Hey, friends! Today we’re sharing Thea and John’s engagement session, and honestly, it was one of those evenings where everything just came together. We started at Maymont Park before making our way over to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and somehow ended up with gorgeous weather, dreamy light, and one of the sweetest couples to spend an evening with.

If you’re looking for inspiration for a Richmond garden engagement session, these two locations are hard to beat.

Starting Their Engagement Session at Maymont Park

Maymont is one of our favorite places for engagement sessions in Richmond because it’s just so big. Even when something unexpected happens, like a huge music festival with hundreds of people walking around, you can almost always find somewhere quiet.

That’s exactly what happened here.

We had scouted out a spot before Thea and John arrived, only to have a wave of concert-goers head straight through where we were planning to start. So…we pivoted. Within a couple minutes we found another little tucked-away area that was just as beautiful and gave them a little privacy to settle into being in front of the camera.

Honestly, we sometimes choose these quieter spots anyway. Most couples show up saying some version of, “We’re excited…but we’re also a little nervous.” Having a space where they don’t feel like everyone is watching makes a huge difference.

They Forgot About the Camera Almost Immediately

One of our favorite moments happened within the first minute.

After setting up their first pose, we told them to get even tighter together, and then look at each other. As soon as they did, they both broke out in the most genuine laugh and smile.

That’s always what we’re looking for. It’s never about perfectly posing every finger or making someone look stiff. We want couples interacting with each other, and once Thea and John started doing that, everything else just fell into place.

John also took every direction I gave him incredibly literally, which made the whole session even better! It was honestly adorable, and every time they’d laugh afterward, we’d remind them, “Whatever you’re doing right now…keep doing that.”

They Actually Practiced Before Their Session

One thing that completely made our day was hearing that Thea had actually read through the engagement session prep guide we send our couples. She told us they had been looking through our blog posts together and had even practiced one of the lift poses beforehand. We loved that!

Pickup poses are one of those things we usually save until later in a session because they can feel a little awkward if a couple isn’t comfortable yet. But Thea immediately said, “Nope…we want to do that one.” And sure enough, they had it down.

We barely had to adjust anything, and those ended up being some of our favorite images from the evening.

A Meaningful Stop – Lewis Ginter Garden Engagement Session

After Maymont, we headed over to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and this stop couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. John actually proposed to Thea at Lewis Ginter, so it already held a special place in their story.

Even better, it happened to be one of the Flowers After 5 evenings where dogs are allowed inside the gardens. Which meant their dog got to come too! It’s almost as if we planned it… 😁

Including Their Dog Made the Session Even Better

We’re always excited when couples want to include their dogs during their engagement session, and theirs might have been one of the most well-behaved pups we’ve ever photographed.

Seriously. He stayed right by their side the whole time and was clearly such an important part of their little family.

We kept our time at Lewis Ginter fairly simple, staying near the entrance and wandering just a little way down the paths, but we didn’t need much. The gardens were absolutely glowing.

Golden Hour at Lewis Ginter Never Disappoints

Every time we visit Lewis Ginter as a family, especially during Flowers After 5, we’re walking back to the car saying the same thing. “We need to photograph here.”

Whether it’s an engagement session or someday a wedding, it’s just one of the prettiest spots around Richmond.

The flowers were completely in bloom, golden hour was filtering through the gardens, and everything had that soft, dreamy feeling that photographers are always hoping for. It was honestly hard to take a bad picture.

Already Looking Forward to the Wedding Day

On the evening, thea looked absolutely stunning! She had her hair and makeup done by Kelsey with Radiant Reflection, and everything photographed beautifully throughout the evening.

More than anything, though, these two were just fun to be around. They were willing to laugh at themselves, trusted us completely, and genuinely enjoyed spending the evening together.

Those are always our favorite sessions. We already can’t wait to do it all again on their wedding day next year.

For now, enjoy a few of our many favorites from this beautiful Maymont Park and Lewis Ginter Garden engagement session here in Richmond, Virginia. Congratulations again, you two!

Check out other engagement session spots here in Richmond.