Michelle Duggar was stunned when her daughter, Jessa Duggar, and new husband, Ben Seewald, opted for a private first kiss at their wedding ceremony on Saturday.
19 Kids And Counting star Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald got married on Saturday in Bentonville, Arkansas, in front of over 1000 attendees. By all accounts, it was a very beautiful ceremony, although the newlyweds opted to do things their own way. Their choices shocked parents and guests.
The biggest twist cooked up by Jessa and Ben was their decision not to share their very first kiss publicly. The Duggar family is very religious and the young couple was not allowed to kiss during their courtship period.
Courtship is a form of dating, popular in conservative and religious circles, where the two families are heavily involved and direct contact between the future husband-wife duo is limited. Jessa’s sister, Jill Duggar and her hubby, Derick Dillard, opted to share their kiss publicly, when they got married on June 21, 2014.
People involved in Jessa and Ben’s wedding, wrongly assumed that they would do the exact same thing. Michelle Duggar and her husband Jim Bob Duggar were so surprised that they allegedly asked producers of the show 19 Kids And Counting to edit that portion in order to make it appear as if they were in on it. TLC will air Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald’s wedding next year.
Christian blogger Ashleigh, who writes at “My Life As A Stay At Home Wife and Mother!” witnessed the whole thing. She shared:
“Afterwards, I heard Jim Bob and someone from TLC talking about altering the storyline to make it look like Jim Bob and Michelle were in on it the whole time. It was a surprise to most of us that the children wished to be alone…However, it seemed to be most of all a shock to the bride’s parents.”
The surprising move caught Michelle off guard, Ashleigh said the following about her reaction:
“Michelle was shaking her head. My husband started to crack up, and I had to elbow him in the ribs. It was quite funny though. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces.”
Ashleigh’s recap of the big wedding ceremony offered an interesting peek behind the Duggars well-crafted public image.
