Duggar family plan to hijack Bringing Up Bates daughter's nuptials

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Reality family daughter Michaella will wed longtime beau Brandon Keilen on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.
Jana Duggar is the only bridesmaid not related by blood
The Duggars are doing a 20-hour motor home caravan for the 700 mile trip from Tontitown, Arkansas
The embattled family is welcome at the wedding, but not to use it for their own agenda
Jill and Derick Dillard are missionaries in El Salvador and could make a surprise appearance
'This wedding will be a true test of their friendship,' says an insider, 'Jim Bob shouldn't use this as an opportunity to slither back into public favor'

Published: 10:26 EST, 12 August 2015 | Updated: 12:26 EST, 12 August 2015

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Watch out Bates family: The Duggars are planning on stealing some TV airtime at your daughter's wedding.

The eldest Bates daughter Michaella is set to wed longtime beau Brandon Keilen, both 25, on Saturday at the Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Camera crews will document the happy occasion for the family's hit TV show Bringing Up Bates on the UP Network.

Jana Duggar, also 25, is one of Michaella's eight bridesmaids; and the only one who is not a relative - three are the bride's sisters and three are the groom's sisters. Michaella's mother Kelly Bates, 48, is her matron of honor.

Jana will surely be front and center at the televised nuptials, but the Bates family are worried that the Duggars, who lost their reality show after Josh Duggar's underage sex scandal and who fully intend to tag along to the affair, will try to upstage the family, an insider tells Daily Mail Online.

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Here comes the reality bride: Michaella Bates is set to wed longtime beau Brandon Keilen this Saturday. Camera crews will document the happy occasion for their hit TV show Bringing Up Bates on the UP Network

Besties: Jana Duggar (left) is one of Michaella's eight bridesmaids - the only one who isn't a blood relative

Michealla got engaged this April and quickly lined up her wedding party, she asked Jana to be a bridesmaid and she happily accepted. All of this was done before the Josh Duggar molestation scandal broke on May 21,' an insider told Daily Mail Online.

In July, TLC announced that it was officially cancelling 19 Kids And Counting, and patriarch Jim Bob, 50, is said to have put the kibosh on any possible spin-off program featuring daughters Jill and Jessa.

'But now it's created a bit of a controversy, and some serous issues.'

Brandon designed Michaella's engagement ring

Jana was a natural choice for Michaella, they are only 11 days apart in age, and both the second born child in families of 19.

'Like Jana, Michaella did a lot of heavy lifting in the family, caring for her younger siblings, cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, they have a genuine bond,' says the source.

It was the Duggars who introduced their pals the Bates family of Rocky Top, Tennessee to the world when they were still reveling in the success of their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting.

The Bates had limited spin off success on TLC - their show United Bates of America aired only 9 episodes in 2012.

On January 1, 2015, a re-vamp of the show (now called Bringing Up Bates) aired on the UP Network and brought in big ratings, especially among women in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

'The tables have completely turned,' says the source, 'Now it's his old buddy Gil Bates walking a daughter down the aisle and tearing up in front of camera crews.

Bringing Up Bates features Tennessee family with 19 kids

Family affair: It was the Duggars who introduced their pals the Bates family of Rocky Top, Tennessee to the world when they were still reveling in the success of their TLC show 19 Kids and Counting. Bringing Up Bates aired on the UP Network and brought in big ratings

'While the Duggar family is invited to the wedding, the Bates don't want them causing controversy or trying to hijack the wedding for their own agenda. It will be interesting to see if they get left on the cutting room floor in the editing room, or if Jim Bob will use it as an opportunity for himself and his family.'

No one is accusing soft-spoken Jana of doing anything untoward at the nuptials.

'Jana will definitely get air time. She's a member of the wedding party and truly one of Michaella's best friends.'

The entire Duggar clan is expected to arrive in Tennessee the day before the wedding.

'Even Josh, Anna and their four kids will be there. They plan on doing a 20-hour motor home caravan for the 700 mile trip from Tontitown, Arkansas to Knoxville. They will ostensibly be there early to help out with wedding preparations.'

Jill and Jessa talk about brother Josh's molestation charges

Displaced Duggars: The last time the Duggars were on TV was in June, in a Fox interview with Megyn Kelly after the Josh scandal broke. 'This wedding will be a true test of their friendship,' says the insider, 'Jim Bob shouldn't use this as an opportunity to slither back into public favor,' says a family insider

Surprise? Jill and Derick Dillard are missionaries in El Salvador and are not expected at the wedding, but who knows! They could make a surprise appearance

Jill and Derick Dillard are away on a mission trip to El Salvador and are not expected at the wedding, but they could make a surprise appearance.

Jana's twin brother John David plans on flying some family members in with his plane.

Figure Eight Productions that produced 19 Kids is also producing Bringing Up Bates.

When the Duggars were reaching the height of their fame, they introduced their best friends the Bates to the world on their TLC show in 2009 when it was still 17 Kids and Counting.

The families had met at a home schooling conference in Big Sandy, Texas and recognized kindred spirits in each other's massive size and conservative ways

The Bates guested on the Duggars show, first coming to visit the Duggars in Arkansas.

Later that year the Duggars went to the Bates' house and helped them build a massive addition to their once cramped home.

But once the Bates got their own show on TLC, the Bates family was no longer mentioned and no longer appeared on 19 Kids and Counting.

Similarly, as long as 19 Kids and Counting aired, the Bates family has not yet mentioned the Duggar family on their Up! show.

In a recent episode, Michaela shopped for bridesmaid dresses. The episode was filmed shortly after her engagement, when the Duggars still had their own show. She described her non-relative bridesmaid as a friend, not mentioning Jana by name.

Michaella and Brandon got engaged this April and quickly lined up her wedding party - three Bates sisters, three of the froom's sisters, and Jana

Daddy Bates helps the happy couple make decorations for the big day. It will be a home grown affair

Cameras will roll on Saturday at the Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Bates have managed to stay away from the Duggar scandal thus far. When news broke that Josh Duggar, 27, had molested five girls the Bates family released a statement saying they were 'praying' for their old pals

But now that the Duggars are no longer under TLC's contract, that could all change

'Jim Bob knows many of the crew members that will be there filming the wedding episode. It will be very hard for him to just walk away from a rolling camera. But he should, it's the Bates time to shine.'

The Bates have managed to stay away from the Duggar scandal thus far. When news broke that Josh Duggar, 27, had molested five girls (four of his younger sisters and one babysitter) when he was a teenager in 2002 and 2003, the Bates family released a statement saying they were 'praying' for their old pals.

'This wedding will be a true test of their friendship,' says the insider, 'Jim Bob shouldn't use this as an opportunity to slither back into public favor.'