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All of our couples are special to us, but Alie and Rylan they are especially special! Rylan and Caleb, my husband, have known each other since they were born…or even before they were born, if that’s possible! Their moms were best friends while they were pregnant. And believe it or not, Rylan and Caleb are still friends! How often does that happen? Not very!

The last time we hung out with Rylan was at a line dancing club in Norfolk, Virginia…which is fitting seeing as how this is how Alie and Rylan met as well!

Back in November, we ventured down to southwest Virginia to meet Alie for the first time. Seeing the two of them together was so sweet…it was like they had known each other forever. They are the sweetest together!

Before we arrived, I asked Alie if she would be game for a lifestyle engagement session at our sweet, little Airbnb nestled away into the backroads of the mountains. Without hesitation, she said yes. She let me choose their comfy clothes and went along with every crazy idea I had! From sitting on the counter, to cuddling while drinking coffee, to casually wrapping their arms around one another and sitting on the steps…totally normal, right? They were down for it all, and oh my gosh, their interactions just photographed so sweetly and intimately.

We ventured about an hour away from our riverfront Airbnb to visit my alma mater, Virginia Tech. Did I mention Alie and Rylan are from Tennessee and both went to UT? Yea…they put the rivalry aside and were good sports as I showed them around! After enjoying some scenery and eating at one of my favorite local pizza places, PKs. It took me down memory lane, thinking of the many pitchers of beer we drank and free bacon pizzas we won on Tijuana Toss night. Seriously the best—every Thursday you could order a large pizza and at the end of the meal your waiter flipped a coin. If you guessed it correctly—the pizza was free! But I digress…

The next morning, it was beautiful and sunny after the dreary day we had before! We did Round 2 of their engagement session along the river and on the surrounding land of our Airbnb. They cuddled, they laughed, and they sort of froze their butts off because the wind was blowing us away. But they didn’t care because they were so in love and if Alie was happy, Rylan was happy too.

We are looking forward to shooting their May wedding in the mountains of Tennessee! The countdown is on!