“Counting On” alum Jana Duggar is now a married woman!
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After news broke that she had obtained a marriage license with Stephen Wissmann, they have tied the knot!
On Thursday, the couple exchanged vows at The Grand at Willow Springs in Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
It was a “classic, elegant” wedding with 500 guests. Jana’s sister Jessa Duggar was her maid of honor, while her sisters Joy-Anna Forstyth, Johannah Duggar, Jinger Duggar, and sister-in-law Abbie Duggar served as bridesmaids.
In a statement, she told People magazine, “I think it is one of those things that all girls envision someday. For me, it felt like, ‘Okay, it’s never coming.’ But now it’s starting to sink in. Reality is starting to set in. And I’m like, ‘Wow, this truly is something that I’ve dreamed of.’ And just to see it coming about is incredible and kind of hard to believe. It’s a dream come true.”
For her big day, Jana opted for an off-the-shoulder satin ball gown. She gushed, “The dress felt classy and a bit like a princess.”
As for making their families part of the wedding, Jana shared, “Coming from two bigger families, we love to be able to get together and celebrate moments like these. And so to have all of them there, it just means a lot.”
Wissmann has 12 siblings.
The two have known each other for years.
Jana said, “[The Wissmanns] would travel and sing. I remember them coming to our home, probably 13 or so years ago and they ended up getting snowed-in here, which hardly ever happens in Arkansas.”
She added, “I remember just playing games late into the night, doing puzzles together until the snow melted off, and they were able to travel back home. I don’t really remember Stephen that well because I’m older than him and so he was not at all on my radar.”
They briefly started dating years ago but broke up. They stayed in touch, talking to each other “on and off over the years.”
Jana and Stephen eventually got back together earlier this year after her brother Jeremiah married his sister Hannah.
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She commented, “It was like, ‘What are we doing? We still enjoy each other. We still really appreciate each other.’”
Duggar opened up about their relationship, saying, “I had been a slower mover on it, but just over time, his character, his coming back, still loving me no matter what. I know we have a big crazy family and still kind of putting up with a lot of things. I’m like, my goodness, there are not too many people that do that. He must really, genuinely care about me.”
She went on, “It takes me a bit to open up, but I think just his continuing to be there, no matter what, through ups and downs. He’s been a good friend over the years and has not pressured me in a lot of ways.”
Jana admitted it was tough not being married while several of her younger siblings already were. She recalled, “I’m just like, ‘What is it? Is it me? Do I have a problem?’ I know I’ve prayed for this for years and years and definitely been like, ‘What’s the matter? Why can’t I just…’ All of my siblings, most of them have been married in their early 20s. By far, I am the oldest. So, it has been disheartening at times.”
“I’ve tried to look at the positive, yet you long for that person, that someone that you can spend life with. It has been hard, but it has been good and God’s taught me a lot through it all,” she noted.