Michael Bates Brandon Keilen wedding

[Daenerys]

Here is a body shot of Jinger from the other day. You totally can't tell precisely how small her waist is though because of the 'modest' dress.

https://instagram.com/p/6YJRuEq6qr/?tag ... lenwedding

[HermioneSparrow]

The Bates girls have awful taste in wedding dresses, Alyssa was the most decent IMO but none of them compares to Jessa's. Michael's dress seems to be the tshirt type of dress fundies wear, which is awful! but if it's not, is a terrible dress anyway. The bridesmaids dresses are very classy and elegant, best bridesmaids dresses I've seen in a fundie wedding. Michael's hair looked pretty though, the romantic soft curls look suits her. I don't like the veil but then again I don't like veils at all.

[HermioneSparrow]

Here is a body shot of Jinger from the other day. You totally can't tell precisely how small her waist is though because of the 'modest' dress.

https://instagram.com/p/6YJRuEq6qr/?tag ... lenwedding

She's way too skinny right now but I don't think is right to diagnose something we don't know, she's always been very thin.

[Snarkle]

I think Jinger's eyes are what make her appear thinner than she (possibly) is. They have a sort of Gollum look - bug-eyed and sunken at the same time - which exaggerates her look. It's also hard to tell in any of these pictures (yet) just what Michael's dress looks like or how thin someone is because the perspective on these is often off, especially the selfies. Although I will say the picture of Jill R and Michelle makes Michelle look tiny next to Jill, who's a head taller!

[catlady]

She's way too skinny right now but I don't think is right to diagnose something we don't know, she's always been very thin.

She looks better in this photo than in the one up thread IMO; less eye makeup and better posture, a little more natural. The other photo could just be a bad shot.....

[HerNameIsBuffy]

I really think that's a strapless dress with a modified bolero sewn over it.

Least it has some ruching and pretty embelishments. AnnaOfDuggar's dress is still the worst in my mind.

That's exactly what it looks like to me. Not something I'd have chosen, but she looks beautiful. They both look so happy.

Brandon looks so young! If I didn't know better I'd swear he was a teenager. Loved her hair and loved the veil from what I could see. I am a veil on the tiara kinda girl, but she's pretty understated so I thought it was lovely.

[Mellanya]

The picture showing Michael and brandon up close shows that the reception is in a gym, you can see a basketball basket. .. I'm sorry, my euro brain doesn't get it. Is this normal for a reception? Why doesn't she rent a nice place with tables and serve actual food? Why is this happening in the afternoon and why is there an early get away by the couple on every fundie wedding? Is this the actual protocol for weddings in the US? This doesn't look like a wedding at all to me.

[mango_fandango]

I honestly wonder what everyone else is seeing. The Rodrigues kids look extremely thin to me, but Jinger doesn't look unhealthily thin at all.

I think sometimes perceptions are skewed because the average person is overweight (and mine might be skewed in the opposite direction); I've gotten called too skinny when I was right in the middle of the healthy bmi range. I'm a little lower now, but still at a healthy weight, and I've had people call me extremely thin recently. My family, who has seen me at incredibly low weights, thinks I look great.

I will say, though, that when I was younger I was able to hide some of my ED issues by embracing modesty. I would never wear a swimsuit without a shirt and shorts over it, never wear sleeveless shirts, never wear short shorts, etc. The real reason was that I was extremely uncomfortable with my body, but I disguised it as a conviction to be modest.

I'm not going to speculate on whether any of these girls have an ED. I do want to say, in just a general sense, that even if someone isn't underweight they could still have a serious ED. Most ED suffers do not end up underweight, which allows it to go hidden for much longer and can be very, very dangerous. On the other side, not all underweight people have an ED either. We have absolutely no idea whether someone has an ED or not just from looking at pictures.

I agree. The Rodrigues kids, especially the older girls, look really skinny. Doesn't ATI/IBLP encourage women to be thin? Like how apparently Jana was made to go to Weight Watchers or something when she wasn't overweight. Some people, if told they should be thin(ner), can take things quite seriously, more so than the original messenger intended.

Mela99- I don't recall having ever seen a proper full body shot of Anna's dress. Wasn't it basically a plain white dress with absolutely no adornment whatsoever? Seriously, even the flower girls had fancier dresses, all lacy and bows etc. The bridesmaid dresses were fancier, but boringly navy. Navy isn't my idea of a great colour for a wedding. The bridesmaid dress designs at Jill and Jessa's weddings may not have been amazing, but at least they had some kind of colour to them.

