diff --git a/factory/alchemy.py b/factory/alchemy.py
index 4e7ad6a2..f934ce5d 100644
--- a/factory/alchemy.py
+++ b/factory/alchemy.py
@@ -24,8 +24,11 @@ def _check_sqlalchemy_session_persistence(self, meta, value):
 
     @staticmethod
     def _check_has_sqlalchemy_session_set(meta, value):
-        if value and meta.sqlalchemy_session:
-            raise RuntimeError("Provide either a sqlalchemy_session or a sqlalchemy_session_factory, not both")
+        try:
+            if value and meta.sqlalchemy_session:
+                raise RuntimeError("Provide either a sqlalchemy_session or a sqlalchemy_session_factory, not both")
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
 
     def _build_default_options(self):
         return super()._build_default_options() + [
diff --git a/tests/test_alchemy.py b/tests/test_alchemy.py
index 9cac036b..19e4f5ee 100644
--- a/tests/test_alchemy.py
+++ b/tests/test_alchemy.py
@@ -286,7 +286,6 @@ def test_create_get_session_from_sqlalchemy_session_factory(self):
         class SessionGetterFactory(SQLAlchemyModelFactory):
             class Meta:
                 model = models.StandardModel
-                sqlalchemy_session = None
                 sqlalchemy_session_factory = lambda: models.session
 
             id = factory.Sequence(lambda n: n)