Ten Thirty One Creative

You don’t always know which wedding photograph is going to become important to you. Sometimes it’s the portrait you spent months imagining, but sometimes it’s a photograph you barely thought about when it was taken.

It’s your mom helping you get ready. Your dad seeing you in your dress for the first time. Your best friends making you laugh when you’re supposed to be taking a serious photo. Your siblings standing beside you. It’s your wedding party being completely themselves or someone you love watching from across the room while one of the biggest moments of your life is happening.

And sometimes, it’s a photograph with someone you had no idea you’d someday give anything to have one more picture with.

Wedding days move quickly, and it’s easy to think, “We can take a picture together another time.” And hopefully you can. But take this one anyway. Take the family pictures. Take the picture with your parents. Grab your siblings. Get all of your friends together, even if everyone is being ridiculous and nobody is looking at the camera quite the way they’re supposed to.

That’s also why, when I’m photographing a wedding, I’m not only paying attention to the couple. I’m watching the people around them. I’m looking for Mom helping with the dress, Dad trying to hold it together, the bridesmaids laughing together, the groomsmen being idiots, and the people quietly watching something special happen between two people they love.

The flowers will eventually be gone. The reception will end. The dress will be packed away. But the people who showed up, celebrated with you, helped you get ready, stood beside you and loved you through this season are part of the story too.

Years from now, some of the photographs you’re most thankful for might not be the ones you planned at all. They might simply be the ones that remind you exactly who was there.

Photograph them. 🤍

Everyone else sees a bride putting on her wedding dress, but her mom sees the little girl she used to help get dressed. Everyone else sees a groom standing at the end of the aisle, but his mom sees the little boy she raised.

There are moments on wedding days that probably don’t feel nearly as significant until years later—a mom buttoning the back of a dress, a dad trying to hold it together during a first look, or a parent watching from across the room as their child dances with the person they’re going to build a life with.

After photographing over 100 weddings, I’ve learned to keep my camera pointed toward the parents during those moments, too. While everyone else is watching the beginning of a marriage, they’re watching the ending of an entire season of parenthood.

And that’s worth remembering.

Happy Labor Day from Ten Thirty One Creative!

Running this business has given me a whole new appreciation for the work that happens behind the scenes. The hours spent photographing are only a small part of it. There are late nights editing, early mornings packing gear, timelines to build, emails to answer, galleries to deliver, and so many little things that happen before and after I ever pick up my camera.

But I’m incredibly grateful that this gets to be my work. I get to document wedding days, growing families, new chapters, and moments that people will carry with them for the rest of their lives. That’s something I never want to take for granted.

Thank you to every couple, family, and person who has trusted Ten Thirty One Creative and supported this little business. You’re the reason I get to keep doing what I love.

I hope today gives you a chance to slow down, rest, and enjoy some time with the people you love. Happy Labor Day!

Moms, this is your reminder to get in the picture.

I know your camera roll is probably filled with thousands of pictures of your kids, but when you look through it, there might not be nearly as many with you in them. Hand someone else the phone, set the timer, and take the picture even when you don’t feel completely put together.

Years from now, your children aren’t going to look at those pictures and notice the things you were insecure about. They’re going to see their mom. They’ll see the way you held them when they were little, how small they were next to you, the way you looked at them, and the way they reached for you without even thinking about it.

One day, those ordinary moments won’t feel ordinary at all. They’ll be some of the pictures they’re most thankful to have.

So get in the picture, mama. Take the photo.

September feels a little different when you have a senior.

For so many years, the school routine has just been part of life. Then senior year gets here, and suddenly you start realizing how many “lasts” are happening. The last first day of school. The last homecoming. The last football season. The last year of seeing that backpack dropped by the door every afternoon.

At the same time, there’s so much excitement. College applications, graduation plans, figuring out what comes next. You get to watch them start making decisions about their own future and becoming more independent right in front of you.

That’s one of the reasons I love senior photos. I get to photograph them exactly as they are right now, in this weird little space between being the kid you’ve raised and the adult they’re becoming.

Class of 2027, soak this year in. It’s going to go by way faster than it feels right now.

There’s something really special about watching two families show up to celebrate two people choosing each other.

Wedding days are obviously about the couple, but they’re also full of all the people who helped get them there — parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and the people who have loved them through every version of themselves.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I get to pull the two of them away for a little while and photograph the beginning of their own family.

That part will never get old.

Christ-centered Texas + Travel wedding photographer.
Based in Tyler + DFW, serving East Texas, Dallas–Fort Worth & beyond.

If you’re planning a wedding, here’s your reminder: you do not need to fill every minute of your wedding day.

Some of the photographs couples end up loving most happen in the spaces where nothing was scheduled.

Your mom helping with the final button on your dress. Your bridesmaids sitting around talking before the ceremony. Your dad seeing you for the first time. Five quiet minutes with your new husband before walking into the reception.

A good wedding timeline doesn’t just make room for photos. It makes room for you to actually experience your wedding.

After photographing 100+ weddings, that’s one piece of advice I’ll give every bride: leave a little breathing room. You’ll never regret having time to be present.

Texas + Travel Wedding Photographer
Ten Thirty One Creative
Tyler • DFW • East Texas & Beyond

There are certain details on a wedding day that immediately remind me why no two weddings are ever the same, and this was one of those moments.

Instead of purchasing a traditional getting-ready robe, the bride chose to have her mother’s wedding dress transformed into one she could wear on the morning of her own wedding. As her mother helped her get ready, it became more than just a beautiful detail—it became a reminder that marriage is often a story that spans generations.

It’s moments like these that reinforce why I believe wedding photography is about far more than beautiful portraits. The flowers will eventually fade, the music will end, and the timeline will become a memory, but photographs preserve the stories behind those moments. Years from now, this family won’t simply remember what she wore while getting ready. They’ll remember why it mattered.

One of the greatest privileges of my job is witnessing details that carry so much personal significance. They may go unnoticed by most people, but they’re often the moments that become the most treasured part of a wedding gallery.

If you’re planning a wedding in Tyler, East Texas, or the Dallas–Fort Worth area and you’re looking for a photographer who values the moments that make your story uniquely yours, I’d love the opportunity to preserve them.

Dylan & Kailee Rock
01.02.2026
Woodbine Mansion | Round Rock, Texas

Clyde & Erica Cross
The Mason | Dallas, Texas
08.15.25