Mellanya- Fundie couples likely get away quickly because they have a lot of baby-makin' to do. There was a LOT of speculation over whether Israel Dillard was a honeymoon/wedding night conception or not.

[Jana814]

All the other bates girls look amazing though. Erin especially. She really bounced back quickly from pregnancy.

Yea she did!!

[Mela99]

The picture showing Michael and brandon up close shows that the reception is in a gym, you can see a basketball basket. .. I'm sorry, my euro brain doesn't get it. Is this normal for a reception? Why doesn't she rent a nice place with tables and serve actual food? Why is this happening in the afternoon and why is there an early get away by the couple on every fundie wedding? Is this the actual protocol for weddings in the US? This doesn't look like a wedding at all to me.

I wouldn't say it's typical for Americans per se, but not uncommon for fundies. Most big churches like that have either a fellowship hall or a gym attached and they hold the reception there. PLus, since they don't dance or drink they don't bother serving people a meal. It's literally just snacks and cake and over in a few hours.

We had a fairly modest church wedding -- about 100 people -- then had the reception in a pretty rental hall on a lake. Booze, dinner, dancing, a candy buffet ... that was my typical American wedding.

[lascuba]

The picture showing Michael and brandon up close shows that the reception is in a gym, you can see a basketball basket. .. I'm sorry, my euro brain doesn't get it. Is this normal for a reception? Why doesn't she rent a nice place with tables and serve actual food? Why is this happening in the afternoon and why is there an early get away by the couple on every fundie wedding? Is this the actual protocol for weddings in the US? This doesn't look like a wedding at all to me.

Well, the US is a huge country. I can't say for sure because I grew up in an immigrant family, in the northeast, and I still live in the northeast and most of my friends are people of color, so I'm used to more formal weddings where there's no such thing as overdressing. But I get the impression that the Duggar/Bates style weddings are common in the south and midwest? At least among white people?

[lascuba]

Looking through the pictures now, I think Michael's dress is ok from what I can see. I hate her hair, but I'm fundamentally opposed to long, loose hair for formal occasions--it never looks good to me. You just can't do anything with long hair unless you put it up.

The bridesmaids dresses look stereotypically mother-of-the-bride. The girls look very nice in them, but it's a dowdy look overall.

Did Michelle really wear the giant pink flowers monstrosity of a blouse to a wedding? That's bad even for a fundie.

I'm bad a noticing things like weight changes, but I don't think Jinger looks much thinner than she's looked for a couple of years now. She has deep dark circles under her eyes and always has from the first specials, maybe that's what it is.

[Lewy]

The bridesmaids dresses are a good example of how you can find dresses that fit the 'modesty' requirements without being completely hideous. They're not my style, but they're a lot nicer than any other fundie bridesmaids dresses I've seen.

I'll reserve judgement on Michael's dress until we get a better picture, but from what I can see so far, it looks like it just has too much going on. But that's still better than Anna Keller's white plain white T-Shirt with a skirt at least.

[Snarkle]

American weddings are a function of location and culture. In my Midwestern Lutheran/Catholic family we typically have a church ceremony and then a reception at another location. I had a 100-person sit down dinner and dance at a hotel with a partial open bar, one of my cousins had her reception at a hall with 300+ people and a buffet, and my niece had her ceremony outside in a city park and the reception at a shooting club (bow & arrow). My husband's East coast Jewish family mostly has hotel weddings with the ceremony and reception in the same hotel, just different rooms. We did go to one Orthodox Jewish wedding where the men and women were separated at the dance which was interesting. It's also common to have "destination" weddings as well now. One of my cousins got married in the US Virgin Islands, just him and his bride, and they had a reception for friends and family when they returned home. The one thing in common for all of the weddings in our families is there is a ceremony, some sort of meal (usually with liquor - none of this cake and punch stuff), and usually a dance. The one notable exception is our friend who is sixth generation Mormon and got married/sealed in an LDS temple (we couldn't see the ceremony because we're not LDS) and then had their reception in the bride's family's backyard and the strongest thing served was lemonade. So it really depends on how many people are invited, where the event is held, what the budget is, and if religion is involved.

[hollywood]

Seriously? Brandon looks thrilled to me, especially in the second picture Meghann posted (the pictures aren't showing up in the quotes for me or I'd put them here). Brandon is reserved, like Michaela. His emotions aren't necessarily going to be as prominently displayed as some other people's, say TFDW.

That's just the impression that I am getting. I got the same view from their engagement too.

That could just be from the photos but the show episode may show me different.

