Delani + Hayden | Real Wedding - Shayla Cristine Photography

When you’re surrounded by love stories all day, like the Shayla Cristine Photography team so blessedly is, it’s pretty easy to see how storytelling comes into play in every aspect of our lives. From behind a lens, we witness how every meet-cute, chance encounter, and coincidence ends up leading one person to another. And then, of course, how it leads those two people down the aisle together as one!

(Yes, we know how unbelievably lucky we are to be a part of this real life fairytale stuff. That’s why we have to share our adventures with you, too!)

Of course everyone fawns and fans over how fate intervenes in our lives, how just one moment can make a world of difference when it comes to finding your soulmate. But love stories outside of the silver screen? Well, they don’t always begin that way, as we’re sure you know well by now.

But our love-addled, rom-com fed hearts cling to those stories nonetheless! So we end up forgetting to adore the little details of life among all the big, life-changing moments, too. We forget that fate isn’t always a flash-bang in the night, but instead, and more often, something that’s been building and growing right in front of you all this time.

Delani and Hayden, the swooning lovebirds we crossed state lines to hang out with, met in grade school — when they were 11, to be precise. Luckily for the both of them, their fate was the building and growing kind, and not the flash-bang. (We don’t know about you guys, but our team is pretty sure that our 11-year-old selves weren’t our best selves.)

The two teens began dating in high school, more growing and building, and eventually fate brought them here. Here being their gorgeous, fall wedding day in Texas, of course!

And what a beautiful place it was to be, with loved ones near and celebration in the air. After years of building their love story together bit by bit, it culminated as a classically elegant yet perfectly personalized ceremony uniting the two together.

As with all stories, Delani and Hayden’s is still to be continued. Our team of love-obsessed, local wedding photographers was deeply honored to capture this chapter, and we can’t wait to see what else fate has in store!