Saturday, December 16, 2017

Tori Bates is Married!


What a lovely afternoon watching Tori Bates become Mrs. Bobby Smith at a beautiful wedding in Knoxville, Tennessee! The purple and silver, alongside white trees, made for a gorgeous, wintry setting. As expected, the wedding party was made up mostly of siblings. The audience laughed and cried as Pastor Gil Bates officiated the ceremony with the perfect combination of tenderness and humor.

Tori was glowing in her stunning Renee Miller wedding gown. (I--Ellie--was invited to join the Bates ladies the day Tori chose her dress.) The lemon-blueberry wedding cake, made by Kelly Bates' sister Kay, was simply divine.

We enjoyed exchanging hugs and hellos with members of both the Bates and Duggar families. The Duggars are close friends of the Bates, and most were in attendance today. We were also thrilled to chat with a few followers of our blogs.

Details of Tori and Bobby's special day can be found at People.com.

61 comments:

  1. That was fast reporting Ellie! We sat at the table with you tonight (I had all the boys.) Lovely wedding, lovely people. Nice to meet you Ellie. :) ~Beth

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    1. It was so nice to meet you, Beth! You have a beautiful family. :)

      Ellie

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  2. I have a question and in no way mean to be negative. When did Gil attend seminary? Or does he just have a license to perform weddings? It doesn't seem like he's had time to go to seminary school to become a pastor.

    I do wish Tori and Bobby much happiness.

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    1. I was thinking the same thing

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    2. The regulations on who can officiate a wedding vary from state to state. In the particular state where I live, it is not required that the preacher/minister/pastor even be registered with the state as such in order for them to perform a ceremony. They must simply sign the license, and the "ceremony" where the preacher officiates the wedding is more of a formality.

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    3. It depends on state laws and each particular denomination/Reformation. Many denominations don't require seminary but they do require ministerial training under a licensed and ordained minister/pastor/bishop. Some even require the "minister-elect" to preach their first official sermon at their licensing/ordination.
      My own state does not require seminary nor to see the Minister's license, only that they have one on hand in case it should every need to be presented.

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    4. A Notary can marry people in most states.

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  3. Hi! Please let us know who all was in the bridal party specifically, and show some pictures!

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  4. Can't wait to see more pictures besides the one on the People site!

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  5. Congratulations to you Bobby and Tori!

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  6. Why are you calling her Mrs. Bobby Smith? She still has an identity outside of her husband! She is her own person! Please show some respect for women and refer to her as Tori or Mrs. Tori Smith.

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    1. It's traditional. Nothing wrong with it. Calling her Mrs. Bobby Smith doesn't take her identity away that's your personal feeling and you are pushing that negativity onto her. You have a very feminist view on the subject. There is being pro women's rights and then there is taking it to far and pushing your views onto others. It's traditional and it's pretty. She's totally fine with it so let it go.

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    2. If she has her own identity I bet she can decide for herself how she wants to be called. This is how she addresses herself.

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    3. Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Bobby Smith! May you have many blessed years together!

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    4. Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Bobby Smith! May you have many blessed years together!

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    5. Stop complaining over every little thing. I'm pretty sure Tori doesn't mind. Why are you?

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    6. She is Mrs. Bobby Smith, or Mrs. Tori Smith or Tori....none of these titles sho a lack of respect for women. Chill out a bit

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    7. Oh for crying out loud! If she wants to be called that, then let her. I'm proud to be called Mrs. Husband's First name and Last name.

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    8. Seriously 10:48?

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    9. Really?!!? There is NO problem with calling her Mrs. Bobby Smith. I see taking on the husband's name as an HONOR, not a dishonor. Taking your husband's name is not "becoming your husband" and taking on her husband's identity, it's taking on her NEW identity as a married woman. It's a respectful, honorable tradition that in no way disrespects women. Don't create problems where there are none.

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    10. Please dont speak for all women 10:48. There are some who don't mind being referred to as Mrs whatever our husband's name is. We haven't lost our identity and it certainly isn't disrespectful to us.

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    11. There's always one ^

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    12. 5.00 Make that two. I am known by my first name and my surname not my husband's. It's who I am.

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    13. The Bible says that when you marry the two become one. I love being called Mrs. followed by my husband’s name. It isn’t disrespectful at all and doesn’t diminish me as a person.

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    14. 5:00- I've been married for almost 30 years and always use my own name. I also can't recall ever being addressed as Mrs. using both my husband's first and last name. Perhaps it's a regional thing. In any event, it's a matter of personal preference.

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    15. 1:31- How woud the groom feel to be referred to as Mr. Tori Bates? Wouldn't that be an honor as well? To each his/her own, but I disagree with the idea that traditions are necessarily respectful. Sometimes they are simply archaic and demeaning- like in the past, that good ol' tradition of women not being allowed to own property. I understand that some religious folks think that the man is the head of the household, etc. However, there are a great many people who do not ascribe to that belief and consider marriage a 50/50 proposition.

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    16. Tori is most likely thrilled to be Mrs. Bobby Smith.

