Pregnancy. It can be the most incredible, miraculous experience and also the most challenging, all consuming struggle. Or maybe both! However you’re feeling about being pregnant, your feelings are valid but also your baby bump is worth capturing! You may not feel beautiful at times, you may not feel like you are “glowing” like others might claim, but I can see it and I would love nothing more than to capture this fleeting, life altering season for you!

This Maternity Session at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina was easily one of my favorites to date! It was a drizzly evening in September, but the storms held off for us to capture the sweetest, most excited first time parents in front of some of the best views that Asheville has to offer! These rolling hills and giant trees always make me think that a Jane Austen novel character (okay, yes I am specifically picturing Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy) is going to come running up over the hill!

The neutral tones this couple chose for their outfits looked gorgeous against the backdrop of rolling grassy hills, green trees and the blue ridge mountains out in the distance! You can find similar dresses to this one on Amazon, Ivy City Co, and Worth Collective! I also have a large collection of bump-friendly and nursing friendly dresses saved to my LTK Page! Follow along for updated styles for the whole family!

And mama, you can go all out on your dress but wear whatever makes you feel comfortable on your feet! I love how this mama to be wore sneakers to her maternity session! You can find them and similar ones here!

One thing I absolutely adored about this couple is they were comfortable enough to have moments that were

genuine, sentimental, and romantic

as well as moments that were…

silly, playful, and joyful!

They were down for anything! Running, dancing, even laying in the grass! We had such a fun time together and I found myself wishing they lived closer so we could actually hang out!

Maternity Sessions will always hold a such special place in my heart. There is so much excitement and suspense and you can just feel that the family you are photographing is on the precipice something brand new that will change their family and their lives forever! Whether it’s your first or your fifth, that feeling is always there and these portraits are always so special and so sentimental, for you and me!

babymoon + maternity photos

If you are debating on whether or not to take a Babymoon or whether or not to take Maternity Photos, my advice to you will always be to…DO IT! Your Babymoon doesn’t have to be extravagant or super expensive, I baby’s are expensive enough, but that special time together as a couple before your lives and your family change forever is so important for your relationship and something I wish I cherished more before having kids. We we were so focused on wanting to start a family and get pregnant, and also so naiive to what that really meant, that I feel like I didn’t cherish the time of just the two of us as much as I could have.

Come to Asheville

If you’re looking for a location to visit for your Babymoon, consider coming to Asheville, NC or Hendersonville, NC! Home to the gorgeous Biltmore Estate and surrounded by the incredible Blue Ridge Mountains, you will find the best views and most fun outings all around. There are more breweries than you can imagine (with non-alcholoic options too!), hikes and waterfalls for the adventure seekers, and the cutest restaurants and small businesses everywhere you look! Not to mention, our area suffered devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in September of 2024 and could greatly use your tourism to help us rebuild and to help the amazing small businesses that make WNC so special to remain open.

And as for those Maternity Photos…

Okay look, I know I’m biased…but DO THE PHOTOS! Book the photographer. Wear what makes you feel beautiful. And go! I promise you, you will look back at them over and over and over again. You won’t believe how big your belly was. You won’t believe that your baby, your toddler, your child, your teenager, your adult kid was ever able to fit inside of you! You will look back on your past self and admire her strength and her resilience. You will look back on her and see how much you have grown and learned since then. You will look back on her and envy her for all of the amazing things she is about to experience for the very first time. The photos will help you remember all of the things that pregnancy brain and sleep deprivation are going to try to make you forget.

Get the photos done.

Cherish them for a lifetime.

You won’t regret it.

Thank you for reading!

xo, Rachel