Nate and Sophia’s Maternity Session in the King William District

April 2, 2020

Nate and Sophia’s Maternity Session in the King William District was – how should I say this – EMOTIONAL? JOYFUL? ETHERIAL? PERFECT? I guess all of the above!! It is hard to believe that I have known this sweet family since Scarlett was in Sophia’s tummy!!!! Sophia is one of the biggest reasons I developed a strong passion for Maternity and Newborn sessions – with Scarlett, our session was at the Japanese Tea Gardens, and she blew me away with her model-esque features, incredible wardrobe, gorgeous flower crown (which she wore for baby #2’s maternity session, seen below), and peaceful demeanor. Sophia is one of my absolute favorite mamas, and I cannot WAIT to capture baby (SHH)’s newborn photos!!

As all love stories have a beginning, I thought I’d share the Snell’s. Nate and Sophia met in Richmond, VA where Sophia and her friend Greg went to go visit his brother for the fourth of July weekend. As a college roommate of one of Greg’s brothers, Nate and Sophia’s paths crossed, and something must have clicked because they ended up talking a lot on Facebook.

“Eventually I was Nate’s wedding date for Greg’s brother’s wedding (I told him I should be his date since I was going to be there either way and he would be disappointed if he brought someone other than me) and we have been together ever since.”
~Sophia

They ended up dating for a while long distance because Sophia lived in Boston, so when she graduated from college, Nate convinced her to graduate in Texas! She thought, “I have nothing better to do”, so she moved ACROSS THE COUNTRY because she knew he was the one!

During Graduate School, Sophia – stressed from it all – agreed to go with Nate on a little getaway to Fredericksburg in January. They stayed in a cute little cottage and went wine tasting ALL day! It was romantic and sweet with all the vineyards, a romantic picnic and reservations at a nice steak house. In the back of Sophia’s mind, there was hope and thought of a proposal so of course she had her nails done, JUST in case. 😉 BUT, with all the romance and all the sweet moments in Fredericksburg, no ring just yet. So they took a long nap before dinner back at the cottage, and when Sophia opened her eyes, she was confused to find a video camera set up in the living room…. and then clarity set in. Nate got on one knee and proposed!

May 25th, 2014 was the date and Thurmans Mansion in Driftwood, TX was the place, right on top of the hill next to the Salt Lick BBQ!! When they were looking for venues in Massachusetts and realized just how overpriced it all was, Sophia jokingly tweeted at the Salt Lick to see if they did weddings and it turns out they DO!!!!! It happened to be her dream venue and of course, the BEST catering any of their yankee families had ever had!

Fast forward to the maternal journey and starting a family, Sophia was so sweet to share her story which I know is SO real and so close to many of your hearts! It. Has. Been. A. Struggle. There has been a lot of heartbreak and a lot of different routs to find their journey’s correct path. Before Scarlett, they went to many doctors and finally figured out that Sophia had to have surgery. They were about to start fertility treatments when they found out the surgery actually had worked and they were miraculously pregnant with their first rainbow baby, Scarlett! Then it was time for Scarlett to have a sibling, so they hoped to get pregnant again with a healthy baby just as Scarlett had come along, but sadly they would go through a lot of heartbreak and a lot of different treatments before deciding on IVF. I am so excited for them that their very first transfer worked and growing inside Sophia’s womb is the incredible rainbow baby number 2!

“Nate never let me give up or lose hope that we would have our family, even on the hardest days. We are so incredibly lucky to have been able to make our little girls.”
~Sophia