In honor of Valentine’s Day and camp directors, staff, counselors and attendees everywhere, we’re spending Valentine’s week sharing love stories that started at camp. Long-distance romance is a common theme in camp relationships. And, as you’ll see, when it’s time for a wedding, camp is often the perfect place to make it official.
We asked couples who’d met at camp to tell us why they think camp is a great place to meet a life partner and how camp itself helped seal the deal. We think you’ll find these stories as heartwarming as we do.
Meet Alyssa and Elliot Bear
Alyssa and Elliot met at Camp Thunderbird in Bemidji, Minnesota, when she began working there in 2010. She lived in Australia, so the couple dated long distance (meeting at camp in the summers) for FIVE YEARS.
They got married in June of 2015 in the service area of the camp, about 1/2 mile away from the spot where they met. Their officiate was someone who worked at camp and their witnesses were the directors from their boys camp and girls camp, one of which is part of an international camp couple as well, Many other couples who had met at camp and got married/had children attended, as well. Alyssa and Eliot held their Australian wedding ceremony and celebration this past December.
Why is camp a great place to meet your spouse? Alyssa says:
“At camp, people are focused on making connections with each other, and less on the news and technology and all the distractions we face everyday.People at camp are very genuine and less attention is paid to outward appearance and more on the actual person. Camp people are generally more welcoming and less judgemental, at least in our experience. They are also people that have a very similar mindset, and similar interests.
People at camp are very genuine and less attention is paid to outward appearance and more on the actual person. Camp people are generally more welcoming and less judgemental, at least in our experience. They are also people that have a very similar mindset, and similar interests.
We love being outside, hiking, canoeing, swimming, and we aren’t afraid of getting dirty or making fools of ourselves. I think meeting Elliot at camp, we got to know the most genuine versions of each other, without makeup, without fancy clothes, and with no pressure to look or act a certain way.”
Next Up: Friends and mentors often become central to a wedding celebration at camp because love at camp means so much more than romance, as you’ll see in tomorrow’s story.