A Rustic, DIY Wedding at Camp Concordia in Gowen, Michigan

Johanna Barz (24 and a nurse technician and PA student) and Garrett Golke (22 and an environmental scientist) met at Camp Concordia in Gowen, MI in Summer 2011 where Johanna was the camp nurse and Garrett was a camp counselor. When the summer was over, they dated long distance for three years before they got married. Garrett proposed to Johanna while hiking along a scenic reservoir with a photographer on site capturing the entire moment. They chose to have their wedding at the place where they first met, Camp Concordia. Not only did Camp Concordia have a special meaning for them, but it also provided the perfect setting. "We wanted an outdoor rustic wedding but we also wanted a chapel to get married in," Johanna says. The most meaningful moment of the wedding for them was the Christian foot washing ceremony that represented the self-sacrificing love in marriage. Johanna's favorite color is light yellow so their color palette was yellow and gray with rustic accents of burlap and twine. Flower arrangements were made with sunflowers, daisies and baby's breath. "I absolutely love sunflowers because they remind me of joy and happiness," Johanna says. Adding some DIY elements, Garrett created the centerpieces which were a mix of sunflowers and daisies with rustic mason jars and bottles on wooden slabs. Johanna and Garrett made sure their entire wedding day was consistent with their original themes of Christian and rustic elements.