Throughout the season, there are three Lauren/Lauras. To differentiate, Lauren is Lauren Swanson Duggar, wife of Josiah. Laura DeMaisie is LDM, and Lauren Caldwell is LC.
Throughout the season, there is discussion of miscarriage. Those episodes and discussions have trigger warnings, should you prefer to skip them.
*Episode 1: Love is in the Air
The talking heads discuss how busy this year has been for their family: Garrett was born, Josiah and Lauren got married, Jana worked on projects, John is courting, and Jinger is expecting a little girl. Jinger says things aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
Jinger is 37 weeks pregnant and feeling great; she’s waiting for birth and a little scared and excited at the same time. Jeremy says he is going to make spicy Indian food to see if they can encourage the baby to make an appearance. Jinger says she doesn’t know if that rumor is true. Jeremy is making chicken marsala and jokingly says he needs to add in ginger. Jinger is really hoping for an earlier baby to prevent a C-section for a large baby. Jeremy jokes that the food is going to be really spicy and both of them are coughing as he cooks. Jinger says it might send her to the hospital for other reasons. The crew is also coughing as they cook and Jinger opens the door and goes outside for air. Everyone is laughing. In the talking heads, the other siblings try hot sauce in honor of Jinger and Jeremy. The crew slowly increases the level of spiciness for each hot sauce they try. They start really cringing as they go up in levels and it is a funny segment. Jason may have won, the producer says, for taking the hottest one like it was nothing. The food is spicy but tasty, Jeremy says. Jinger can’t stop laughing and Jeremy has the hiccups. Jinger says the spicy food did not work but she enjoyed the meal.
At the main Duggar home, John David says he and Abbie have been courting for “a couple months” now and they replay John introducing Abbie to his family. Jana says Abbie is perfect for him. Abbie says the courtship is going well and they both can’t stop grinning. John calls a photographer named Lori who specializes in proposals; she’s the perfect photographer to use because she lives in the area he wants to fly into and propose to Abbie. John says Abbie also enjoys flying. John says he will take Jana with him to Oklahoma where they will pick up Abbie and surprise her and fly her to Texas for the proposal.
In Laredo, Jinger and Jeremy are awaiting Jessa, Jana, and Laura DeMasie (LDM). They are coming to help make and decorate the nursery. They break down the bed in their second guest bedroom. Jinger says she wants her mom, Jana, LDM, and Jeremy’s mom and dad to be around during the birth. In the room that is going to be the nursery, Jeremy has jerseys on the wall and Jana is taking them down and moving them to the garage. Jeremy says, “This was my nightmare” and has flashbacks to Jessa putting his books in a closet. Jeremy says with the books he was making way for a lady in his life, and his consolation is that the same thing is happening again. The producer asks Jana if she feels a little bit bad for him, and she says no because he’s getting his first daughter, which is way more precious than soccer jerseys. They begin assembling the nursery and Jinger is glad the girls have the idea for the southwestern theme. Jinger says she had a dream she went into labor and it was a lot easier than she thought. Jessa says her first labor was awful, and Joy says it is a different kind of pain than she’d had before but manageable. Kendra says it was worse than she anticipated but she knew the pain was getting her somewhere. Jessa says when the baby arrives it is all worth it. They finish up the nursery to show Jeremy, who is returning from a meeting, and he is impressed with their work. Jinger asks what his favorite part is and he points to her belly. Jeremy says it is getting more and more real. Jinger says the next thing they have to do is have the baby.
It is proposal day, and John flies to Oklahoma to pick up Abbie. Jana is with him, and he says she has been his wing woman for years and she was a great help to him in all this. Jinger calls Jana and says they are on their way to San Antonio for a checkup and Jana is hoping to be at her birth as well as the proposal—at least she will be in the same state for both events. Jana says she’ll just do two or three big things all at once. At Abbie’s house, the Burnett sisters are making peach salsa. Abbie says that John is very romantic. John arrives at her house and surprises her. “Whoa, Hi!” she says, as they hug. He says he is here to rescue her and take her on a journey and tells her to pack her bags. She says, “you little sneak!” and he says they will head to the airport to their next stop. In Texas, Lori the photographer is setting up the hangar for John to come propose. John and Abbie are flying to Texas.
In San Antonio, Jinger and Jeremy are at the midwife appointment, and Jinger says she is having more Braxton Hicks contractions and the baby has been active. The midwife says that they’ve been talking about keeping this baby smaller and closer to the due date. Jeremy gets to feel the baby’s head and he is excited to meet her. They hear the heartbeat and the midwife says baby is ready to go, and they have a plan to hopefully encourage the baby to come.
John David is flying Jana, Maggie, and Abbie to Fredericksburg, Texas, where they arrive at the hangar. They take a picture with an old plane, and John says his courtship standards are a little different since they’re older, so they chose to be able to have contact like arms around each other and hugging. Abbie says they made a list of guidelines about touching and honoring God and having no regrets, such as no kissing. They go eat in a little retro diner right by the runway. John asks them about timing for Jinger’s baby to arrive. Jana has been texting Jinger in the hope that she can make the birth. They finish up lunch and it is time for the proposal. John says he wants to show Abbie some old planes in the hangar. John walks her over to the hangar and he gets nervous. As they walk into the hangar, he says life has been wonderful since [he pauses], and she fills in “May 6” and he says yeah, [he continues] since we started flying together. He leads her to the rose petal heart in the center of the hangar. He asks if she wants to keep flying with him, and she says she would love that, and he reads her a note he wrote. He says they have been on an amazing journey and asks if she has anything going on for the rest of her life. “Nothing set in stone,” she says, and he says if she doesn’t have any big plans, he would love to spend the rest of their lives together. He gets down on one knee and pulls out the ring and asks the big question. She says she would be honored to marry him, and they press their foreheads together and he slips the ring on her finger. They share a big hug and he says when she said yes, he was just in awe that “Miss America” would be willing to marry him. Only then does Abbie see the big sign that says “Abbie, will you marry me?” Jana teases Abbie, asking if she said yes, because they couldn’t hear her. Abbie says, “I said I would be honored.” They take their engagement pictures there, and Abbie says it was nice since they were still on the high. John says it went better than he hoped it would. John says the plan is to get married, and Abbie says “Soon!”
In San Antonio, the Vuolos are heading to the hospital and to induce the baby. Jinger is so excited to meet her daughter. Jinger is admitted and Jeremy is nervous for himself but knows Jinger is so strong. They are excited to meet their baby.
*Episode 2: Jinger Has A Baby
Jeremy and Jinger are in their hospital room, getting comfortable and preparing for her induction. Jeremy jokes that labor won’t be bad because the bed is comfortable. Jinger says she is being induced to hopefully avoid the complications her sisters have had from having large babies. Jana has come from JD and Abbie’s proposal and Laura DeMasie (LDM) is by her side. The midwife explains that they are going to insert a Foley bulb into Jinger’s cervix to finishing the thinning and ripening process, which may stimulate labor on its own. The midwife says the little contractions are a good sign and Jinger says they are waiting to see if this is working. Jeremy prays for Jinger and baby.
