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Atlanta Mother's Wedding Photos Honor Late Son

Atlanta mother honors late son in family photos on her big day.

ByABC News
November 2, 2015, 6:41 PM

— -- There’s no stronger bond than a mother and her child -- so when Anna Bozman Thompson lost her eldest son to a battle with leukemia six months ago, she couldn’t imagine taking family photos without him -- especially on her big day.

And she didn’t have to.

Last month, when Anna married her longtime boyfriend Travis Thompson in Colbert, Georgia, she asked her friend and Georgia-based photographer Brandy Angel to Photoshop Thompson’s son, Lake, into the photos.

PHOTO: "The light brought Anna so much comfort," Brandy Angel said.
"The light brought Anna so much comfort," Brandy Angel said.

Angel said it wasn’t an easy task, but with the help of a friend, she was able to fulfill Thompson's wish.

“There’s not really a word for this experience,” Angel said. “It makes me feel good to make her feel better even if it’s in a little way.”

A day before the wedding, the Thompsons visited the location where the shoot would take place and there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky, which they associated with Lake, Angel said.

Angel recalled joking with the Thompsons, saying, “I wonder how Lake will show out tomorrow.”

“Oh, he’ll show out tomorrow,” Thompson replied.

And so he did. The day of the wedding, Angel said she felt like she was witnessing a miracle.

“After I started editing the photos ... I was completely covered in chills. The light moved around them, it never changed shape, it never changed color,” Angel said.

PHOTO: "The light brought Anna so much comfort," Brandy Angel said.
"The light brought Anna so much comfort," Brandy Angel said.

Angel texted Anna Thompson the night of her wedding with screen shots of the unedited photos, Thompson told ABC News.

“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,” Thompson said. “We are still a family of five even though there are only four of us here.”