Recap: 'The Wedding To-Do List'

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "The Wedding To-Do List"...

• Michaella calls Brandon to tell him that Wallace Memorial Baptist Church has agreed to let them use the church for their wedding. The church has a youth lock-in that weekend, so the Bates and Keilens can only set up for the wedding the day of, and the reception must be over by the early evening.
• The Bates family has a fabulous oral surgeon who works with their budget. Zach, Michaella, Erin, and Tori have all had their wisdom teeth pulled, and now it's Lawson's turn.
• According to the family, Lawson has a pain tolerance of zero and is very melodramatic when it comes to dental procedures.
• On the day of the surgery, Gil brings a camera to capture Lawson's entertaining post-op for Kelly, who stays home because she is prone to fainting during the kids' medical emergencies. The mom of 19 can handle pain herself, but when she sees her children in pain, it makes her feel lightheaded.
• When the procedure is over, Lawson plays up the severity of his condition, but he manages to take a selfie on the drive home.
• Brandon comes to Tennessee so he and Michaella can meet with a wedding coordinator friend, shop for wedding bands, and choose brown tuxedos. Tori and Carlin go along as chaperones.
• Most people would consider 500-800 guests to be a massive wedding, but according to Nathan, "anything under 1,000 is a small wedding." Lawson agrees. Brandon, on the other hand, considers a small wedding to be one with around 50 people. Michaella and Brandon are going to have less attendees than all three previous Bates weddings.
• Although Michaella's wedding is going to be big, she and Brandon are committed to keeping it cost effective, which makes Gil very happy. "Sometimes when I see [my dad] crying when the girl is walking down the aisle, I wonder if he is crying because he is losing his girl, or if he is crying because he is seeing all the things he bought that he is just discovering," says Nathan. 

Tonight: Wedding Prep and Wisdom Teeth

Are you ready to check in with the Bates clan on tonight's all-new episode of Bringing Up Bates? The show starts at 9pm ET/8pm CT on UP (video preview below). For those of you who can't tune in, come back to the blog at 9:30 ET/8:30 CT for a written recap.

Bringing Up Bates "The Wedding To-Do List"
Michael and Brandon meet with a wedding planner to go over the details of their upcoming nuptials. Meanwhile, Lawson brings out his inner drama queen when it comes time to have his wisdom teeth removed.

Communicating with Judson and Jeb

Judson (almost five years old) and Jeb (three-and-a-half) are the youngest of Gil and Kelly Bates' 19 children, According to the rest of the Bates clan, these boys have a language of their own. "We don't understand anything [Jeb] says, but you can tell him and Judson get into some really deep discussions sometimes," shares Lawson in the video below.

Bates Do P.E.

Zach Bates was recently given the opportunity to attend a police academy. To prepare his son for the intense physical training that would be part of the program, Gil put him through a workout. Whitney and a handful of the Bates kids joined in.

"I kind of dread all the exercising because I know how much more I'm going to have to do in the next few months," Zach revealed in a recent interview with UP.

Everyone gathered on the porch in workout attire, and Gil--with Jeb on his shoulder--demonstrated various exercises, including jumping jacks, pushups, toe touches, "foot fire," situps, and lunges. When the crew finished those, Gil sent them on a run.

"My dad's a little crazy, " says Tori. "I think the tree work has kept him in shape pretty well.

"I think all these kids have kept him in shape," adds Carlin.

Gil Bates was very involved in athletics as a kid. He earned his college degree in physical education and planned to be a P.E. teacher. Gil and Kelly Bates work physical education into their kids' everyday lives, assigning them house projects and ensuring that they spent plenty of time playing outdoors, but from time-to-time, Gil puts the children through a vigorous workout.

What's New With the Bates?

The Bates share all the latest family updates in the following video. With 19 busy kids, the Bates are bound to make another big announcement soon, so stay tuned.