At Ben and Jessa’s, the family is preparing to head to San Antonio to surprise Jinger. Jessa says she debated going, but she knew she had to be there, so they decided to travel. The boys are tiny balls of energy and Henry is trying to get into the dishwasher as they pack. Jessa says it is nice to have a little girl. The producers ask if she is expecting, and Jessa says no [remember this is July 2018] but one more wouldn’t make a big difference. Jessa says going from two to three would mean they were outnumbered and Ben says that sounds intense. Jessa and Ben load up the car and they head off to the airport. Jessa says they plan to go surprise Jinger once she gives birth, which may take a while since she is a Duggar and a first-time mom.
In Chicago, Lauren and Josiah are on a layover on their way to Austria for their honeymoon. Lauren says the first kiss was her favorite moment of the wedding day. Josiah says his was driving away. They have moved into their house and are now heading to Austria. Lauren loves the Sound of Music and the scenery, so that’s the reason they chose to go to Austria. Josiah and Lauren are exhausted as they arrive in Vienna, and they head to their hotel. Josiah and Lauren agree it is nice to just spend time alone and away from their families. Josiah says he snores and moves in his sleep, but Lauren is perfect. She shakes her head. In the talking heads, the producers ask the couples how Josiah and Lauren can enjoy their honeymoon. Jinger and Jeremy make faces at each other, Kendra says they’ll figure it out, Joy giggles, and Jessa says, “When you get to where you’re going have fun.” Josiah and Lauren crash and plan to start exploring tomorrow.
In Texas, Jinger has started Pitocin and they are waiting for the baby to arrive. Jana and Jinger do a puzzle together while they wait, and someone brings Jinger a sub. The Vuolos arrive and Jinger shows them the puzzle. They keep working on the puzzle and they are waiting for the contractions to pick up.
Josiah and Lauren are taking a hotrod tour of Vienna in these little, go cart looking cars. They follow the tour guide out of the garage. Lauren is nervous about driving, but they go through the sites. Lauren is focusing more on the driving than the sites, she says. The tour concludes and they go to a café famous for its coffee, and neither of them are really coffee drinkers but they decide to try it. In the talking heads, they ask the Duggars about coffee, but none of them really know about types of coffee. Josiah tries the coffee and Lauren has tea. They enjoy their little break hanging around and will be heading to Salzburg tomorrow.
In San Antonio, Jessa and Ben are getting food and waiting for baby. Jinger is staying strong and the contractions are getting harder. They bumped up the Pitocin and Jinger is feeling it more.
In Salzburg, Josiah and Lauren are doing a Sound of Music bike tour. Both of them watched the movie a lot growing up, and Josiah say the von Trapps were also a big family. The tour group goes to the gardens where they filmed the von Trapps singing the “Do Re Mi” song, and they reenact some of the movie scenes. Josiah is more into the acting than Lauren, but Lauren is the bigger movie fan. The tour group then goes to a fountain. They also see the house that the movie was filmed at and then head back into the city. In the talking heads, the producers ask the Duggars for their favorite movie. Joe: Sergeant York. Jeremy: A Beautiful Mind. Kendra: War Room. Ben: Woodlawn. Jessa and Josiah both say they didn’t watch a lot of movies and they went outside more instead.
At the hospital, Jinger and Jeremy are looking a bit more tired. The pain got real, and they decide that the epidural is the right move—Jinger says you have to do what is best for you since she was at the end of her energy and strength and she can’t relax. Jeremy prays again, and the epidural does indeed help things progress along. Several hours later, the nurse comes and checks her and says it is time to push. Shaky cell phone footage captures the moment the baby is born and Jinger smiles. Jinger and Jeremy are so smitten with their baby girl, and Jinger loves her little double chin. Jeremy says this has given him a greater appreciation for women and the Vuolos are excited for their first grandchild. Jessa is woken up by a phone call telling her the baby arrived, and the Seewalds head out to surprise the Vuolos. Jinger and Jeremy are happy to see them and Jessa gets to hold the baby. Jessa says she is having baby fever and holding the baby doesn’t help. Jinger announces the name: Felicity Nicole and Jana approves. They have Felicity hold the last piece of the puzzle and then use her foot to push it into place. Jinger facetimes her family and they are all excited to see Felicity and hear the name. Joe, Kendra, and Garrett are very happy for them, in particular.
Josiah and Lauren are visiting an Austrian family on their farm. They are all wearing traditional clothing. They go to work in the garden and the language barrier is very apparent. They were tasting things to figure it out. They are still able to communicate with the family as they do farm chores like moving hay and milking a goat. Lauren has apparently done this before, but they still struggle with it. In the talking heads, the producers ask Jeremy and Jinger if they “got to milk any animals in Australia” and Jeremy is incredulous: “Did we get to milk any animals?!” Back on the farm, Josiah calls the goat a “he” and the producers call him out on it. Finally, the family has a barbeque and Josiah learns how to say chicken in German (not even gonna attempt to spell that one, fam—"Wow, that’s a short word” says Jessa, sarcastically, and I agree). Josiah tells the family that he is one of 19, and they are shocked. One of the family members asks about birthdays and Josiah says there is always a party and the little boy seems excited by that. Josiah asks if he would like 9 brothers, and his mother jokes that Josiah should be asking her if she wants to have 9 sons. They all laugh and really enjoy their meal. It is their last day in Austria; Josiah and Lauren are excited to start their new life back home.
Jinger and Jeremy make the drive back to Laredo, and Jinger can’t stop looking at and talking to Felicity. Jeremy shows Felicity the nursery and Jinger asks if it’s her style. Jinger can’t stop talking to Felicity and it is really very sweet. She says changing diapers is a joy when it’s your own baby. Jeremy is completely stumped by the diaper pail and is kind of taking it apart while Jinger finishes changing her. They are both so happy to be home with their little girl, and they are excited to start life with her.
*Episode 3: Sleepless in Laredo
At the Duggar house, Jana and Tyler are moving furniture in order to put build the arbor for Jana and Laura DeMasie (LDM) to show to Abbie and John. Jana says LDM is a good friend, basically a sister, who has been included in other weddings. Jana says the role of wedding planner/coordinator is stressful but it is sweet that John and Abbie included her in the wedding this way. John says the theme is “Love is in the Air” with pink, black, gold, and white as the colors. They are getting married in Oklahoma, which will be different from past Duggar weddings. Jana says they are going to pack a trailer and other vehicles to head to OK. The twins are working on assembling the arbor and are having some issues figuring it out. Jana says usually her brothers can do anything or she can finish it for them. Lauren arrives, and she is the one doing the floral arrangements for the wedding. Lauren has helped with weddings before, but this is her first time being in charge. The guys get the arbor together, and Jana sets it up to look like a church. She drapes fabric and adds flowers, just as John and Abbie arrive to see it. The producers ask what will happen if they show up and are like, “Um, no” and Jana says they can talk them through it and LDM says there is still time to correct if they have to. Abbie and John arrive, and of course they really like the decorated arbor. Abbie hugs Jana and says she really loves it and John says they did an excellent job. They joke that they should just get the wedding done right now. John says tomorrow he is going to fly the wedding team to Oklahoma to visit the reception space, which is an airplane hangar, of course.
