'Not a dry eye' when bride and brother share a 'first look' on her wedding day
Growing up Nick is "something I wouldn't change for the world."
It may not be the typical first look photos, but that's exactly what makes them so special.
When Ashley Rice was planning her wedding to Brian Sedar, she was "intrigued" by first-look photos, she told "Good Morning America." But she didn't want to do them with her soon-to-be husband.
"I had always imagined us seeing each other as I walked down the aisle. I was chatting with a friend at work about what I should do, and she instantly said, 'Well you obviously need to do one with your brother,' and it just clicked," she said.
Her little brother, Nick Rice, has Down syndrome and is Rice's "best friend," she told "GMA."
"My relationship with Nick is a beautiful one, but also a normal one. I'm his biggest supporter and we love each other fiercely. But, he is still my little brother and we do normal things that brothers and sisters do. We bicker and we annoy each other. We frustrate each other at times, and then the next day they are forgotten, and we're back to normal, and that's normal. At least it is for us," she said.
The bride, now Ashely Sedar, said Nick Rice's initial reaction was "speechless" -- but he recovered quickly.
Sedar said, "He said, 'You are the most indescribable person in the world. I can't even describe it.' It was very sweet and we were both in tears. I'll never forget it."
Growing up with a little brother with a disability is "something I wouldn't change for the world," she told "GMA."
The photos of the first look have been shared thousands of times from photographer Kelsey Gene's Facebook page.
"Little did I know that this first look would turn out to be one of the sweetest things I have ever witnessed, in my entire career as a photographer," Gene told "GMA." "There was not a dry eye in room."