Bringing Up Bates "Countdown to 'I Do"
- Kelly, Tori, and all but three of the bridesmaids make one last trip up to Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, for a final dress fitting at Renee’s Bridal.
- Renee Miller unveils the completed wedding dress, and everyone loves it. “That’ is the most beautiful dress in the world,” says Kelly, who was not a huge fan of the gown before the alternations. “The bling is so awesome,” says Tori. The bridesmaids who are present try on their dresses, and they look great.
- Back at the Bates house, Gil and the boys cut down small trees to decorate the sanctuary.
- “When a girl gets married around here…it’s a family project,” says Gil. The guys are all a little unsure about what Tori and Kelly want, so it’s a bit of a guessing game. They think they have it all figured out, until Kelly returns. “That’s kind of scrawny,” says the mom of 19, looking at one of the trees that was cut down. “It’s gotta look like a tree, big tree, fluffy tree.”
- Six days before the wedding, Kelly takes a few trees to the church to see how they look. “If this was any wedding except for a Bates wedding, I would say we are way behind,” says Kim Nafziger, friend and wedding planner. “But because this is a Bates wedding, this is kind of typical.”
- Erin, Chad, and Carson visit Dr. Vick’s office for an ultrasound. “I’m going to hold her hands,” says Carson, when he sees his baby sister on the screen.
- Dr. Vick gives Erin a clean bill of heath. “16 more and you’ll be there,” he jokes.
- “Every time, I say this is my last,” says Erin. “I don’t know what happens. I’ve gotta stop looking at newborn babies. I think three strikes and I’m out.”
- During a lunch break at work, Bobby works on honeymoon details. He and Tori are planning to go out west to the Yosemite area. Bobby admits he has never planned a vacation or seen a significant amount of snow.
- Kelly gathers the planning team and drops a bombshell. She is having laser surgery to correct her vision as a 30thanniversary present, and she is considering having the procedure four days before the wedding. Kim is very uneasy.
- After seeing the doctor, Kelly ends up deciding to wait on the surgery. The doctor says Kelly’s thin cornea will require a type of laser surgery that has a 4-5 day recovery.
- Carlin does a hair trial for Tori’s wedding. “Are you putting your hair in a bun?” asks Nathan. “On your wedding day, you never put your hair up or in a bun. You leave it down.” Tori wants an updo because she doesn’t want her hair to take away from her dress.
- Nathan holds to his opinion. “At the end of the day, a girl is going to look her very best when her hair is down. Now up hair is great. There’s times for that. There’s times to wear buns. Hey, there’s times to wear your hair in a shower net, but your wedding is not one of those days.”
- To celebrate their anniversary, Gil and Kelly enjoy a romantic dinner at The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, which is where they spent their honeymoon. “This was a really needed break,” says Kelly.
- One week before the wedding, Lawson plays a Christmas charity concert. In the middle of the show, Nathan jumps up on stage and invites his parents to join him. He gives them flowers and tells the audience how dedicated his parents have been to each other and their children over the years. Lawson and Carlin sing one of Lawson’s original songs, “I Will Always,” for Gil and Kelly, who are incredibly touched.
- “My life was mapped out different in my mind 30 years ago,” shares Kelly. “I was very much going to be the career woman, and I wasn’t going to have children for at least five years.” The mom of 19 says she wouldn’t have chosen the life that she is now living but that she couldn’t imagine anything better.