In Laredo, Jinger is trying to get Felicity to sleep. Jeremy says she is pretty chill for the most part but she doesn’t want to go to bed when Mom and Dad want to go to bed. Jinger says life has changed a lot with lack of sleep, late nights, and early mornings—and her many siblings did not prepare her for this. Jinger is breastfeeding so a lot of the baby’s care falls on Jinger. Jessa says when Spurgeon was born, she took care of the input and Ben took care of the output. Joe says Kendra did the feeding and he did the diaper changes and burping. Joy says Austin changed all the diapers for the first month but the sleepless nights were hard. Jeremy says Jinger has a magic bouncing motion that he doesn’t know yet. Felicity does not want to go to sleep and Jinger worries she ate something that upset her. Jeremy says she doesn’t seem upset, she’s just fighting it. Jeremy says he has had a close bond with sleep, which Felicity has presented a barrier against, but they’ll get a working relationship again soon. But Felicity is worth it, he says. At 4am, Felicity is up. Jinger says they hear the baby cry even when she isn’t actually crying but this phase will ease up in the next 3 years.
Jinger hasn’t been drinking coffee for her health, but Jeremy is dependent on it. Jinger tries swaddling Felicity to get her to sleep. She says she misses having family around but she and Jeremy are making it work and giving each other breaks. Jeremy says there are many great things to fatherhood like the connection they already feel.
At Josiah and Lauren’s, Lauren has just found out she is expecting and they are interested to see all the changes that will come. Lauren has decided to announce that they’re expecting at the family dinner. She plans to use a t-shirt to announce, and she is glad to have a new idea to announce. The shirt says, “Mama in the Making” and it is an iron on, which she is making herself. Lauren says Lily will be the first one to notice since she knows all of her shirts. Lauren says the plan is to lay low and eventually take her cardigan off and hopefully the family will notice. Lauren is happy with how her shirt comes out.
Back at the Duggar house, Ben is doing a math project with the Duggar kids—they’re going to increase the size of a recipe and then go to the store to get the correct amount of food to make the recipe. Ben is tutoring the Duggar kids part-time while he is taking online classes. The recipe is called tagine-style chicken and is a North African dish. They multiply each item of the recipe by 10. The Duggars talk about their relationship with math—some enjoy it, others struggle with it. Ben says keeping everyone focused is a big challenge with the Duggar kids. The Duggar kids talk about homeschooling, telling stories of the early days of homeschooling. Jackson says he likes homeschooling and not having to get up early for a bus. Michelle says Ben is really patient and a good teacher. Johannah says Ben is good with kids and he is very patient, and he’ll help you get the job done. Josie says Ben is a great teacher. The next step is going to the store to use their math.
In Ada, OK, John, Abbie, her sister Carinna, LDM, and Jana arrive at the airplane hangar where the reception will be held. They are expecting 1,000 guests. It is large and John is a pilot so it should work perfectly. There are no bathrooms on the site, so they will have to find something to bring there. Jana jokes that they should find a tree or some bushes. They decide to bring porta potties or something for the wedding. The Duggars all guess the numbers of bathrooms they need, ranging from 3 or 4 to 20 or 30. Joy says, “Don’t serve tea and you’ll only need two.” John and Abbie are going to have a getaway airplane and they are looking forward to that.
Ben, Michelle, and the little Duggars arrive at the grocery store. Ben wants to do more field trips with the kids, like going to a science museum. He wants to show them why the stuff they’re learning matters. They go to the spice aisle and start pulling the spices they’ll need. Then, they go to the fresh produce and get green onions, garlic, and are impressed by the produce misters and the scales. In the talking heads, the older Duggars reminisce about their trips to the grocery store as kids. Ben and Jessa say that many kids requires reinforcements. The family concludes the shopping trip and the kids are excited to make the chicken meal. Jordyn is unfazed by the prospect of making food for forty people.
They arrive back at the main house and the kids begin measuring out the spices they will need into little bowls for each serving. Ben notices this is taking longer than he thought and they get the meat to begin cooking. Jessa says adding kids adds time. They get the chicken on the stove and Jessa is chopping prunes. As they cook, the Caldwells and Swansons begin to arrive. Josiah and Lauren arrive, Lauren is wearing her shirt under a cardigan. Josiah is nervous about giving it away. Lauren Duggar is sitting with Lily, her mom, Joy, Joe, Kendra and Lauren Caldwell (LC). Lauren unbuttons her cardigan as they talk about what’s for dinner. Lauren takes off her cardigan all the way and both Lauren and Josiah are tense. Finally, Lily asks Lauren where she got her shirt, and LC asks if they have something they want to tell them, and then the celebrations begin as everyone hears the news. Lauren’s mom is particularly excited for them, and she shows her dad and Jim Bob the shirt. Both of the them are very excited and surprised. Lauren and Josiah are excited by the reaction.
The family then goes to load their bowls with the food made by Ben and the kids. Jessa says her younger siblings announcing they are expecting makes her feel really old, like “aren’t you 15?” Kendra is hopeful the little ones will all be close. Josiah and Lauren are glad they don’t have to keep the secret anymore.
*Episode 4: Love and Loss
Quick note: There is discussion of miscarriage in this episode. That section will be marked with [TW: Miscarriage] and [End TW: Miscarriage] so you can skip it if you prefer. However, most of the episode is just about cake baking.
At Jessa and Ben’s, Jessa is making a cake with a team of little kids. Jana, Kendra, and Lauren also have their own teams and are making possible groom’s cakes for a little family bake off. Abbie and John say they are counting down to the wedding and time is flying by. The producers explain a groom’s cake to Jeremy, as he wasn’t familiar with it. Generally, a groom’s cake is a smaller cake with a theme based on the groom and made with his favorite flavor. Josiah said the cupcakes at his wedding were his, since he loves cupcakes. Ben said they had ice cream at his and Jessa’s wedding. John said he wasn’t sure about a groom’s cake but he wanted to have a contest, basically. Abbie says the cakes have to be gluten-free, sugar-free, and aviation themed. Abbie has to eat gluten- and sugar-free, which she learned when she did an exclusion diet due to upset stomach. Jessa and Johanna are making a banana cake—Jessa hasn’t ever baked a cake before and the Duggars generally did ice cream for birthdays. The family agrees that Jana is the best cook in the family, although Ben says he is partial to Jessa. The episode then flashes back to Jessa as a newlywed cooking her new oven’s owner’s manual by accident. Jessa finds out her baking powder expired in 2016, and she does not have a scale or a sifter either. Jessa checks the baking powder in hot water and it fizzes, so they decide to go ahead and try it.
