I’m Stephanie, a wedding + lifestyle photographer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Warrenton, Virginia. Whether I’m by the mountains of Colorado or Virginia, my soul feels at home, surrounded by rural living and the raw beauty of nature. I genuinely love what I do, and feel so passionate to share the enthusiasm and joy of these celebrations with you!

DOCUMENTING LOVE'S UNSCRIPTED CHAPTERS FROM COUPLES & FAMILIES IN COLORADO + VIRGINIA

@stephaniemessickphoto

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August 20, 2014

Caitlin Creative Works | Design Feature

I am so proud of one of my brides, Caitlin, so I thought I would share her talent and have her as a guest speaker while I’m in Charleston! I remember receiving an email when we first started chatting about me photographing her wedding, then chatting about graphic design. After all, that is what my degree is in. 😉 Now, she is pursuing her own business in design work and I have no doubt she will be successful! I absolutely love her work and in fact, she has designed other stationery for my other couples like Clint & Alexis and my upcoming wedding this weekend, Evan & Ally! Her talent is going to take her far and I’m excited to watch her grow! 🙂

Be sure to like her on Facebook and follow her updates!! Her website will be launching on November 15th!!! YAY! Feel free to contact her at if you want to just email her at cwechtal@gmail.com to say hi and see what she can do for you! 🙂

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What inspired you to open your own design business?
Starting a design business has been in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember. I graduated from Virginia Tech four years ago and jumped right into the corporate world, but I felt there was a little something missing from my day-to-day. I had been asked by a handful of people here and there to do design work for them on the side. My family has always been incredibly supportive of my “dream”, and I have to hand it to my [now] husband for giving me that big push to jump in head first and make CCW a reality!

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What is your favorite part about owning your own business?
I feel so blessed to even say that I own my own business – pinch me! I think a lot of small business owners would say that their favorite part is being their own boss and setting their own schedule. While I absolutely enjoy that, hands down my favorite part is getting to know my clients. I have been able to work with some of the most kindhearted people. Right now, with CCW I primarily work with brides, and it is so neat to be able to work with women who are in the midst of such an exciting time. It’s amazing to be able to be part of making their wedding day visions come to life!
7-clint-alexis_ceresville_mansion_maryland_wedding_photographer-11_web(pp_w860_h645)_webShe designs a personalized logo just for the bride & groom making it an unique detail!
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Where do you hope to be in the next 5 years?
This is always a hard question for me – five years?! I love setting goals and looking back to see my progress, though. In the short term, I plan to grow my business presence online. In the long term – five years from now – there are lots of little things that I hope to achieve along the way, but I would be tickled to go completely full time with CCW. I absolutely love my current full time job, and it would be tough to do a complete change over, but I have no plans to hold myself back any time soon! 🙂
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Fun fact about yourself?
The best fun fact… I have an identical twin sister! She will admit to not having an artistic bone in her body, but every now and then I see that she really does. She was such an incredible help in planning and envisioning the details for my own wedding day!
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What inspired you for your very own wedding day? Your details were amazing!
I tell all of “my brides” this when envisioning their wedding day details… We are so lucky to have access to wedding magazines, websites… PINTEREST, and it’s easy to get caught up in everything you see on the internet. I’m not knocking these though – it’s so important to know what’s out there, what’s been done, what’s realistic, and of course, what you like and don’t like for your own wedding day. Pinterest is such a powerful tool for this, but I used it just as that – a tool. My strategy was to take what I clipped, scrolled through, pinned, to the next level and make it cohesive, and most importantly, more “us”. Every single wedding day is (and should be!) as unique as the couple, and it’s so, so important to never lose sight of that!
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If you want to contact Caitlin for any design jobs, please email her at cwechtal@gmail.com to get to know her! She’s SUPER friendly, professional and will absolutely make your special day unique and beautiful!
Keep up with her recent work on Facebook!!! 🙂
  1. Grace Middleton says:

    Congrats on your design venture, Caitlin! I love your work and will keep you in mind for any party planning/design needs.