Photo Cred: Jana Duggar Instagram
Jana Duggar is officially married to Stephen Wissman, her long-time rumored boyfriend.
The news broke late at night on August 15, 2024 that the couple had been married just hours before in a ceremony in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. This came as a shock to many because it was never even confirmed that Jana was in a relationship with anyone, let alone engaged and planning a wedding.
Rumors swirled last month when she posted pictures with her twin brother, John David and his wife Abbie, and seemed to have an engagement ring on her left ring finger. However, nothing was ever confirmed until August 15th, when paperwork got leaked that showed that Jana and Stephen had applied for a marriage license in Arkansas the day before.
Fans Are Overjoyed
Fans were immediately overjoyed for Jana, because she has notoriously been known as the unmarried eldest daughter of the Duggars. People have questioned whether or not Jim Bob would let her get married, or if he wanted her to keep living at home to help raise her siblings.
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For years, fans watched as each of Jana’s siblings found partners and got married, and wondered when it would be Jana’s turn. Now, that day has finally come.
Jana shared the details of the wedding exclusively with People Magazine, many of which were unique choices for a traditional Duggar wedding.
Jana and Stephen opted for a smaller wedding than what is typical in their social circle. The two invited 500 guests to the wedding, which might seem like a very large wedding to most, but almost all of Jana’s siblings invited thousands of people to their weddings, making this a much smaller affair.
Jana also chose to wear an off-the-shoulder dress, which seems to go against the modesty standards that the Duggars hold themselves to.
The Duggars originally found fame for their unique way of living, including their strict dress codes.
The women in their family were not allowed to wear pants or shorts, and had to have their shoulders covered in order to meet the family’s modesty standards.
Jana Goes Against Her Parents
As each of her sisters has gotten married, they’ve seemed to stray from the family’s modesty standards, but Jana always seemed to stay in line with her father’s rules, even as a 34-year-old woman.Her choice in wedding dress, though, goes against those rules that her dad has had in place over the years.
The women in the wedding party also wore dresses that fall out of line with Jim Bob Duggar’s clothing rules.
All of the bridesmaids wore sleeveless dresses, which is a fashion choice that is rarely seen at a Duggar wedding.
But what really raised eyebrows from the wedding was the person missing from the bridal party- Jill Duggar Dillard.
Jill and Jana were famously close growing up. Jill was often referred to as the “triplet” due to her closeness in age to Jana and John David, the twins.
RELATED NEWS: Jill Dillard Turns On Michelle Duggar
Jana even served as the maid of honor in Jill’s wedding to Derrick Dillard, making it especially shocking that Jill doesn’t appear to have been a bridesmaid in Jana’s wedding.
Instead, Jana chose her other sister, Jessa Duggar Seewald, to be her matron of honor. Growing up, the two were known on the family’s TV show for fighting and not getting along, but it seems as though they put their differences aside as they got into adulthood.
But still, fans are wondering- why was Jill not in the wedding?
Is it due to her estrangement from their father, Jim Bob? Is Jana siding with Jim Bob in the feud, or was she simply not allowed to have Jill in the wedding because of Jim Bob?
Jill released a book last year detailing her disagreements and legal issues with her father over the years, and it has seemingly caused an even bigger rift between herself and her family.
But those weren’t the only surprising choices that Jana made for her wedding.
Surprise Touches
They chose to have a sit-down meal at the wedding, which is a unique choice for the Duggar family.Usually, given the thousands of people invited, Duggar weddings usually only consist of a dessert, not a dinner.According to People Magazine, the Wissman family catered the event themselves, serving everyone chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and coleslaw.
Jana explained her vision for the wedding, saying:
“Because we’re doing an evening wedding, I envisioned this more formal, sit-down dinner,” says Jana. “The Wissmanns are incredible cooks. They’re going to do a full spread and they’ve been working on it. I’m like, ‘Just do it. I trust y’all. Y’all making amazing food.’ “
She also shared her plans to move to Nebraska to live with Stephen after the wedding, shocking everyone with her choice to leave Arkansas and the siblings she has notoriously helped raise.