At Lauren’s, they are making vanilla gluten-free, sugar-free cupcakes. Lauren is working with Josie and Jordyn. Lauren says she is also gluten-free and has made lots of gluten-free cakes. Lauren says she has a very strong sense of smell now that she is pregnant and hopes making a cake won’t bother her. Josie said she hasn’t had a cake like this before since she doesn’t have any family or friends who are gluten-free; Lauren laughs and tells Josie she is a part of her family. Lauren says you have to do dry together and then wet together. John says gluten- and sugar-free is hard because almost anything has gluten or sugar in it; Abbie says, “unless you eat vegetables” and John says you can’t make cakes out of vegetables.
At Kendra’s, Kendra and Jennifer are making pumpkin spice cake with spiced cream cheese frosting and decorating the cake with paper airlines on sticks. They are excited about their unique idea.
Jana is working with Tyler and Jackson to make pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting. The boys are making a model airplane for the top of the cake, which they will cover with fondant. Jana wanted them to feel included but wanted to actually make the cake herself.
Lauren’s eggs are stuck in the egg carton, so Lauren dumps them in from the container. She knows this is a bad sign. Kendra says she is confident about making gluten-free stuff, but not confident about the sugar-free part. Everyone is struggling, and they are not having an easy time getting the consistency right. Jessa says hers looks like “something that has been swallowed and made a reappearance” and they decide to blend their batter to make up for not having an electric mixer. Kendra and Jennifer restart theirs several times, trying to get the consistency right. Jana isn’t sure about the gluten-free flour, and Kendra and Jenni get their batter done. Everyone puts their cakes into the ovens.
Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Jinger and Jeremy are taking Felicity to see Alisa the midwife who delivered her. Alisa is delighted to see her and how big she is. Jinger and Alisa have a strong bond and Jinger is glad to get to see her again. Jinger and Jeremy talk about how they struggle with Felicity’s blowouts, and we see them dealing with quite a large blow out. Ben and Jessa say they don’t mind diapers, but Henry in particular produces very stinky diapers. In terms of looks, Jinger and Jeremy say they think Felicity has gone back and forth—she started off looking like Jeremy (“that was a rough couple hours,” says Jeremy) and then looked like Jinger, and now she looks like Jeremy again. Jeremy says he sees Jinger in her, especially the nose. The midwife adds Felicity’s footprints to the wall with all the other babies the center has delivered. Alisa is so proud of Jinger and Jeremy and how they’re doing raising Felicity.
Jessa realizes she was using a recipe in Celsius and so her cake was not baked. They fix the temperature. Kendra takes her cakes out, and they look good. But they don’t want to come out of the pan, and when one cake finally does, it falls apart. Kendra says it was her skills, rather than the lack of gluten. They are counting on frosting to fix their mistakes. Lauren’s cupcakes come out, and the kids do not like it. Lauren even agrees they do not taste good.
It is time to decorate, and Jana’s group is struggling to work with fondant. Jana says this isn’t breaking the rules since it isn’t for eating. Lauren is struggling with nausea after trying the cake she and the kids made. She frosts the cupcakes and she says, “I don’t think this is gonna taste very good, but right now, as sick as I am, I don’t really care.” She is trying not to throw up as they arrange the cupcakes into a plane shape, frost them and add a “J <3 A” in the middle. Lauren says she bets Jessa will just stick a toy plane on the cake—which is exactly her plan, as the next scene shows Johannah taking the plane out of a box. Jessa’s cake is lightly iced so the cake is artfully peeking out, and she has a toy plane on top and a cake topper that says “love.” Jana’s completed cake has a runway, but both the boy’s model airplanes do not look good. Jenni and Kendra are making their paper airplanes, and Kendra uses one of her house decorations, which looks like a cotton plant, to make little clouds.
At the main house, Abbie and John arrive to try all the cakes. They say the contest will help them decide whether they want to have a groom’s cake or not. They do not know who made each cake. Johannah says theirs tastes nasty, and Jordyn and Josie say theirs tastes like throw up. The first cake they try is Jana’s, who has redone the model airplane on top. Abbie and John don’t love the flavor. Jana says you could tell it was not the best tasting. Kendra and Jenni’s is next, and it is sweet and moist. John and Abbie like the taste. Next is Lauren’s team, although she isn’t able to be there. They try the cupcakes and they are dry and “eggy” tasting. Abbie says it is a good thing cakes have icing—it helps. The last cake is Jessa and Johannah’s; Johannah tells them to take small bites. They say the only thing wrong with that cake was the intense aftertaste. John and Abbie deliberate on the awards—there are 5 categories: Best of Show (aka best overall), Best Tasting, Most Difficult, Attention to Detail and Design, and Most Original. They taste Kendra and Jenni’s one more time, which causes a titter among the bakers.
It is time for the awards. Most Difficult goes to Jana, Tyler, and Jackson. “Well, it was difficult” Jackson notes. Most original goes to Lauren, Josie, and Jordyn. “At least we won something!” says Josie. Best Tasting is Kendra and Jenni. They are delighted. Best Design goes to Jessa and Johannah. “You never want to be that person who’s pretty on the outside but rotten on the inside, and that’s what we were,” Jessa remarks. Best in Show goes to Jana, Jackson and Tyler. This was surprising to Jana since it was not #1 in flavor. Everyone congratulates the winner, and Jessa says Jana’s team had the most attention to detail. In the end, they decide to probably not do a groom’s cake since it seems unnecessary anyway.
[TW: Miscarriage] Josiah and Lauren were preparing for a trip to go to a friend’s wedding, and Lauren was feeling really sick. Lauren was cramping badly, which was unusual, and she was thinking it might have been gluten-related. She went to the restroom and saw she had lost the baby. She was devastated and hoping it was a nightmare. It was supposed to be a joyful wedding day, and it became the worst day of her life. Lauren is glad she announced her pregnancy early so that they could have support through this hard time. Lauren says Si has been amazing and they wrote a letter to the baby and put all her memories of the pregnancy in a little memory box. Lauren talks about having a hard time healing and seeing other babies and she says they say time will help them heal, but this is different. Si says their hope is that the Lord will bless them with a sibling for their little one. [End TW: Miscarriage]
*Episode 5: The Abbie Gown
Jinger and Jeremy are going to the Northeast to meet some of Jeremy’s family since only his parents, brother, and sister have been able to meet her. Felicity is four months old and her personality is starting to show. Jeremy dotes on her. As they pack, they decide that since Felicity isn’t hungry, Jinger should run to the store. Jeremy likes getting to spend time with Felicity. Jinger says she only has small windows of alone time since she is still breastfeeding, but they’re hard to predict. Jeremy says Jinger does pump but there is no point with these quick trips. Jeremy said it is crazy how much help Felicity needs and it is a lot of responsibility but also a privilege. Jeremy also says packing for her means lots of outfits since she can soil them so quickly. Jake the cat is also there, and Jeremy says Jake adopted them and followed them home. He was a stray but they took him in. Felicity starts getting fussy and Jeremy tries to console her. Joe says when he was first alone with Garrett a similar thing happened. Jeremy says he can do everything but feed her, which is a little nerve wracking. Jinger returns, and Jeremy is happy to see her. Jinger says the shopping and packing was successful and they hope for no blow outs while travelling.
