents got married the photographer insisted on taking a photo of my dad's younger brother shining my dad's shoes. If I ever get married I'm going to insist on no stupid poses - and definitely no jumping pictures (or God forbid, the bride and bridesmaids hiking up their skirts and grinning at the camera suggestively - yes, I've seen that one multiple times!) - just not my thing!

This. And add in hundreds of photos of the rings, flowers, wedding cake and other inanimate objects without a person in the frame. I can see taking pictures of atmosphere, but ten years from now do I really need 10 photos of the bridesmaids bouquets arranged on a table?

[xReems]

For Indian weddings, I don't know why, but most photographers make the bride take pics of them staring out the window all serious or pretending to be putting on her earrings, bangles, or necklace. I have always HATED those pics and told my parents that whomever we hire as our wedding photographer, I will tell them that I do not want pics of me staring out the window all gloomy nor pretending to put on jewelry or make staring at my mehndi (henna) hands with a cheesy smile on my face.

[singsingsing]

For Indian weddings, I don't know why, but most photographers make the bride take pics of them staring out the window all serious or pretending to be putting on her earrings, bangles, or necklace. I have always HATED those pics and told my parents that whomever we hire as our wedding photographer, I will tell them that I do not want pics of me staring out the window all gloomy nor pretending to put on jewelry or make staring at my mehndi (henna) hands with a cheesy smile on my face.

All I can think of now is that line from Bend it Like Beckham: "Don't smile! Indian bride never smiles, you'll ruin the bloody video!"

[xReems]

All I can think of now is that line from Bend it Like Beckham: "Don't smile! Indian bride never smiles, you'll ruin the bloody video!"

Bahahaha, I love that scene! It's actually pretty funny cos my boyfriend's sister got married in June and her photographer kept telling her "no smiling. no smiling, please. look serious". His cousin and I just stood there cracking up. Gah, it was annoying!

[Rescinded and Mended]

I also believe that the young women in both families are equally attractive. I do think it's interesting that some consider Erin the prettiest of the Bates girls, however. Don't get me wrong, Erin is beautiful - but she wears way too much makeup and is always doing odd things with her hair, such as using the bumpits dressing her hair in dated styles.

She would look better if she looked a bit more natural, instead of so raddled and overblown.

[slp]

I agree, I think Alyssa and Carlin are the prettiest Bates girls.