Will Jessa's/Jana's (eventual) wedding be as BIG as Jill's?

[Rainytown]

I grew up in the Assemblies of God, which typically features very well-off parishioners. If you'd like an example of this, the Grant family (think Natalie Grant) attended my church for years. They have the "post the invitation on the church bulletin board" method of wedding planning. I went to at least fifty weddings during the church years and I do not ever remember anything beyond cake/punch/coffee or VERY light appetizers being served at the reception. Huge families are not the norm in the A of G, but the constant shelling out for wedding and reception gifts was a drain on the budget for me: If you gave a gift to one person, you'd better give one to everyone else that gets married or has a baby, too.

If Jim Boob and J-chelle did not pick up the cost of the ingredients at the least for Jill's "volunteer" reception, THEY SUCK. Those quiverfull families don't have TLC footing the bills for their everyday expenses and Jim Boob should have had the whole thing catered. (One can only imagine who got lucky enough to cook all the food for the six hundred people that allegedly were at the Duggars AFTER the church reception...)

One has to wonder how many of the quiverfull families showed up at that wedding to "audition" for TLC...

[Coco]

With all these fundie mega-families, some not as well-known and poorer than others, I'm wondering if part of the money problems stem from having to constantly provide wedding and baby gifts for people in other fundie families. If women in fundiedom are constantly getting pregnant and couples are getting married, that might be a regular expense that hits some of the poorer families pretty hard. A man who who only makes ten dollars an hour all while having 13 kids and a wife to support is going to have a much harder time spending money on constant wedding and baby gifts for other mega-families. Combine that with grifting parental units like the Bateses and Duggars, who are financially solvent enough to pay for a wedding (Jim Bob, at least) but would rather gather an army of vounteers to make/move/handle everything. That's a terrible burden on those who can't afford it.

Homemade mason jar crafts :lol:

and quilts, and homemade baby clothes, blankets, etc.

[Tennilla]

Homemade mason jar crafts :lol:

and quilts, and homemade baby clothes, blankets, etc.

I don't know fabric can get expensive. It's not so bad if you watch the sales and cut coupons but enough fabric for a quilt with batting is at least $50-60.

[Emme]

What about a dual wedding for the twins? That'd sell.

[Ellimenopy]

What about a dual wedding for the twins? That'd sell.

Jana does not strike me as a princessy, "all-about-me" type, but I'm pretty sure even she would balk at a double wedding.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Homemade mason jar crafts :lol:

and quilts, and homemade baby clothes, blankets, etc.

Right there with you, Coco. I remember Jill Rodrigues making a fleece blanket for when Chad and Erin got married. I sew, and the other day I picked up a baby dress pattern for a petal dress and matching bonnet. I grabbed it specifically because I have a lot of cute lengths of fabric in small amounts, and the pattern requires mostly fragments of around 1/3 of a yard or less. I figure that will get me plenty of mileage in terms of future baby gifts. Fundies probably do something similar. For weddings, a nice, inexpensive route might be a cross stitch sampler with the new couple's name and wedding date on it.

@Tennilla, I agree, fabric really has gone up nowadays. I'm currently putting together a fleece blanket from scraps, and most of my remnants are from thrift stores. I get them from 50 cents - $2.00 a length. Batting is usually worse, pricewise. I salvage mine from old, ratty comforters and bleach the heck out of it.

[Mela99]

I hope it's up to them and not their greedy ass father.

[RosyDaisy]

Gifts is one burden I won't put on my wedding guests. We don't need anything. We will be living in my house, so it's not like we will be setting up house for the first time, and our families, friends, and neighbors know that.

[ChastityBelt]

You know why I think Jill's story has been so popular? Because the public is a bunch of creepy voyeurs who were fascinated with this early 20s virgin couple who had never done more than hold hands. I don't mean everyone was grossly obsessing over the wedding night details, I think that people were just interested in seeing how this strange model of dating played out. And the Duggars are the #1 people to blame for attracting that kind of attention because they have beat the purity horse into the ground.

[jakesykora]

I seriously hope that down the line, Jana or Joy or someone decides "hey, maybe 1000 people is a little excessive" and has something smaller, maybe around 200 people (I think less than 100 is a little too hopeful, even Zach/Whitney considered 200-300 "small"). I don't know why they feel the need to invite everyone they know, especially when their Pinterests are filled with these cute rustic weddings that just do not match up with stadium churches.

I think it's highly unlikely we'll ever see one that small with any of these families!

Even for Zach and Whitney if they had the Duggar family alone there that'd be well over 10% of the total attendees if you figure in the SO's/spouses/children/extended family that all = the Duggars (at events) - and that's not even including crew that end up with them.

