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

find inspiration

Gallery images

November 1, 2021

Coffee Talk Mondays

Coffee Talk Mondays

It has been TWO months since I last blogged… and almost a YEAR since my last “Coffee Talk Mondays” post!!! So much has happened in the past year. Wad a baby, moved across the country, went from owning just one property to now almost four investment properties (more about that later) and more to add, photographed/managed associate photographers for nine weddings in two months (due to so many 2020 postponements), took on a new side hustle that will be added to my business (again, more about that later too), and SO much more!!! It has been a crazy season … and admittedly, stressful. But so many great things came out of it as you’ll see below!!

I could easily catch up with this past year, but let’s just keep it to just memories from this past month!!!

COFFEE TALK

MOCHA MOMENTS
THE SWEETER MEMORIES FROM THIS PAST MONTH

1
WE HAVE A SLEEPING BABY!

I thought I tried EVERYTHING to get my boy to nap… and I really wanted him to be flexible with napping anywhere. Except naps only worked if he was in the stroller or in the car. Not really convenient as a working mom… but our worlds were rocked when we started sleep training Jack! Not only does he sleep 11-12 hours a night, BUT miraculously, he takes actually NAPS during the day! WHAT? I went from chasing him around the house all day long to now actually having 3+ hours of work time! It has only been a week since we started and I wish I did this months ago when he regressed (around the 4.5 month mark)!!!

I’ll forever praise Becca’s sleep training program! Check out her program through her business, Little Z’s! She’s also based in Richmond, VA! Hello!!!! 🙂

The first night of the program was pretty rough getting him through the new system … But since that first night, it has been a piece of cake thanks to her tips!!!

2
ALL CAUGHT UP WITH EDITS!

As you can imagine, to photograph, manage associate photographers, and edit nine weddings, nine sessions, and 6 mini sessions in two months … with a baby who didn’t nap … was HARD! Again, I so wish I sleep trained before then, but we were bouncing back and forth to and from Virginia so often that our schedules weren’t consistent at all! Now that we are together as a family for the first time in a while, we are soaking in this season! Especially, now that I’m done with editing. 🙂 Which means I finally get to take the time to share them on the blog in the coming weeks!!!

3
GRATEFUL FOR ALEX

This guy has been my rock through this stressful season! Although, he’s been pushing us in new directions to better our future. And while it can be hard adding more to our plate, I appreciate his focus on our family. <3 He’s definitely a family man and Jack and I couldn’t be more grateful for “DADA!” in our lives!!!

Coffee Talk Mondays

4
SETTLING INTO COLORADO

I didn’t realize how long it would take us to settle in. It’s been almost four months since moving here and we’ve done SO much! But now that we aren’t hosting family/friends and we aren’t traveling, we finally had time to get involved in our community through new/old friends and church! I’m looking forward to establishing our family here over the months/years ahead. 🙂

Coffee Talk Mondays

5
FAMILY VISITS!!!

We had family come visit for two weeks the beginning of October — Gosh, they came at the most beautiful time of the year in Colorado!!! The fall colors were in full bloom and it was a treat to adventure with them from the mountains to the pumpkin patch and so much more! We are so thankful we had the time to have everyone together! And it was especially special to Jack to have quality time with his great grandmother, uncle, aunt, and cousin!!

Coffee Talk Mondays

ESPRESSO MOMENTS
THE BITTER MEMORIES FROM THIS PAST MONTH

1
NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN A DAY!

I mean… don’t we all feel this some times? Or at least let me be cloned so I can get more done in a day. 😉 HAHA!

2
STINKING WISDOM TEETH…

After months (actually.. years) of pushing this off, Alex finally got his wisdom teeth out! In fact, he must be extra wise because he had SIX wisdom teeth! Crazy. Anyways, he was a trooper with his recovery and enjoyed all of the extra family snuggles while he had time off from work. 🙂

Coffee Talk Mondays

Happy Monday, everyone!!

Reply...