Bachelorette Party For 19-Year-Old Joy Duggar, Hints At Wedding Date

Joy Duggar’s upcoming wedding has been a subject of debate among viewers. Would the family wait until her 20th birthday, in October, before walking her down the aisle, or would her wedding be featured in the summer season of Counting On? The Duggar household is known for brief engagements, so it’s no great surprise to hear that a bachelorette party has already been thrown for the still-teenaged Duggar sister, and that she’s well on her way to being the fourth Duggar female to leave home.

Though the Duggar family’s new reality show is called Counting On, perhaps it would be more aptly titled Courting On — a primary focus of the show so far has been a quick succession of courtships.

Since the show launched in late 2015, we’ve watched two Duggar daughters announce courtships, and another declare that she’s happy without one (while speculation continues that she does have a love interest), and celebrate engagements. Jinger Duggar’s wedding to Jeremy Vuolo dominated one season of the show. We’ve also seen one of the Duggar boys announce a courtship — something the viewers wondered about after Josiah Duggar’s courtship dissolved right around the time the public was finding out about Josh’s past (and present).

But there have also been videos, social media posts, and other hints that other Duggar kids are entering courtships — a ritual the kids endure instead of dating, that involves Jim Bob and Michelle being included in phone calls and text messages, chaperoned outings, and not being allowed to hug or hold hands — and it’s generally presumed that any of the older kids (there are currently seven over 18 who aren’t married: Jana, John David, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, and Jeremiah, though two are in known courtships) could be seeing someone behind the scenes.

There’s been a lot of speculation that Joy Duggar’s wedding to Austin Forsyth will be held in June. A wedding registry — likely a fake made by one of the role-playing fans who pretend to be Duggar family members on social media — for the pair is dated with Joy’s birthday, along with a note that the date hasn’t been publicly announced yet. Though there’s nothing to confirm that the registry is genuine and not a game for a fan, it’s helped keep speculation rolling.

However, Joy and her family have reportedly been spotted shopping for wedding dresses, and now TLC has released details about the couple’s bachelor and bachelorette parties, which were held this weekend.

“This past weekend, the couple celebrated their pending nuptials with a joint bachelor and bachelorette party. Joined by family and friends, Joy and Austin went camping and kayaking since they both enjoy the great outdoors. Check out the video above to hear details from the happy couple about their special weekend.”

The pair released a video a short time back saying their courtship was going well, and that they’ve been enjoying getting to know each other.

Now, however, TLC hints that the wedding may be quite soon; it’s not just that they’ve already had their bachelor and bachelorette parties, but this too is happening.

“Joy Duggar and Austin Forsyth of TLC’s Counting On are getting ready to head down the aisle.”

“Getting ready” seems to corroborate the stories of wedding dress shopping and the speculation about a wedding in the very near future.

A peek at a calendar and the Fort Rock website gives further hints. Fort Rock is a location belonging to Austin’s parents, where the Duggar parents often join other religious conservative celebrities to give talks about marriage, parenting, and other topics.

Jill Duggar Dillard is expected to return from her latest trip to El Salvador, where she and Ben are trying to convert residents of the 57 percent Catholic, 21 percent Protestant country to their own beliefs, in June, if not by the end of this month. Jill’s baby is due in July, and she has declared an intention to birth him in the U.S. (Of course, for travel, sooner may be a safer choice.)

The Fort Rock Family Camp is booked pretty solid through June. The gaps are the June 12-14, 19-21, and 26-28 — that is, Monday through Wednesday of three of the four weeks in June. According to the Duggar Family Blog, Jessa Seewald will also be busy a lot in June; her husband has speaking engagements in Texas on June 16 and 17, and Jessa has one in Ohio on June 24.

Thus, for Austin’s family and Joy’s sisters, Jill and Jessa, to all be present, the wedding must either be in May, with Jill returning home quite soon; be on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday in June, with Jessa and Ben traveling quite near the date; or still be almost two months away.

Put together with the sudden bachelorette party announcement, and the declaration that the pair is “getting ready,” Austin Forsyth and Joy Duggar may very well be preparing to wed before the end of the month.

[Featured Image by Duggar Family Official/Facebook]