A sneak peek of Monday’s Counting On reveals the moment Kendra Caldwell almost said yes to the dress.
The now-wife of Joseph Duggar took a trip to Kentucky to go wedding dress shopping ahead of her September 2017 ceremony.
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Caldwell instantly fell in love with the first dress she tried on — a cap sleeve ball gown with a sparkly, fully embellished top — but with one hesitation.
The clip from the TLC show, obtained by PEOPLE, showed the 19-year-old beaming as she walked out of the dressing room to her entourage of family seated around the mirrors. While she looked overjoyed, she admitted the moment was surreal.
“It was definitely strange to see myself in a wedding dress,” she said in a solo confessional. “You always dream of the day, but when it actually arrives, you can’t really believe it. It’s like, ‘Is this really happening?’”
Her family and Duggar’s praised the sparkly look of her dress and the way it complemented her figure and complexion.
Caldwell also raved about the dress, saying, “This dress top is perfect for me because the whole top is covered in sparkle — I mean, tons of little jewels. And I really liked the modest, higher neckline.”
But in the end, she didn’t say yes to the dress without making a modification.
“When it came to the skirt, it’s just boring,” she admitted. “It’s not my personality.”
When Caldwell walked down the aisle to Duggar, 23, she wore the same beaded top featured in the clip, but opted for a frillier, more detailed skirt. She tied the knot — and shared her first kiss — with her husband in the sparkling dress of her dreams.
Three months later in December, the couple announced they are expecting their first child. In February, they revealed they would welcome a baby boy.
“Wow! We are so happy to learn that our firstborn is a boy! Our minds are already racing toward all the future memories to be made with this little guy! Most of all, we are already asking God to bless him and help us grow him into a loving and faithful follower of Christ!” Joe and Kendra said in a statement on the family website.
The pair have known each other for years, having met at church when they were younger. They announced their courtship in March 2017 and Joseph proposed to Kendra at his sister Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth’s wedding in May. “We are so grateful for how the Lord brought us together,” they said in a statement on the Duggar family’s blog at the time.
Counting On airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
