\In honor of Josie and Kelton's engagement, we wrote out some information about each Bates couple's courtship and engagement timeline. What similarities and differences do you see?
Zach and Whitney Bates
Met in 2012 at Whitney's then-place of employment (Sonic)
Began courting: July 1, 2013
Engaged: September 12, 2013Married: December 14, 2013
Michael and Brandon Keilen
Met in spring 2009 at a ministry in Chicago where Brandon was serving
Began courting: December 30, 2013
Engaged: April 13, 2015
Married: August 15, 2015
Erin and Chad Paine
Met at a Valentine's banquet in 2011
Began courting: December 4, 2012
Engaged: August 5, 2013
Married: November 2, 2013
Alyssa and John WebsterMet in 2012, while Alyssa was helping John's father, Congressman Daniel Webster, with his campaign
Began courting: November 6, 2013
Engaged: January 16, 2014
Married: May 24, 2014
Tori and Bobby Smith
Met through mutual friend Kelton Balka during fall break October 2015 in Pensacola, Florida
Began courting: October 2016
Engaged: September 2017
Married: December 16, 2017
Carlin Bates and Evan Stewart
Met at a women's conference at Evan's church around September 2016
Began courting: August 2017
Engaged: Soon
Josie Bates and Kelton Balka
Long-time friends who announced an official courtship in January 2018
Had been talking for three years but had put the breaks on the relationship early on due to Josie's age
Engaged: June 2018
Photos courtesy of UP