At the main Duggar house, Jana is turning the shop/guest house area into a pop-up dress shop. Ms. Renee is coming with dresses since Abbie doesn’t have time to travel. Kendra says she enjoyed her dress shopping experience and it was more fun than stressful. Lauren says she was glad to have her dad there. Jessa says her shopping experience was really fun and local and so she had a big crew. Since Abbie won’t be going to at the actual shop to her—they are bringing in a pedestal, a large mirror, and mannequins for the dresses. Ben and Joe are worried about what they got themselves into.
There is a lot of debate about the best way to mount the mirror. Ben says he used to work at a glass company. Jana gets to work building the pedestal and the first pass is a little wobbly. The mirror framing is still in the process and the pedestal is being wrapped when Ms. Renee arrives. Ms. Renee is proud of their work. After greeting Ms. Renee, they complete the pop-up dress shop. In the talking heads, the producers ask if the Duggar family is ready for another wedding, and most of them make the standard “ready or not joke,” and then Jessa says “Jana, did you tell them about your wedding?” and Jana says no and Jessa says, “she isn’t going to tell you about her wedding.” The siblings are proud of their little pop-up shop. The next day, Abbie arrives with her mom, sisters Maggie and Carrina, the four little ones, Joy, Kendra, Jessa, and Jana. Abbie was really impressed at the pop-up shop. There were also snacks. Abbie is glad to have the Duggar girls here since they are wedding experts. It is 25 days until the wedding. Abbie says she wanted her dress to have a little poof and sparkle, and John says he just wants to see Abbie in the dress. Abbie picks the first dress to try on and heads to the changing room.
Meanwhile, John got the guys together for a little Bachelor party while the girls are dress shopping. They will be flour bombing, which is when they drop bags of flour onto a target and the person closest to the bullseye wins. Jed, Jer, and Jason are going to be the bombers. John starts flying and they are having some rain trouble, as well as turbulence. The Duggars get motion sick and John is worried they will get sick. When it’s time to drop the flour, Jed drops it fairly close. He gets to go three times total. They land and he gets 35ft away, 71ft away, and 91 ft away for a total of 197ft.
Back at the dress shopping, Abbie comes out in dress #1, which is all lace with cap sleeves and buttons down the whole back. In the talking heads, Abbie says it will be different moving away from her family—it’ll be a big change but a good change. The producers ask Jinger what it was like for her; she says they had to go really deep quick and she did really miss her family. Ben also said it was hard moving away but being so in love with Jessa made it easy. Renee adds a sparkly belt, which helps, and Abbie says this dress is a lot of lace and decides to try on a pink one. Abbie says John wants her to wear a white dress, but she will give the pink one a try. Her mom says pink is good for the bridesmaids; Abbie likes the style of the pink dress’s skirt, but most of the people looking at the dress don’t like the color. Jessa likes it, and says she wore a blush dress. Abbie likes the dress overall, but it isn’t the one.
Dress #3 is a favorite—it has a tulle skirt and a portrait neckline. This one she really loves, but her mom asks where the sparkle is. It needs bling. They decide to add a layer of sparkly tulle over the top of the skirt and adding a belt and Abbie loves it. They then try on dress #4, which has sparkle throughout. It is more fitted and she doesn’t like that. Abbie says she does wear modest tops but she wears pants—in particular, scrub pants at work. They put dress #3 back on.
Back at the Flour Bombing Competition, it is Jer’s turn and he does his three drops. Jer is worried he might not have beat Jed. Jer gets 213 ft in total, and Jed remains in the lead. Jed claims its due to a head wind and it wasn’t his fault. Jason goes next, and he doesn’t do as well. No one actually hit the target—it’s hard to judge the distance of it from the plane, but John said they did pretty good overall. They don’t bother measuring Jason’s three drops and just called it that Jed won.
Back at the dress shop, Abbie comes back out in dress #3, and she is in love. She is beaming and Ms. Renee says she is glowing. This dress is now named “The Abbie,” and they add the head piece and the veil and Abbie is smiling. There is even a bouquet for her to hold. Abbie says she looks like the bride. Abbie says it means a lot to her to have the Duggar girls to welcome her in. John says he cannot wait to see her walking down the aisle in her white dress. Abbie says “What if it’s pink? No, I’m just kidding,” and he says, “I still couldn’t wait.” Jessa says they will just leave the big mirror for the next bride, and the producers ask Jessa who will be the next bride. “You never know,” she says, and the producers cut to a shot of Jana holding the bouquet from earlier.
*Episode 6: To Grandmother's House We Go
The Caldwells, plus Kendra, Joe, and Garrett are in Panama City Beach, Florida (PCB) for a family vacation. Kendra says Garrett likes the warm weather. The Caldwells have been coming to PCB for six years. Kendra loves the beach and convinced Joe to come with her even though he isn’t as big as a beach person as she is. Kendra says her family wears modest swimwear, such as swim shirts and skirts with leggings. Jessa said her family wore modest swimwear they found online. Joe says the guys usually wear shirts and shorts. Kendra says her father doesn’t like to get any extra sun so he wears 100 SPF, a hat, and long pants and uses an umbrella. Kendra’s mom is 28 weeks along and due to her car accident she struggles with premature contractions. Kendra is glad she is able to make it to the beach. Kendra and her mom discuss the contractions she was having last night, and Kendra says it wasn’t so long ago she was expecting Garrett. Kendra says whenever she hears contractions now it brings back memories of her labor. Her mom says she did a great job and she knew Kendra was nervous for her first delivery but she handled it well. Kendra says she will be more prepared for the next one but is grateful to have a break for a bit. Kendra also says she and her mom have become closer since she had Garrett, and she can’t believe her mom will have soon done this 8 times. Her mom asks about having a newborn, and Kendra says there are challenges but it is so fun having him, and that he is very sweet. Pastor Caldwell suggests a sandcastle making contest with himself and Joe as the captains. Joe picks Kendra first, and Paul picks LC. Joe also picks Micah and Timmy. Paul picks Nathan and Gracie. Kendra says her dad and Joe are both pretty competitive. They decide the rules are to use sand and water to get the tallest castle in 30 minutes. The winners get to bury the losing captain in sand. Both teams get to work and Kendra is impressed with the other team’s work. Christina Caldwell is holding Garrett and keeping track of time from her chair. It is pretty clear that Paul’s team crushed the challenge and they have a great sand tower. This means Joe will be buried by the winning team. The family enjoys getting to bury Joe. Kendra says it was a great vacation and she hopes they will be back next year.