Really that's true for the Duggars with so many of their friends (the Bates & co, for instance, could easily be barely shy of 30 and that's figuring Jessa and Ben are married in fall)

They're kind of in a pickle as to where to draw the line when so many families are really SO big, yet it's sort of 'expected' to invite most of them - particularly when there are so darn many who feel like they "know" the Duggar family well, even if it's more just from seeing them on TV or reading their book(s).

Seeing Josiah's graduation party be as big as it was (and that supposedly being his own hand in who was there and who wasn't) kind of illustrates the issue I think it'll always be...(and when they don't do elaborate sit down meals for receptions it's also probably harder to justify not inviting 'everyone' like many non-fundies would given the expense - or lack of facilities - to host a full-on plated meal or such)

[Emme]

Jana does not strike me as a princessy, "all-about-me" type, but I'm pretty sure even she would balk at a double wedding.

Oh I totally agree, I just think JB's eyes would light up at amount of $/attention that would bring.

[louisa05]

There is only so many of these weddings the general population is going to tolerate before it becomes the same song and dance as the previous one. I think the reason Jill's wedding was so popular is because the only big news since Josh's wedding has been babies and everyone is sick of watching VSE's about toilet babies. Jill is the first girl so everyone was curious to how it would turn out verses the first boy. I think the only way one of these weddings can top the other is if one of the kids sobers up off the kool-aid and marries someone secular or of a different faith. I would watch that to see how a Duggar fairs through life on the outside.

I have always assumed that if a Duggar kid goes completely secular, s/he will disappear down an Orwellian memory hole as far as the show goes. JB wouldn't want to be televising that, particularly if the child proved to be living a happy, well adjusted life.

[EmeraldPickle]

I have always assumed that if a Duggar kid goes completely secular, s/he will disappear down an Orwellian memory hole as far as the show goes. JB wouldn't want to be televising that, particularly if the child proved to be living a happy, well adjusted life.

Of course JB wouldn't want that to happen, but that won't stop TLC from possibly pursuing that offspring to do a special or maybe even a whole show. It would be a money making opportunity that TLC won't pass up and possibly the off spring as well. If one of them leaves they will be leaving broke.

[Rainytown]

Because the public is a bunch of creepy voyeurs who were fascinated with this early 20s virgin couple who had never done more than hold hands.

IMHO, of course, but I would be shocked to learn that Derick was a virgin. He went to a state college and was evidently popular.

Truthfully, I hope for Jill's sake he wasn't.

[SpeakNow]

IMHO, of course, but I would be shocked to learn that Derick was a virgin. He went to a state college and was evidently popular.

Truthfully, I hope for Jill's sake he wasn't.

I don't know. I graduated college without losing my virginity, and I know lots of other people who remained virgins. I just don't think college=not a virgin.

[Toothfairy]

You know why I think Jill's story has been so popular? Because the public is a bunch of creepy voyeurs who were fascinated with this early 20s virgin couple who had never done more than hold hands. I don't mean everyone was grossly obsessing over the wedding night details, I think that people were just interested in seeing how this strange model of dating played out. And the Duggars are the #1 people to blame for attracting that kind of attention because they have beat the purity horse into the ground.

I so agree. The only reason why people tune in is because they're weird compared to normal society perspectives. There are plenty of 23 year old virgins getting married and courting/dating in the real world. It's the ridiculous rules like side hugging and monitored phone calls/ chaperones for a grow adult that make people tune in. The Duggars aren't that famous that people actually care.

[Toothfairy]

I don't know. I graduated college without losing my virginity, and I know lots of other people who remained virgins. I just don't think college=not a virgin.

I went to college & grad school and still was a virgin. I know many of people who didn't lose their virginity in college. College doesn't mean sex.

[Toothfairy]

I think it's highly unlikely we'll ever see one that small with any of these families!

Even for Zach and Whitney if they had the Duggar family alone there that'd be well over 10% of the total attendees if you figure in the SO's/spouses/children/extended family that all = the Duggars (at events) - and that's not even including crew that end up with them.

Really that's true for the Duggars with so many of their friends (the Bates & co, for instance, could easily be barely shy of 30 and that's figuring Jessa and Ben are married in fall)

They're kind of in a pickle as to where to draw the line when so many families are really SO big, yet it's sort of 'expected' to invite most of them - particularly when there are so darn many who feel like they "know" the Duggar family well, even if it's more just from seeing them on TV or reading their book(s).

Seeing Josiah's graduation party be as big as it was (and that supposedly being his own hand in who was there and who wasn't) kind of illustrates the issue I think it'll always be...(and when they don't do elaborate sit down meals for receptions it's also probably harder to justify not inviting 'everyone' like many non-fundies would given the expense - or lack of facilities - to host a full-on plated meal or such)

Again where do these people find 1000 people to attend events. And JB is cheap. He has money use it. It's your daughters wedding for god sakes.