Love on the Rock: A summer at Quinipet that changed everything

Remy Styers pulled into Camp Quinipet in the spring of 2021, looking for a new beginning.

Fresh off a breakup, the North Carolina native, then pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., Remy decided to take a leap of faith on a summer position as the camp’s spiritual life coordinator. Waiting on the steps of Quinipet’s 1882 shingle-style home, Asbury House, was Jake Morris. An artist from Phoenix, Arizona, Jake was returning to camp as the office manager. Eager to help and full of energy, Jake immediately insisted on helping Remy move in.

“I quickly fell in love with how energetic, open, and kind Jake was, not just to me, but to everyone,” Remy remembers.

Jake first started working at Quinipet in 2019 after Jake’s Uncle David, who had worked at the camp in his youth, spoke fondly of his time at Quinipet. Jake’s Aunt Eileen had also sung Camp Quinipet’s praises.

What started as a summer on Shelter Island quickly turned into a deep connection forged over shared music of Bob Dylan, views of Rolling Thunder Revue, and rainy-day sushi dates eaten on a bench by the Greenport carousel without an umbrella. Because the two spent every day together at camp, their connection grew naturally; their bedrooms were literally across the hall from one another in staff housing.

When the summer of 2021 came to an end, the reality of distance set in. Remy returned to Vanderbilt, leaving Jake facing the quiet of Island life in the off-season.

“I knew if I wanted to commit to Remy, I had to do a serious re-evaluation about what I wanted my life to look like,” Jake shared. “And I chose Remy.”

The couple navigated two years of long-distance, challenging chaplaincy shifts and major life moves. In 2023, Jake relocated to North Carolina to build a life together with Remy and canine-friend, Ollie.

Despite demanding work schedules, the pair found closeness in life’s small daily rituals: 

Jake making a fresh French-press coffee for Remy almost every morning; Jake doing the dishes and the couple holding pinky fingers while driving; the two sitting together over Taco Bell, or stacking pillows on Ollie … quiet moments together that brought them back to center.

After meeting at Quinipet in 2021 and returning over the years, the couple eventually got engaged on the Island, where Remy’s proposal left Jake in stunned silence. In a sweet dual-proposal sequence, Remy proposed to Jake on the ferry, and about 30 minutes later, Jake proposed to Remy at Quinipet’s gazebo.

When asked to describe their relationship, Remy calls it “fun, comforting, and easy,” while Jake chooses three vibrant primary colors: “Red, Yellow, Blue.”

“Jake is my safe person,” Remy said. “They are emotionally my soft warm blanket, always calming me, taking care of me, and showing up in the littlest of ways.”

As for Jake’s advice for other couples? “Don’t be so set in your ways. Your willingness to change for another person is a quality of yourself.”

Remy and Jake were married on September 12 at Camp Quinipet, where it all began.

They began the morning sharing a quiet coffee at Stars Café. On their drive, they passed another bride getting ready for her Island wedding. Jake recalled, “When we saw her, we pulled over and Remy yelled out the car window, ‘Are you the other bride on the Island today because I’m the other!’”

While Remy was getting ready in the bridal suite, one of Jake’s favorite tunes by The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows,” played and brought Remy to tears, while those helping the bride get ready yelled, “No, no, no … we have to set your makeup!” Meanwhile, pup Ollie refused to sit still for a single photo.

Friends and family members arrived by planes, cars, trains, and of course, ferries — from Arizona, Calgary, Mississippi, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, and New York. Guests stayed at Camp Quinipet, getting to know each other over campfire s’mores and pizza from Slice. The ceremony opened with their banjo player strumming the opening notes of The Magnetic Fields’ “All My Little Words.” The couple made their way to Aldersgate Chapel, where Remy had guided countless morning prayers during prior summers. Pastor Sarah Howell read passages from Kafka and Romans 12:9–16, setting a tone of reflection. Following their vows, Remy and Jake knelt to wash each other’s feet, a poignant punctuation to the ceremony.

The celebration flowed into cocktail hour. The newlyweds rang the camp bell together, followed by a crisp evening full of dancing, delicious food, and unforgettable camaraderie among those whom Remy and Jake hold dearest. Heartfelt speeches from Remy’s parents, Gray and Barbara, Jake’s dad, Sam, Remy’s brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Carolyn, and Jake’s friend Tyler, all reminisced about the past and shared hopes for the couple’s future. To cap off the night, Jake even managed to sprain a foot on the dance floor during the very last song.

From Island coffee dates to a joyful celebration right back where it all began at Camp Quinipet, Remy and Jake’s journey proves that the best love stories are built on flexibility, small daily rituals, and shared faith. As they step into this next chapter together (even with a sprained foot from the final dance), their anchor remains the deep, comforting bond they forged under the Shelter Island sun.