When Anna Bozman and her long term partner Travis Thompson tied the knot last month, smiling for wedding photographs seemed almost insurmountably difficult.
While the day was a happy one, it followed a devastating year for the family following the death of Anna’s nine-year-old son Lake, who succumbed to leukaemia after a three-year battle in May.
Desperate to feel that her family was complete again, if only for a moment, the brokenhearted bride asked her photographer Brandy Angel to edit Lake’s image into their family wedding photograph alongside her younger children Trindon (5) and Cambree (2).
The finished image, which was sent to the couple on their wedding night, has since been shared hundreds of times.
“We are still a family of five even though there are only four of us here.” said Anna, speaking about her loss on a Facebook page dedicated to Lake’s memory.
“Although I felt his presence that day and I was actually happy, it was almost unbearable to take family pictures without him.
“I could feel my emotions taking over after the ceremony when it was time to take pictures. I became anxious and almost irritated but I knew these pictures had to be taken.”
Opening the special family portrait made the emotion of the day a little easier to handle:
“I started crying and got the chills. I feel like our family was complete, even though he’s not physically here, the light comforted me,” Anna concluded.