At the Laredo airport, the Vuolos are off to see Jeremy’s parents and grandparents. Jeremy says he cannot imagine travelling with 19 kids. In talking heads and flash backs, the family reminisces about how difficult it can be to travel with 19 kids. They mention Jackson getting left behind at the airport but Jessa says luckily they found him quickly.
Abbie, John, Carinna, and Maggie are going to the Philippines to do mission work. This is Abbie’s first long flight, at over 24 hours, but she is excited for their mission trip together. John says they decided to go on the Mission Trip because it is what brought them together. At the first meeting of the Duggar and Burnett families, Abbie’s parents mentioned that she has always wanted to go on a medical mission trip and John told them about this trip in September. John jokes that she was just another nurse, just another number, and Abbie says “yeah, who became a wife!” Abbie is a licensed nurse, becoming one after helping her grandparents through their illnesses. Abbie has left her job to plan for the wedding and move to Arkansas, but she hopes to go back to nursing one day. She says leaving her job was difficult in some ways, but it kind of wasn’t because she knew it was what she wanted to do. Abbie says John would support her getting another job when she moves to Arkansas. John says he fully supports her keeping up her license and serving others. Abbie says in the Philippines, their mission work involved filling prescriptions and wound care. John says he enjoyed getting to see that side of her heart.
In Downington, PA, Jeremy’s parents are enjoying spending time with Felicity. Jinger says it is hard to believe it was a year ago when they announced their pregnancy in the same place. They put Felicity in the little shoes they gave to his parents to announce. Diana tries to get Felicity to smile and then they head off to go introduce Felicity to her great grandmother. Luis and Cara will be surprising Jeremy there, and also getting to meet Felicity.
At the main Duggar house, Jackson is about to have a driving lesson with a police officer. But first, the family is having breakfast and chatting. Jackson has his permit, which you can get at age 14 in Arkansas. A large crew will be accompanying him. Jana says the fact that the youngest boy is driving is so hard to believe. Jessa says Jackson is lively, talkative, similar to Josiah, funny, and the life of the party. They flashback to Josiah learning to drive and struggling; Josiah says Jackson reminds him of himself. Jackson says he has been practicing and he is decent in a pasture but he doesn’t know how he will do on the road. The producers flash back to when there were more kids in the home and said the family would average 36 eggs and 5 pounds of bacon for breakfast. Jackson guesses now it is probably 24 eggs and 2 pounds of bacon.
Jackson will be driving the big family van with the police officer. Jackson is nervous. Justin says Jackson is a good driver but he can barely see over the steering wheel. Tyler says that Jackson will try and do his best with the police officer in the car; Justin says he should try his best with them in there. Jackson will be backing up, parallel parking for the first time, and doing a three-point turn for the first time. Jana says driving with a bunch of backstreet drivers is one of the hardest parts of driving. Jackson parks, and is introduced to the police officer who will be doing the lesson with him. The officer jokes that he brought his ticket book with him just in case, but Jackson notes he did actually have it and he doesn’t want a ticket before he even gets his license. The officer tries talking Jackson through the three-point turn and pretends that there are cars all around him. The producers note how many times Jackson would have hit another car (4 times) but the kid is driving a massive van. Next, they practice parallel parking. The brothers get out to help direct him. They talk him through parking and he does pretty well for the first time. The officer says with a little more practice, he will be doing okay and the officer won’t be seeing him again if he keeps driving that well.
In the Philippines, Abbie tried authentic Filipino food—she enjoyed some of it but didn’t like some of it. Abbie said her favorite was Chili ice cream even though it burned her tongue off. John says the trip was successful and they plan on doing lots of missions after they get married. The wedding is right around the corner now, and they are looking forward to it.
Felicity arrives at her great-grandparents house, and Jeremy talks about how he was very close with his grandparents when he was growing up. Felicity smiles when she meets her great-grandma and the great-grandma was so excited to meet Felcitiy. She keeps smiling as she meets her great-grandfather and Jinger is loving their reactions. Jinger says the grandparents also gave her such a warm welcome and it meant so much to her. Jeremy says his grandparents are in their 90s and he is glad they have a chance to have a relationship with Felicity. Jeremy says his grandma totally ignored him for the first five minutes and finally said, “Oh, hi Jeremy.” Ann says she was just too happy to see Felicity, she knew she’d get to Jeremy eventually. The grandparents have made a big lunch for everyone and she doesn’t really let the younger Vuolos help her. Jeremy says his grandparent’s kitchen hasn’t changed and he hopes that Felicity will have similar sweet memories with her grandparents. Meanwhile, Luis and Cara and their two kids are making their way to the front door to surprise Jeremy.
Luis and Cara surprise Jeremy, and he is so excited to see them and introduce them to Felicity. Luis and Cara bought a house a town over from Jeremy’s grandparents so he knew they were nearby but he did not know they would surprise him. Jeremy is glad to get to bond with them as parents. Jinger says she is starting to get into a routine with Felicity and she isn’t sure how much to take on because if she has another she’ll be crazy. Cara agrees and says it can be so hard to find a balance. Cara’s kids are playing together and Jinger says it is sweet to see them interact and she thinks this might be her and Jeremy’s future.
Everyone gathers for prayer before lunch around the long table at the grandparents’ house. They all gathered and Luis and Cara are excited to get to taste Grandma’s legendary cooking. Luis asks if Jinger is enjoying being a mom and she says she is. He asked what the biggest surprise is. Jeremy says, “how much we love her” and Jinger agrees that the strong bond was the biggest surprise. Jeremy said he has also had instincts kick in when you wake up in the middle of the night to check on them. Luis is glad to see them grow and asks Diana how many grandkids they have now. She says Felicity is #1, and Jeremy says he is the trailblazer. Jeremy says it was a great trip but it is time for them to fly back to Laredo tomorrow.
*Episode 7: A Bachelor No More
Quick note: There is discussion of miscarriage in this episode. That section will be marked with [TW: Miscarriage] and [End TW: Miscarriage] so you can skip it if you prefer.
At the guest house, John and Abbie are making their unity candle. Neither of them has made a candle before. The producer asks them to recount how they met. John says they met at First Baptist Church of Ada where his parents were speaking, and they started texting and did not stop. About a week later he asked her to court him. Abbie says she wasn’t looking for a husband but meeting John was the right thing and there was a lot of peace in it. John says from the beginning of their courtship he was planning how he was going to propose and it took some time to get it right. A few days short of 6 months after meeting, they are getting married at the same church they met. They are both excited that it is their turn to get married.