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    17. Mrs. Smith is sweet. It's actually her name. Mrs. Bobby Smith is silly.

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    18. I'm not sure why it's necessary or considered respectful to refer to any married woman by the husband's first, as well as last name. Sometimes traditions are downright ridiculous.

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    19. anon 1:31- I think you have to be very cautious when saying a woman is taking on a "new identity" when she marries. In my opinion, it's more of a case of assuming an additional role- for both partners. We are who we are in terms of a sense of self, regardless of marital status. Certainly, we continually take on new responsibilities throughout life. These, in turn, help us gain new perspectives, experience and maturity. I have been married a very long time, happily I might add. My advice to young couples just starting out... don't lose yourself. Don't let a piece of paper define who you are as a person. You may be a spouse or parent, but first and foremost you are a human being.

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    20. I have lived in California for nearly all of my life, and even I know that being Mrs. Husband's name is traditional. And there's nothing wrong with tradition. As others pointed out the Bible teaches that husband and wife become one. And the Bible also teaches that the husband is the head, and the wife submits to her husband. So, the husband traditionally would never take on his wife's name. And for those of us who fully submit to our Lord Jesus Christ, we go by what the Bible says instead of being full of pride and making our own rules.

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    21. Well written, issa!

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  7. tori looked absolutely beautiful! the flowers are gorgeous. cant wait until you can post some of your pictures too! i'm glad you had such a great time.

    do you know if bobby & tori will be staying in tn? i remember them being sort of up-in-the air before they were engaged

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  8. CONGRATIONS TORI & BOBBY SMITH ON YOUR WEDDING CANT WAIT TO SEE THAT CLIP ON BRINGING UP BATES YES

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  9. That's precious. Sounds like it turned out to be a blessed wedding. God bless them both.

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  10. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH
    TORI AND BOBBY
    CONGRULATIONS ON YOUR WEDDING ! Wishing you
    100 years together to love and make memories

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  11. Congratulations to Tori and Bobby.

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  12. You are lucky girls! Have a merry christmas, joyeux Noël! Géraldine

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  13. I️ hate we couldn’t make it to the wedding! Would love to meet y’all sometime! I’ve been following your blogs for years now!!

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  14. Congrats tori and Bobby Smith. God bless them both for the new future together as a married. 😍🎉🍾💍🙏👰🤵

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  15. Now that is a beautiful gown

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  16. This family might’ve have conservative values, but they all have been allowed to speak their mind. If Tori didn’t want to be called anything in particular, I’m sure she would quickly correct the error. It is not shameful to be referred to by your husband’s name. If you’ve watched the show, you’ll have seen her journey falling in love with her classy young man. Don’t look for snakes where none reside.

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  17. Goodness, I believe Ms Carlin might be tumbling down the slope called love at high speed. Look at her beautiful expression!

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    1. I don't get the need of 700 people at a wedding.It doesn't seem intimate but showy. They also seem to focused on weddings.

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    2. Well if you split it in half it's only 350 people on both sides. When you have all your family members, friends from home, and college friends -who probably all brought dates- I wouldn't call it showy.

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    3. Why can't you just send your congratulations and leave off the negative stuff ? If Tori should come here to read comments later on then she should be able to feel good because people love the Bates.

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    4. Some of us would love to have the good fortune of a godly husband and be called Mrs. So and so. And wouldn't feel disrespected at all. It would be a boring world if everyone thought and acted exactly alike. No need to get angry because of difference of opinions. That is the disrespect.

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    5. Roddma - You (and I) probably don't know 700 people well enough to invite to a wedding, but they obviously do. Not everyone wants a small, intimate wedding. Also, I'm confused by your comment that they seem to be focused on weddings. They have 19 children, who are most likely going to be getting married at some point. 19 children = a lot of weddings. Do you mean that they should treat the weddings with little attention? Or that they shouldn't have so many weddings? In about ten to fifteen years, my family is probably going to be focused on weddings too. It's a stage of life.

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    6. Big families know other big families with their same values...So of course there will be lots of people...its legistics, add them up and you will see its not so strange...Oh by the way, their kids are growing up, therefore marriage is the next stage in their life for that family... so to say they focus on weddings is just plain silly.Cant we all just be happy for this couple...I am🤗

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  18. Tori looks stunning, love her hair and wedding gown. Can't wait to see more pictures. Congratulations Tori and Bobby on your wedding...Jane

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  19. Congratulations to the happy couple!
    May the abundance of love and compassion continue to bless you. 💜💜💜

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  20. Congratulations to the glowing, happy couple! May the abundance of love and compassion continue to bless you through your married lives.

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  21. Ellie, I am sorry I did not know you were at the wedding as my husband and I were. We have attended all five weddings and it is always a joy to see the family and share our love for each other. I wish I had a chance to meet you. Thank you so much for what you do to keep us connected with the Bates. God bless you.

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    1. Hi Alice,

      That's too bad! We would have loved to meet you. It was a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?

      Ellie

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    2. It was a beautiful wedding. I would have loved to talked to more people but with 700 people, you would have been there all night and all day the next day. lol Crystal

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  22. The wedding was so beautiful.

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