14 DAY TRIAL // Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard, who entered formal courtship earlier this year, are married. Jill is the second daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, stars of the TLC hit reality series 19 Kids & Counting, and her courtship with Derick has been documented on camera.
So, as fans know, she and Derick never kissed. The Duggars (and Dillard) have very strict religious beliefs which forbid most forms of physical contact before marriage. For instance, Jill and Derick didn’t even hold hands, let alone go out on dates alone until they became engaged to be married.
On their big wedding day, in front of “1,000 family and friends at the Cross Church in her hometown of Springdale, Arkansas,” as People magazine reports, Jill and Derick shared their first kiss ever, after they became wife and husband in the eyes of God.
They have previously shared for the same publication that they were nervous about this moment, but determined at the same time to resist all kinds of temptations to touch lips until then.
“I think it is safer and makes it more special to wait to kiss until your wedding day. To save the physical side of your marriage for your wedding day and not going further than you should – we want to have no regrets,” Jill said.
Derick was of the same mind, saying that there were countless other ways to get to know your future spouse without the physical part. “I am the most blessed man to have Jill,” he added.
People also has a first photo of the newlyweds, with Jill looking radiant in her wedding gown as the groom beams with pride by her side.
More photos are bound to emerge online soon but, even if they don’t, chances are fans of the Duggars will get to see a bit more of the ceremony in one of the upcoming episodes of 19 Kids & Counting.
The same media outlet notes that the entire Duggar family was involved in the wedding. “Five of [Jill’s] sisters were bridesmaids, two brothers were groomsmen, her sisters and a niece served as flower girls, five brothers were ushers and a brother and nephew shared ring-bearer responsibilities,” the report notes.
Jill and Derick met through her father and, for some time, maintained a long-distance relationship through email and Skype because he was in Nepal. They fell in love then and, when he returned to the US, they met in person and entered into formal courtship.
After some time of dating (with chaperones and a complete ban on touching and kissing), they understood they were made for each other, so they became engaged. As of a few yours ago, they are united for life.