‘Bringing Up Bates’ Couple Picks up Marriage License

Wedding bells are ringing for one member of the Bringing Up Bates family. Nearly six months after first announcing that they are engaged, Trace Bates and his fiancée Lydia Romeike are now one step closer to saying “I do,” the couple revealing on social media over the weekend that they have officially obtained their marriage license with the countdown to their wedding officially on.

Bates made the exciting announcement on Instagram on Saturday, Sept. 24. The 25-year-old Bringing Up Bates alum shared a picture of himself and Romeike in front of a government office building with wide smiles as they held up their marriage license. He went on to share in the caption, “can’t believe it’s only eight days till I say I do… Love you so much.”

Bates and Romeike first began dating in August 2021, confirming their romance via Instagram that December when Bates wrote, “So blessed to call you mine.” Just months after going public with their relationship, Bates, the eighth out of the family’s 19 kids, dropped to one knee and popped the question on the rooftop of the Embassy Suites hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, in March of this year.

“It’s hard to describe the emotions you feel when you are fixing to ask the girl of your dreams to marry you,” Bates told Us Weekly at the time. “I just know that Lydia is my best friend, and she’s the most positive thing in my life. It’s hard to imagine a day going by without seeing her or talking to her. I knew I wanted her to be by my side forever, but planning the where and the how and all of the details of the engagement was a task! I wanted the timing and setting to all be a huge surprise, so I was grateful for the help of my sister Josie [Bates] and her friend Chloe. It’s hard to believe we are finally engaged and are making wedding plans!”

Of the engagement, Romeike added that her fiancé “went through so many hoops and planned so hard to make this day perfect for me.” She said she felt “so blessed to be preparing to marry someone that loves me so much. I’m overjoyed… “I don’t think I’ve ever admired him more or been more speechless!” The couple are set to marry this upcoming weekend. They are also currently in the process of renovating their first home together, which is the rental property Carlin Bates and Evan Stewart previously lived in.