Josie Bates is in an official courtship with Kelton Balka! Kelton popped the big question at Emerts Cove Covered Bridge in Sevierville, Tennessee, a town near Gatlinburg. The UP crew was present, as was photographer Taryn Yager.
Photos courtesy of TarynYagerPhotography.com
Josie Bates and Kelton Balka
Josie and Kelton
Photos courtesy of TarynYagerPhotography.com
Beautiful picture!! God bless both of you!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Josie and Kelton. You are a beautiful couple. Best wishes in the coming months. I will be sure not to miss your wedding....GOD BLESS YOU!!!
DeleteWait are they engaged to be married? This question is from a fan
DeleteJosie's hair! It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI feel like Josie is a lot older than she looks. She seems very mature
ReplyDeleteShe’s like sister Alyssa who was married at 19 and baby at 20. Alyssa was just so amazingly grown up and mature at such a young age. I sure felt mature, enough to be focused and do well in college, but really wasn’t ready for marriage and baby then. That’s a whole other level of mature. I was married at 24 and first child at 30. I wish I had felt ready sooner to have children it would have been easier. I feel so much older physically in 30s than I did in 20s!!
DeleteI think it's the almost grey tone to her hair color that makes her look older.
DeleteI was married at 23, got pregnant less than 6 weeks later and it was really wonderful, as I didn't have siblings and wanted more children. In the "old days" some docs wouldn't treat you if you got pregnant at 30 and older. They put the "fear of God"in you, that something would go wrong. Our oldest daughter will be 47 in July and we will be 48 years married Oct. 2018. We had our last child when I was 29. Had lots of energy and never regretted having our children young.
DeleteLove this family!! Awesome photos!! Congrats!!
ReplyDeleteI guess we won't know all the details until it is aired on the show, however it seems that this courtship "proposal" might have been a little more low-key than other's and I think that is great. It was beginning to look like these proposals had become some sort of competition to see who could be more over the top. Perhaps these young girls like that but having a more low key event can be just as meaningful. Both Josie and Kelton seem to have their feet planted firmly on the ground. I wish them well.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your comment
DeleteAgreed
DeleteI agree! Simple is better than over the top in my book!
DeleteAgreed. Such a lovely couple :) Congratulations to them!
DeleteGod bless Kelton and Joise!!!
ReplyDeleteI think there will be a spring wedding and a summer wedding for the Bates family. And LOTS of new grand babies in 2018 and 2019!!
ReplyDeleteI am puzzled by the fanfair with these courtships. It isn't an engagement after all, rather more like going steady with lots of rules. Why not keep it low key instead of advertising it? You never know if there will be a break up. If I remember right, the oldest had a courtship not work out. I guess it makes for program content, though.
ReplyDeleteYes! Why announce courtship? Wait till the engagement and surprise everyone! How embarrassing if you were to break up!
DeleteWhile the Bates give me the impression of not being as obsessed with fame and fortune as other "Reality" families, I do think there is indeed some "advertising" going on, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out someone working for the TV show "helped" the young men to come up with these elaborate courtship proposals.
DeleteIt also seems the Bates definitions of courtship have "evolved" for lack of a better word. Michael and Brandon's courtship was presented (and still is on their own website) as the next step after a completely platonic friendship, not an indeterminate "we won't use that unGodly Dating word, but we'll call each other boyfriend and girlfriend" stage of the relationship.
I also think they would not announce an "official" courtship to the public unless they are fairly sure they will last and end up at the altar. But obviously there no guarantee. Nathan also had a failed courtship. Even engagements can be broken.
I also recall Carlin once made a comment about one of Evan's songs, that is about trying to woo someone still getting over a breakup, that implied she had been in a similar situation. So Evan may not have been her first "boyfriend", though it seems he is her first "courtship".
They look so cute, but I do have to mention that with the females always in dresses, the women always look so dressed up while their men look so casual. She looks lovely in her pretty dress, and nice boots, and he is just in jeans and a Nike zip up jacket. They don't look balanced. He should have some nice business casual pants on, belt, good shoes, and nice shirt, especially for this occasion.
ReplyDeleteDid this happen before Tori and Bobby's Wedding?
ReplyDeleteI am really glad for them, nice couple to watch.
ReplyDeleteJosie make and keep goals of your own. Make goals as a couple and goals for yourself. You will live a happy life and be a better wife for it.
ReplyDeleteBy far my favorite Bates
ReplyDeleteLovely young couple - Let's hope they take their time to become engaged and/or married. There should be no rush. If their love is real they will be able to wait awhile - Josie is mature, but very young.
ReplyDeleteIf their love is mature, no reason to wait!
DeleteCongratulations Josie & Kelton!
ReplyDeleteKelton kind of reminds me of Gil, his build/stature.
ReplyDeleteJosie looks more mature for her age.
ReplyDeleteHappy that Kelton and Josie are taking a deeper look into each other's hearts by entering a courtship. God bless them both.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how mature Josie is, she’s very young to be contemplating marriage. I wish them well though
ReplyDeleteWell, while the Bates are a little less traditional than the Duggars, they ultimately share the same beliefs about following the Biblical "tis better to marry than burn" concepts about early marriage.
DeleteThat being said they do have a rule about no courting until age 18, and Bates courtships take a bit longer than most Duggar ones, so I don't think they find teenage marriages to be ideal, either. So far only Alyssa and Josie have actually started courting at 18.
They, like the Duggars, have so many dating rules. So their going steady or "courtship" is made into a big deal. I'm not knocking them, because to each their own. Seems like it's a mini engagement proposal. Nonetheless, happy for Kelton and Josie. I hope everything works out and an engagement is in their future.
ReplyDelete