In the Season 8 premiere episode of Jill and Jessa: Counting On, “First Comes a Wedding, Then Comes a Honeymoon,” Josiah Duggar prepares to get married to Lauren Swanson. Josiah is the eighth of the 19 Duggar children of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Josiah, 20, and Lauren, 19, became friends while working together on Joe Duggar and Kendra’s wedding. When the wedding planner Miss Cindy asked Josiah if he needed help, he mentioned Lauren Swanson and according to Josiah, Miss Cindy “caught on very quickly.” Josiah and Lauren’s courtship lasted six weeks and their engagement was four months.
On Season 8, Lauren’s parents, Lana and Dwain Swanson (parents of nine), spend time with the Duggars. Right before the wedding, Josiah and Lauren are so excited to see each other that Josiah apparently doesn’t know how to hug Lauren properly.They end up giving each other a side hug where their hips meet. Lauren laughs, “No front hug!” But that’s no joke. Josiah admits that saving their first kiss for the wedding “has definitely been a struggle for both of us.” Counting On airs Mondays at 9pm on TLC.
