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Jim Bob Duggar was thrilled to celebrate daughter Jana Duggar’s wedding to Stephen Wissmann.
The Duggar family patriarch, 59, made a rare social media appearance in his eldest daughter’s wedding video, which Jana, 34, shared via YouTube on Tuesday, December 24. Jim Bob could be seen having several sweet moments with Jana before she walked down the aisle, including a “first look,” where he gushed about how beautiful she looked in her dress.
“Jana, you look so darling,” the 19 Kids and Counting alum told the home renovator after she tapped his shoulder to get him to turn around and see her. She wore an ivory satin floor-length off-the-shoulder gown with a long train and a V-neckline. Though the dress seemingly broke the family’s rules for clothing, Jim Bob did not appear to mind.
“So beautiful! What a beautiful dress,” he added, giving Jana a once-over with a huge smile on his face. “You look like a princess. I love you so much. … So amazing. Wow. What a beautiful bride.”
Jim Bob added that he was “so happy” for Jana, who married Stephen, 31, in her native Arkansas on August 15 after years of trying to find Mr. Right.
“I prayed that God would provide, this year, your husband. And I’m so thankful for Stephen, so thankful for you. I know God is going to do just amazing things through ya’ll’s lives,” the father of 19 continued.
Jim Bob concluded that Jana was “so beautiful, just like [her] mama,” Michelle Duggar.
Elsewhere in the video, Jana gifted her father what appeared to be a pair of socks and a custom keychain. He told her that he was “trying to be a good dad” and added that Jana has “been a great daughter.”
In one final moment together, Jim Bob told Jana that he loved her and concluded, “I am so thankful for you and just the woman you’ve become. You are a Godly woman that’s going to become a Godly wife, have Godly children, and you and Stephen are going to make a difference in this world. I’m so blessed to have you as my daughter.”
Jana and Stephen tied the knot at The Grand at Willow Springs, a wedding venue about 30 minutes from her family’s compound in Tontitown, in front of their huge family and friends. The ceremony was attended by 500 people, with Jana’s sisters Jessa Seewald (née Duggar), Joy-Anna Forsyth (née Duggar), Johannah Duggar, Jinger Vuolo (née Duggar), Jordyn Duggar and sister-in-law Abbie Duggar in her wedding party.
The couple have known each other for years and kept their romance private until their wedding day. However, rumors of their engagement swirled in July when a diamond ring was spotted on Jana’s finger in vacation photos.
Jana revealed to People in an article published on August 16 that she and Stephen had an on-off relationship, and his persistence is what made her realize he was “the one.”
“I think it’s just been over time, his character, his coming back, still loving me no matter what,” she explained. “I know we have a big crazy family and [that requires] 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, I guess, genuinely care about me, and I haven’t seen that.”
English (US) ·