Jana Duggar’s Marriage: ‘A Dream Come True’

Jana Duggar is a married woman! The former Counting On star, eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, wed musician Stephen Wissmann in a “classic, elegant” ceremony attended by 500 guests in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on Thursday, Aug. 15. Duggar described the event as a “dream come true.”

“I think it is one of those things that all girls envision someday,” Duggar, 34, shared with PEOPLE. “For me, it felt like, ‘Okay, it’s never coming.’ But now it’s starting to sink in,” she continued. “Reality is starting to set in. And I’m like, ‘Wow, this truly is something that I’ve dreamed of.’ And just to see it coming about is incredible and kind of hard to believe. It’s a dream come true.”

Duggar and Wissmann, one of 13 siblings and a member of The Wissmann Family gospel band, first met years ago and briefly dated before going their separate ways. Despite this, they continued to talk to each other “on and off.” Their romance was rekindled after Duggar’s brother Jeremiah married Wissmann’s sister Hannah in 2022.

“It was like, ‘What are we doing? We still enjoy each other. We still really appreciate each other,'” Duggar recalled. “I had been a slower mover on it, but just over time, his character, his coming back, still loving me no matter what. It takes me a bit to open up, but I think just his continuing to be there, no matter what, through ups and downs. He’s been a good friend over the years and has not pressured me in a lot of ways.”

Rumors of the couple’s engagement began last month when Duggar was spotted wearing a ring during a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, with her twin brother John David and his wife Abbie. Though they remained silent on these rumors at the time, they later confirmed to PEOPLE that they got engaged on June 15 and are now reveling in newlywed bliss after exchanging vows on Aug. 15.

The ceremony took place at The Grand at Willow Springs. Duggar’s sister Jessa Duggar Seewald served as the maid of honor, and the bridal party included her sister-in-law Abbie Duggar, as well as her sisters Joy-Anna Forsyth, Johannah Duggar, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, and Jordyn Duggar. Duggar walked down the aisle to “Holy, Holy, Holy” wearing an off-the-shoulder ivory satin ball gown, which she described as “classy and a bit like a princess.” Her father walked her down the aisle. “Having both of our families there for the big day was important,” she told the outlet. “Coming from two big families, we love to be able to get together and celebrate moments like these. So to have all of them there, it just means a lot.”

Reflecting on her path to marriage—a journey she admitted was challenging after watching 11 of her 18 younger siblings exchange vows before her—Duggar stated, “I haven’t always understood what the bigger picture is, but I know that God knows what is best for all of us. And so for me, it’s getting married later. Each of our stories will be written differently. If we were all the exact same, it would be a boring life. So I think it’s neat how God orchestrates.”

Now married, the newlyweds are excited about starting their life together. Duggar plans to move away from Arkansas and settle down with Wissmann in Nebraska. Speaking about the big change, Duggar said, “It’s great. We’ve been working, he has a little house we bought that we’ve been fixing up and getting pulled together, and so that’s been fun.”