We’re getting married!

Tyler and Josie both had summer jobs working in the OutPost (OPP) at Pretty Lake Camp in the Summer of 2014. This was Tyler’s second year at camp and Josie’s first. Don’t let the name fool you, working at Pretty Lake isn’t always…pretty. After a couple weeks of breaking up fights, crappy camp food, run-away campers, flirtatious late night talks on the dock, wild camp parties, and pep-talks from co-counselors; Tyler and Josie had their first, one-on-one “hang out” off camp grounds. Tyler took Josie to his favorite Kalamazoo restaurant (Hunan Gardens) for lunch followed by a trip to Josie’s favorite hiking spot (Al Sabo) for a hike and hammock hang. Next thing we knew, we were spending more and more time together both on and off camp. The camp rumors were starting to swirl. As time went on, we really weren’t sure whether to categorize our continued interest in each other as genuine, or the result of “Camp Goggles.” (*Camp Goggles: the phenomenon that occurs when you get a couple weeks into camp and even the trees start to look attractive. It’s the point at which a real-world “5” becomes a camp “10,” and everyone can see it but you) We got our answer when summer 2014 came to an end, and our relationship continued. The “Camp Goggles” never came off. Tyler and Josie spent two more summers together at Pretty Lake, with each off-season spent long-distance at different colleges. After graduation, we spent one final summer together at Pretty Lake Camp before Tyler moved to Atlanta to serve with Americorps, and Josie stayed in Kalamazoo to began her MSW program at WMU. After another loooooong year apart, we decided to call it quits on the long distance drama, and made the move to Detroit TOGETHER! 5 years later, we couldn’t be happier with the decision we made! After almost 8 years together, we have moved to new cities and new homes, battled long distance, survived a global pandemic, adopted two rescue pups, started an Etsy business, lost loved ones, gained loved ones, got stranded all over Michigan with car (and some minor emotional) breakdowns, purchased a new car (due to the aforementioned breakdowns), thrifted (a lot), laughed (even more), managed a wildly inconvenient basement flood, bought a little camper, and watched countless hours of WWE, Pistons basketball, Seinfeld, and VH1 Reality TV.