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

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June 6, 2018

Destin Beach, Florida Adventures

Destin Beach, Florida Adventures

Finally, Virginia has sunshine!Β It only took two weeks and a lot of flooding for the weather to call it quits! Oh, and apparently, a lot of snakes? Ah! I won’t get into that… But while I was appreciating this amazing weather today, I couldn’t help but think about my trips down to Florida the past few months!! So it’s about TIME I’ve posted photos of my adventures with Alex!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Mid-December, while Alex was at my place for dinner, we anxiously waited for the news where he would do his residency. Around midnight, he received the exciting news he got his first pick down in sunny Florida!!! After doing a rotation last summer, he fell in love with Destin area, the people, and, of course, the beach life. I had never visited Destin before, but hearing how beautiful it was down there made me so excited for him!!! We celebrated and hoped time would start to slow down for the next six months before the big move. But for some reason, it only felt as though time was on fast forward!!! Months turned into weeks and weeks turned into days. Every time we talked about him moving, my eyes flooded with tears (gosh, even now that I’m typing this, my eyes just got watery!!!)! It’s just surreal that now he’s 1,000 miles away. But without a doubt, it’s worth the long distance. <3 Plus, technology is in our favor with Facetime/Marco Polo, which is ideal in between visits. πŸ™‚ And I have his wonderful family in Virginia, as we can all support one another when we are missing him … every day. πŸ˜‰

I had two wonderful road trips down to Florida the past few months, and I’m excited to share both of those adventures today!!!

Part I | The House Hunt Adventure

I cannot believe this was two months ago and I’m FINALLY just now posting our adventure on the blog! Talk about playing a little catch-up. πŸ˜‰ Alex, his family, and I road tripped down to Destin, Florida for a week to find the perfect house for Alex. He was a little skeptical at first wondering if he would really find the ideal house in just a week. It was definitely a crunch, but I had faith he would walk into a house and feel right at home. And if he didn’t find “the one,” then a rental would work in the meantime! Well, Alex was in luck because he found the most quaint, charming cap cod house!!!! We all fell in love with his neighborhood and the Fort Walton Beach area, which is less than twenty minutes away from Destin Beach and only ten minutes away from the hospital where he is doing his rotation! Could not have been more ideal. πŸ™‚ Everything happened so fast after he submitted his offer because, within a couple days, the house was (just about) his!!! From that point, we were all able to celebrate and enjoy the beach, sausage, Pina Coladas, mini-golf, tacos/burritos, the Air Force museum, and all sorts of adventures around the area! I loved spending intentional time with Alex and his sweet mom/grandmother. I adore them all so much and I’m grateful for the memories we shared together on the road trip!!!

Here are some highlights from our time together!!!

Yummy drinks at sunset! The water is unreal. From a magazine, for sure!!! The whitest sand and the bluest water!

We enjoyed walks around the Destin Beach boardwalk and a scrummy dinner at McGuire’s Irish Pub where they take their sausages seriously!

Gosh, he’s SO handsome!!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Okaloosa Island is definitely my favorite place to enjoy the beach life. πŸ™‚ I cannot wait to take a book out and relax the next time I visit! Look at that view!!!

On a rainy day, Alex took his family and me to the Air Force base to explore around and check out the museum. It was fun checking out all of the planes, as it brought back memories attending Air Shows with my dad/grandaddy! <3

I LOVE THEM!!!!!

The sunsets are amazing!!!

You are the Pina to my Colada. <3

Alex treated me to a delicious dinner in Destin with this view … WHOA. YES!

There’s something so special seeing the bond between a grandmother and grandson. <3 Goodness, I’m the luckiest!!!

<3 That water is unreal!!!!

The sweetest women! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

And the sweetest man! Gosh, I miss him and it hasn’t been a week yet!

Part II | The Move

Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend. Andrew and Kate just got married (HEY, love-birds!!!!), and it was finally time to road trip down to Florida. This time, for the “big move.” As we were making our way down to Florida, we were tracking Tropical Storm Alberto and realized that the eye of the storm was drawing in closer and closer to Fort Walton Beach. At one point, the line was over top of his house!!! Of course, though, tropical storms are a bit unpredictable, so we didn’t want to take any chances of driving in the midst of the storm. We ended up driving down 14-hours in one day, but that time flew by fast so it was worth it! We were even able to drive out to the beach and enjoy a little piece of action from the storm. Tropical Storm Alberto decided to swing to the right of Destin Beach, towards Panama City, but it was fun running out in the rain and walk along the beach!!

After some complications with the Holiday weekend and trying to close on his house, he finally received the keys to start moving in!!! It was exciting walking in and seeing the house empty, just imagining how it will soon be filled with not just furniture, but family, friends, visitors, and OLLIE! Ollie is SO excited to road trip down to Florida visit Alex soon!!! πŸ™‚ I cannot wait! We spent the first day in his lovely home cleaning and prepping the house for his things to arrive. After a lot of scrubbing and sprucing up, we called it a day and enjoyed some pizza in his living room with curtains and two beach chairs. I had to hang the curtains to bring in a little hominess. πŸ˜‰ HAHA! The day after, he made it a priority to set work off to the side and spend the day celebrating my Birthday. Gosh, he’s amazing!!! We enjoyed beach time, sausage from McGuire’s Irish Pub (of course), ice cream and a beautiful sunset!!! It was perfect. <3 But before I knew it, it was time for me to head back to Virginia. I look forward to many more adventures in Florida!!!

Here are some highlights!!!

When we entered into Georgia was about the time we considered driving the entire way down to Florida in one trip. And we made it happen, thanks to Alex’s motivation!!!

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

The storm wasn’t as much as it was hyped up to be, but it was still fun running outside and checking out the beach!

Destin Beach, Florida PhotographerDestin Beach, Florida PhotographerDestin Beach, Florida Photographer

Beach tradition β€” Mi Gente tacos!!! Yummy! The moon was so pretty over the water. πŸ™‚

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

IT HAPPENED!!! Alex is officially a homeowner!!!! So proud of him! Also, don’t you love the cozy touch of the curtains with the beach chairs in his house? I say keep the look, Alex. πŸ˜‰ HA!

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

Alex was absolutely the sweetest!!! On my last full day in Florida, he wanted to make sure I was treated for my Birthday. He took the day off from working on his house and took me to the beach. πŸ™‚ I cannot say enough how much I appreciate him and his patience with me. I was having a pretty rough day (involved countless melt-downs) last Thursday dealing with the fact that I was returning back to Virginia without him and that I was turning 30 in a few days. And yet, he persevered with the day and took me to the beach, a delicious dinner, and a relaxing time at the boardwalk while watching the sunset over Crab Island. It was perfect and I can look back on those memories, appreciating them more than he’ll everΒ know!

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

McGuire’sΒ Irish Pub does not mess around with their sausage platters … or their “GodFather” drink … and I LOVE IT! Haha! After our scrummy dinner, we walked down to the Destin Harbor Boardwalk where there was an unexpected air show! So fun watching them while the sun began to set. πŸ™‚

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

Oh, what a view!!!! <3

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

Before I knew it, I was loaded up on a plane heading back home. Ollie and I cannot wait to road trip down to Florida soon!!!! <3

Destin Beach, Florida Photographer

If you are interested in a Destin, Florida (and surrounding areas) shoot or wedding, please contact me at info@stephaniemessick.com so we can chat more!!!!

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