Jana Duggar, oldest Duggar daughter, marries in Arkansas

TLC star Jana Duggar of “Counting On” and “19 Kids and Counting” is married!
The eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, 34, married Stephen Wissmann, 31, in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on Thursday, according to People’s exclusive report on the 500-guest wedding.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Duggar family for comment.
The ceremony took place two months after they were engaged. Jana’s bridal party included sisters Jessa Duggar Seewald, who was her maid of honor; Joy-Anna Forsyth; Johannah Duggar; Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Jordyn Duggar as well as sister-in-law Abbie Duggar. Dad Jim Bob Duggar walked her down the aisle.
Jana Duggar called the wedding “a dream come true” in a interview with People before the nuptials.
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“Coming from two bigger families, we love to be able to get together and celebrate moments like these,” she said. “And so to have all of them there, it just means a lot.”
The ceremony took place about half an hour from where she grew up with her siblings in Tontitown.
According to People, Wissman is one of 13 siblings and lives in Nebraska with his large family. He installs irrigation systems for work and also does sandblasting and painting.
Duggar will leave Arkansas to join Wissman in Nebraska, where “he has a little house we bought that we’ve been fixing up,” she said.
Wissmann and Duggar met through their families more than a decade ago.
“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,” Duggar told People.
“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 reconnected years ago and tried dating, but ultimately called things off. They kept in touch, and her brother Jeremiah Duggar married Wissman’s sister Hannah in 2022. They rekindled their romance earlier this year and realized “We still enjoy each other. We still really appreciate each other,” Duggar said.
“Counting On” aired 11 seasons between 2015 and 2020. TLC canceled the show in 2021 following Josh Duggar’s indictment on child pornography charges. The oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The series was a spinoff of “19 Kids and Counting,” which aired 2008-2015, with TLC pulling the plug on the show after Josh Duggar was found to have sexually molested five young girls, including his sisters, when he was a teen.
‘Derogatory and sensationalized’:Duggar parents criticize ‘Shiny Happy People’ doc
Last year, the four-part limited docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” was released and featured accusations, including from fourth Duggar child Jill Duggar Dillard, against the once-beloved reality TV stars known for their sprawling family and conservative values. The series claimed the Duggar parents had joined a cult led by an accused sexual predator as a young couple.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar pushed back against the portrayal of their family in the Amazon Prime series, saying it “paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.”
Contributing: Joy Ashford