Back to candle making, Jennifer is also there to help them make a candle. First, they smell all the different options they have for scenting the candle. The producers have all the other couples, the twins, Jana, and Laura DeMasie (LDM) smell the scents, including one that smells like anchovies, which no one enjoys. Neither John nor Abbie has really read the directions to make the candle, but they are having fun anyways. First they are making candles for their moms and then they will make the unity candle. They add a lot of color to Michelle’s candle in an attempt to make it purple and Abbie worries it will turn out black. It fades as it dries, and now it is time to make the unity candle. Abbie wants the unity candle to be white, so John goes over to the workshop next door and uses a torch to burn the color out. Abbie is a little concerned he might burn off his eyebrows, but John is never concerned, and it worked out. They finish their unity candle and they are excited that the wedding is even closer.
At the main house, Jana, LDM, and some of the brothers are packing up to head to Oklahoma. Jana and LDM are decorating and coordinating for the wedding. Jana says the distance is concerning and they are really trying to ensure they don’t leave anything behind in order to make this work. Jana says it looks like they are moving for like a year. One of the brothers jokes that you should just elope. The producers ask Jana if she or any of her siblings would elope, and Jana says she thinks all couples have that feeling during planning. The twins and Jason agree because they feel their future spouse would want a ceremony and the Duggars like having all their friends there.
The team arrives in Oklahoma and they begin setting up. They begin at the hangar that Abbie and John have selected for their reception. The team begins unloading the tractors into the space. Jana says the theme is “Love is in the Air.” The first thing they need to do is raise up the drapery that they will have hanging across the ceiling. The boys try to set up a ladder on the forklift, which is already extended as high as it can go—this makes Jana really worried. The brothers explain that is called ‘redneck engineering.’ In the talking heads, the producers ask the other Duggars to explain ‘redneck engineering,’ and they say that it is when you improvise with what you have to fix a problem, such as using duct tape or zip ties. The guys eventually realized the ladder-on-the-forklift idea is not going to work, so Jana wins. Jana says this is the first wedding she is in charge of, and also her twin’s wedding, so she wants to make it special. John says he knew Jana could do it. The twins and Jason agree that they would never want her position—it would be too much for them. Jana says she is bad at delegating and she is trying to learn. The centerpiece of the room, essentially a plastic circle holding up the drapery that will span the ceiling, is completed, and the drapery starts taking shape.
[TW: Miscarriage] At Josiah and Lauren’s house, they are sitting at the piano preparing to practice the song they will sing at the wedding. Lauren is worried about singing in front of so large a crowd, and Josiah says to pretend it is just the two of them singing together. Abbie says this song has been sung at three out of the four of her siblings’ weddings. They begin practicing together. Lauren says she and Josiah have been holding up as you would expect since the miscarriage, that it has sped up their marriage, and that she thinks about the little one every day. They are getting back to their routines and hoping they will be blessed with another little one. Jessa says she cannot imagine the grief Lauren is going through, and it is just about being there for them and trying to support them. Lauren said after the miscarriage, she lost a lot of blood and couldn’t walk, so Josiah would carry her. She says she has never seen someone serve their wife so much and he has taken such good care of her and she wishes her baby could have known that. [End TW: Miscarriage]
It the day of the rehearsal dinner. The family is gathering at the main house at 6am to prepare to leave for Ada. Travelling for the wedding makes it more difficult than usual. Jessa says when she is back at the house she goes right back to that older sister role and starts making sure everyone has dress shoes packed. Jessa says that her parents are taking a large van and she and Ben and taking their minivan and they will be travelling together.
The wedding team arrives at the church to set up the location; they should be done by 5pm. The hangar didn’t finish getting decorated until 1am, but they are happy with it. Jana says the church is a lot easier to decorate, so they should be okay on time. The brothers get to work setting up the arbor, which they tried to get as ready as possible for at home. There are still some snags in setting it up, and Jana comes over to figure it out. There is some disagreement about the best way to put the arbor together, but eventually they all figure out the issue and the arbor goes up. LDM says she and Jana work well together and they always forgive each other when they disagree. They know that they have a long couple of days ahead of them finishing up for the wedding, which LDM says will take “25% hard work and 75% more hard work.”
Abbie and John arrive at the church for their rehearsal day and they are excited. LDM welcomes everyone to the rehearsal and Abbie says it finally felt real once they started rehearsing. Bob Gray II will be their officiant; he is a pastor whose church John attends when working in Texas. Abbie’s father is going to officiate the vows as a special touch. In the talking heads, Lauren recalls her rehearsal and how excited she was kiss Josiah. Joe says he was excited and ready to get married. Austin said it felt like it took an eternity to get to the wedding day, but once they got there it went so fast. Jessa says it is hard to wrap your mind around getting married. John and Abbie say they are ready to kiss, and that the rehearsal went great and the wedding is really happening. John is looking forward to seeing Abbie walking down the aisle.
At the hangar, Jana’s team is back at work setting up tables and chairs and adding some finishing touches. There is an issue with the lights, but the team is working on setting up the tables with LC. The lights turn out to be a bigger issue than expected; regardless, Jana has people start to set up the tables. Jana is stressed, but everyone is working toward the end goal and trying to make this happen.
Now, it is the morning of the wedding, and John and Abbie arrive at the church and they are excited for their big day. They decided to not to have a first look, and so they will begin getting ready in their own suites. Abbie’s friend from nursing school does her makeup, and one of her sisters is doing her hair. Abbie is giddy with excitement.
The guys are at the hangar pulling together the final details with some vendors. At the ceremony, Lauren and Jana are going over flowers and Jana is putting the finishing touches together. Jana is a bit concerned about running on time, but Lauren says it will all be fine. Destiny, Abbie’s friend from nursing school, says Abbie wanted glitter for her big day as well as pink and she is obliging her. Ms. Renee shows Abbie the dress and she is delighted with the sparkle. John says Abbie is a glitter girl, so he is a glitter guy. The producers ask Tyler and Jackson their opinion about glitter, and neither of them are fans because it sticks to you and it is too girly. John also says he doesn’t like that glitter sticks to you but it's okay if he gets it from being close to Abbie.
Jeremy is vacuuming, since he offered to help, and he is now worried that the vacuum left marks on the rug. Jinger says LDM will have him scrub them out next.
Joe puts the boutonniere on John, since he is the best man. Joe says their age difference felt like a lot growing up but they are a lot closer now and he is glad to be there for his brother. They are about 20 minutes late for pictures, but LDM says that is fine since she built a lot of extra time into the schedule.
Abbie reveals her dress to her bridesmaids and she loves all their sparkle. Abbie says she really feels like a princess in her dress and she is really excited. Jana says her dress is really fitting for her sparkly personality.
Meanwhile, in the sanctuary, the Duggar brothers are planning a prank with a drone that will deliver the ring. Joe knew about the prank and was all for it because it fits John and the wedding theme and it won’t really affect the wedding ceremony. Jason says they might not even notice the prank.
