20 Years, 20 Duggars

This past week's episode of "18 Kids and Counting" was a celebration of the Duggar family and their beginnings. This episode was devoted to Jim Bob and Michelle's wedding renewal ceremony, including the preparation for it.

The morning of the wedding renewal, the older girls helped prepare for the wedding by making sure they had everything packed, and by helping the little kids get cleaned and dressed for the wedding.

For Jim Bob and Michelle's 25 years of marriage, the producers quizzed Michelle on each child's birth and personality. She started with their oldest child Josh, and worked her way down. Michelle thoroughly answered correctly about all her children. The producers interspersed these answers throughout the entire episode. This part of the episode was very interesting because the audience learned some fun facts about the kids they may not have previously known.

To continue preparing for the wedding, Jim Bob, Josiah and Joy-Anna went to pick up the cake. They brought it to the church early so they could set it up ahead of time. While transporting it there, one of the younger boys lightly smudged the cake, but it wasn't ruined very much.

All the while, the producers scattered tidbits of Jim Bob and Michelle sharing early memories of their relationship, including how they met, their first kiss and how Jim Bob proposed to Michelle.

When Jim Bob and the younger kids arrived at the church, Michelle and the older kids were building a backdrop for the ceremony. Because Jim Bob and Michelle had decided they wanted to have the ceremony in the same church and in same exact spot they had had their original wedding at 25 years earlier, the family had to accommodate to fit the church. Jim Bob and Michelle had had their ceremony in the hallway of the church 25 years ago, because at the time, the church didn't have a chapel. The family had to make the backdrop because now there was an information booth in this hallway.

After the backdrop was put up, the Duggar family quickly finished last-minute preparations for the wedding. Michelle and Joy-Anna set up the cake; everyone helped finish setting up the decorations; the older girls tapped "x"'s on the floor of where everyone was supposed to stand; and the older girls organized all the dresses and suits because "they are extremely good at organizing." To make things easier, Michelle and Jim Bob had allowed the younger boys to get dressed at home, earlier that morning. This seemed to make a difference.

As soon as most everyone was dressed, the Duggar's extended family members, like Cousin Amy, begin to arrive. Everyone was excited to see Amy.

Then Michelle put her dress on. She said it felt a bit tighter in the belly, but luckily the dress had strings on the back so she could loosen it a little. When Jim Bob saw Michelle in her wedding dress, he said she looked beautiful.

Finally, the moment had arrived. Jim Bob and Michelle renewed their wedding vows in front of all their family, friends, and most importantly, children. For their wedding renewal, almost everything was the same as their first wedding, including the music, vows, pastor, church, and location. The only portions that were different were Michelle's dress, and the kiss. Michelle said Jim Bob was much more confident this time. In their first wedding, he was much more reserved.

Throughout the entire ceremony, Michelle and Jim Bob were overwhelmed with emotions. All of the children were in the wedding, including Anna, Josh's wife. The older kids were either groomsmen or bridesmaids, and the younger children were the ring bearers and the flower girls. In the end, everyone thought it went well, considering that they didn't have a rehearsal.

Afterwards, the Duggars had a reception that also went well. There they had cake, photos, and celebration.

"Being married to Jim Bob has been an adventure," Michelle concluded.

The episode ended with the two driving off in their yellow bug.