[Mela99]

I agree. The Rodrigues kids, especially the older girls, look really skinny. Doesn't ATI/IBLP encourage women to be thin? Like how apparently Jana was made to go to Weight Watchers or something when she wasn't overweight. Some people, if told they should be thin(ner), can take things quite seriously, more so than the original messenger intended.

Mela99- I don't recall having ever seen a proper full body shot of Anna's dress. Wasn't it basically a plain white dress with absolutely no adornment whatsoever? Seriously, even the flower girls had fancier dresses, all lacy and bows etc. The bridesmaid dresses were fancier, but boringly navy. Navy isn't my idea of a great colour for a wedding. The bridesmaid dress designs at Jill and Jessa's weddings may not have been amazing, but at least they had some kind of colour to them.

Mellanya- Fundie couples likely get away quickly because they have a lot of baby-makin' to do. There was a LOT of speculation over whether Israel Dillard was a honeymoon/wedding night conception or not.

I found a few but the wedding episode shows it a lot better. It just looked like a t-shirt with a skirt attached. She didn't buy it, though, just borrowed it from her sister.

[Jana814]

The pictures r nice. I wish Michael & Brandon a long happy life together.

[Four is Enough]

Didn't Michelle have that rag of a flowered blouse on in the New York Photos? It was ugly for New York; it's hideous for a wedding. Did she even wash it in between? Ew.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

I found a few but the wedding episode shows it a lot better. It just looked like a t-shirt with a skirt attached. She didn't buy it, though, just borrowed it from her sister.

This was the first fundy wedding I saw on TV so I assumed the plainness of the dress was a thing. I felt so sorry for her - it looked like one of those cheap bride Halloween costumes or an old fashioned nurses uniform with a longer skirt.

I thought Erin's was odd and Jill's unflattering to her. Both looked beautiful, just speaking to the dresses. Priscilla's was the prettiest t-shirt dress I'd seen until Jessa's and hers was spectacular imo. Best,my ands down for me was Alyssa's. That didn't look like a fundy dress at all and something I'd have considered. And her veil was gorgeous. Proves it can be done without the frumpiness of Anna's. (And I know her parents aren't financially comfortable so in normal circumstances I would t snark as they may not have been able to afford a new dress...but with TLC involved someone couldn't have gotten her something better.

[rosalitta]

This was the first fundy wedding I saw on TV so I assumed the plainness of the dress was a thing. I felt so sorry for her - it looked like one of those cheap bride Halloween costumes or an old fashioned nurses uniform with a longer skirt.

I thought Erin's was odd and Jill's unflattering to her. Both looked beautiful, just speaking to the dresses. Priscilla's was the prettiest t-shirt dress I'd seen until Jessa's and hers was spectacular imo. Best,my ands down for me was Alyssa's. That didn't look like a fundy dress at all and something I'd have considered. And her veil was gorgeous. Proves it can be done without the frumpiness of Anna's. (And I know her parents aren't financially comfortable so in normal circumstances I would t snark as they may not have been able to afford a new dress...but with TLC involved someone couldn't have gotten her something better.

With Anna's dress I think it's one of two main possibilities. The first is that this is considered a great, modest style in their circles, especially back before "modern modest" got really popular. The second is that TLC was really pushing the freakshow element at that time and may have encouraged this dress.

[hollywood]

Best dress for me is Alyssa tied with Jessa. Alyssa was even rocking those pink heels!

Michael's I will have to see a fuller view but from the side it looks like a strapless dress with then a shawl with sleeves attached via the front.

[abbylabby1]

In the picture of Brandon and Michaela with the basketball hoop in the background--I think that is Cooper Dauer and his mom also in the background. Haven't seen or heard about them in a while. Anyone else think it is them?

[Pretzel]

The lighting of the dress pictures is horrible! I don't think it does the dress or Michael any justice. I thought it was boring just from the kissing pictures but now I think it may be really pretty. Let's wait for real pictures with better lighting to give our final judgement.

[Justme]

Did they have the reception at the church? They had to have everything cleaned and be out by 5. The wedding didn't start until 2. An hour for the wedding, an hour for the reception, an hour to clean up.

[Lewy]

I'm not a fundie, but I'd consider Jessa's wedding dress for myself. It was genuinely pretty and has the kinda of features I want in a wedding dress one day: pretty/some sparkle without being too over the top/having too much going on, able to wear a bra with it (I have a very large chest so strapless isn't an option for me) and skims over the tummy (my problem area).

Didn't like Jill or Erin's dresses that much. Alyssa's wasn't too bad, I love that she wore the bright pink shoes. I'm not a heels person, but they were very her. Whitney's might have been OK without that silly Bolero.