John and Abbie each take pictures with their wedding parties. Abbie says she had convinced herself she would never get married and John had made his “bachelor ‘til the rapture” jokes, but the day is finally here. John says Jer or Jed can have his “bachelor ‘til the rapture” saying if they want it. Joe cannot believe this day is here but he is happy for John. Abbie says it is hard to believe she is finally the bride this time. Jana says her and John have become even closer through the wedding planning, and she cannot believe it is her twin’s big day.
John’s photographer tells him to do a “Zoolander blue steel” for one of the photos. In the talking heads, the producers ask the Duggars what that means and only Jeremy knows what it is. Joe and Kendra try to make the faces and they are so freaking cute. Ben tells Jessa they have to try, but Jessa keeps laughing.
Jim Bob takes John back to the place where John and Abbie met and talks about how fast their relationship has gone. Michelle says she loves Abbie and they will make a great couple and they will be great parents someday. Michelle and Jim Bob are so excited for them.
The procession begins to get in line since it is nearly time for the wedding to start. The parents make their way in, and the mothers light the individual candles on either side of the unity candle. The groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down the aisle next, with the little ones following behind. Abbie’s dad says, “This isn’t rehearsal, this is the real deal,” and Abbie agrees. Her dad also says, “I hope he doesn’t fall over,” and Abbie says she is worried she is going to cry. The processional starts, and everyone rises, and the doors open for John, who beams.
Abbie and her dad make their way down the aisle. John says that seeing Abbie in her dress was amazing and she took his breath away. When asked who gives the bride away, Mr. Burnett read a little piece about how they were only given her for a season by God and now transfer her to this man. John and Abbie then make their way to the stage. John and Abbie hold hands on the stage as the pastor talks about how much prayer had gone into this day and then Mr. Burnett takes the pastor’s place to oversee the vows. He reminds them that marriage is a covenant and then says they will make their own vows. Abbie said they wanted to make their own vows rather than just recite something more traditional. John reads his vows to Abbie, calling her a “virtuous woman, and all the things on earth pale in comparison to you.” He says he will lead her by example, and he gives himself wholly to her and will keep his eyes only for her and “purposes to lead their family as they follow Jesus, to kiss you when you least expect it…just because I love you so much.” Abbie says her vows next, calling him a “gracious gift from God,” and promising to “keep my heart only for you.” She includes the passage from Ruth about going where he goes, and adds “and fly where you fly,” and says his people will be her people because “your God is my God.” She says she will take his name and stay by his side, and ends with “I love you, Sugar Muffin.” [full vows available here]. In the talking heads, the other couples talk about the nickname Sugar Muffin; some of them missed it in the vows. John jokes that she doesn’t even eat sugar, or muffins, unless they are gluten- and sugar-free. Josiah says he sometimes calls Lauren Sugar Baby just to get her attention--not really, though. John and Abbie say they don’t get embarrassed about it.
It is time for the rings, and the preacher says he cannot find Abbie’s. This is where the drone prank comes in. Abbie says she wasn’t expecting any pranks. The drone goes flying from the audience to the altar, the ring box dangling from an attached rope. Joe catches the ring. Ben says his reaction was a facepalm “really?” moment. Jeremy says you have to expect something like this at this point. Joe passes the ring over to the preacher. John says he was waiting for a prank, and this one worked perfectly with the theme of the wedding. The preacher jokes that he is so grateful the drone didn’t hit them. He then guides the couple through the exchange of the rings. The next step is to light the candle, which means it is time for Lauren and Josiah to sing. Abbie and John light the candle and then sign something on the back of the stage. The song concludes, and the preacher concludes the ceremony and pronounces them husband and wife. He says that John may kiss his bride. John kisses both of her hands first, and then her shoulders, her forehead, and her cheeks before finally kissing her mouth. John says he planned that and wanted to take it slow and wanted to live in the moment. John says that half the wedding comes to see the kiss and the other half comes for the cake, so they wanted to give them their money’s worth. Abbie knew what was coming and she said she would follow his lead. The siblings say it was unforgettable, and Kendra says it was awkward to watch. Lauren just wanted him to kiss her already. Jason literally said, “go get a hotel room” and Austin says Abbie is a trooper. Outside of the reception venue, the producers asks if the couples will reenact the kiss. Lauren and Josiah make a joke out of it. Ben kisses Jessa once and she laughs and tells him to stop. Jim Bob and Michelle reenact it as they laugh.
It’s time for the reception and we finally get to see Jana’s hard work pay off in the hangar. Some of the drapery was knocked down by the wind, but that is okay. John and Abbie are announced into the ceremony and make their way to the stage. They cut the cake and nicely feed each other a bite, but then lick frosting off each other’s fingers. Then they kiss. Abbie is really grateful so many people came and John thanks the crowd. The other couples say they have a lot of good time to get to know each other better and a lot of ‘firsts’ to go.
John and Abbie make their way to the plane, and Jana gives them both one big hug before they get into the plane to take off. John is looking forward to all the wonderful everyday things of marriage. John lifts Abbie into the plane and does a quick walk around of the plan before flying them away (this is a standard pre-flight check to make sure everything is in order for the flight). They do a few fly-overs before taking off into the sunset. John says they are looking forward to settling into their little house and being together.
At the end of the episode, a few days after the wedding, Jessa and Ben are spending time with Jinger and Jeremy. A friend of Jessa’s had some little girl hand-me-downs to pass on to Jinger. When Jessa gave Jinger the clothes, she added a card that said, “There is a 50% chance we might be asking for these back next summer.” After a minute, the Vuolos realize that means Jessa is pregnant and they are surprised but excited for her and Ben. Jessa says she is 10 weeks, which is earlier than she has previously announced, but she wanted to tell them while they were in town.
In the final talking heads, the family talks about all the announcements from this year: Josiah and Lauren’s wedding, John and Abbie’s wedding, and the births of Gideon, Garrett, and Felicity. The producers say, “What if there was another announcement?” and the family says, “It’s about the time of year for another baby.” The family is excited for Ben and Jess. Kendra cries because she is so excited for them. The family gathers to celebrate their special announcement. Spurgeon says they are going to eat pizza at Granny’s house. They are nervous about having three babies around and they have a lot to work on. Ben is excited to see Spurgeon, who’s now a little older, see and interact with the new baby; he thinks Henry probably still won’t understand yet. Kendra says she also has a baby itch and would be thrilled for #2. The twins say there could be three babies and three marriages at the same time. Joe and Kendra say they are planning a house, still doing car work, and are open to more kids in God’s timing. Kendra says they’re letting Garrett grow up a little bit. Josiah and Lauren are hoping to grow their family, too. Jinger and Jeremy are looking forward to watching Felicity grow this year. Joy says Gideon is starting to move around and walk a little and she hopes they will have baby #2 soon. Ben says that he and Jessa are in the groove, so they might as well throw another one in the mix.
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