It was a scenic drive to Richmond from my home in Baltimore. A three hour stretch coming in and out of cities and farms. There was a long narrow road when my GPS let me know I had arrived. Timidly, I drove a half mile up a dirt road with cows on either side.

But at the end was a bit of a marvel. Katie and Billy had a circus tent set up for guests to nestle under as the sun began to sat. The place settings were peppered with ombre dipped invitations, dye dipped cloth napkins at the tables, and there was eucalyptus falling all over the tent in a rather glamorous way. When guests began to arrive in droves, a ceremony played out, in between a row of giant trees. There were flower crowns, reds and golds, and calligraphy stones as place settings. The DJ played vinyl the entire night and this is how it happened.

Brian & Chris are on a row team in DC which meant I spent a lot of the session asking about the people I only knew as the figures rowing in boats around DC at ungodly hours of the morning who make me feel lazy. I still can’t remember if it’s called boating or kayaking or rowing, but they indulged my questions and for a morning, I felt like an expert. They’re two lovely men who were kind enough to meet me for a sunrise session, share their love of the sport with me, and we ended their engagement session at a coffee house with funny mugs, colorful walls, and lots of laughs.

This session. Everything from Anne being barefoot in the grass to both of them eating ice cream to all the red brick DC has to offer. Maternity sessions done right by awesome people. I hope their daughter has a sense of how cool they are.