A Rustic Romantic Barn Wedding at the Garvey Family Wedding Barn in Williamsburg, Michigan

An English class freshman year at Northern Michigan University brought Ashley (27 and a speech-language pathologist) and Phil (27 and an environmental scientist) together to bond over their mutual love of snowboarding. "I remember calling my mom that day and telling her all about this hot guy who was way out of my league. I even found him on Facebook and sent my friend a picture of him," Ashley says. They continued to run into each other on campus time and again, but they didn't actually start dating until their senior year when they started hanging out outside of school. "We would go on hikes along Lake Superior, eat Thai food, and, of course, go snowboarding," Ashley recounts. When Ashley graduated, she moved to New York to pursue her master's at Buffalo State College, while Phil finished his last year in Michigan. They dated long distance for three years--even when Ashley graduated and moved back to Michigan and Phil accepted a job in Illinois--before Phil proposed. Ashley invited Phil on her annual summer camping trip with her family on the Manistee River in Grayling, Michigan, so that her dad could teach him how to fly-fish. They went down to the river with her parents and their fishing gear and spent the day catching fish until just as the sun began to set, Phil got on one knee in the middle of the river. They held their wedding at the Garvey Family Wedding Barn in Williamsburg, Michigan so that Ashley could have the rustic, nontraditional wedding she always dreamed of, complete with rich succulents, a bluegrass band, and a hearty barbecue. From a quilted guest book made by the bride's mother to a floral wedding arch with hanging vases made from ladders, Ashley and Phil's wedding was both beautiful and inspired.