PICS: Creepy or sweet? Bride edits late husband into wedding photos
What was meant to be the happiest day of her life was a day filled with grief and sorrow for Debbie Gerlach. Instead of being heartbroken over the loss of her soul mate, Debbie found a creative way to ensure her late husband was there to celebrate with her.
The grieving process is different from person to person. While some choose to bottle up their feelings, others find a way to deal with the emotions.
Debbie Gerlach chose the latter approach. November 11 was going to be the day that she would get married to the love of her life, Randy Zimmerman. Sadly, he tragically died in a motorcycle accident nine months before the big day.
However, instead of allowing her tragedy to get the better of her, she decided to find a creative method to commemorate what would have been their wedding day.
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She hired a photographer and held a wedding photoshoot like no other. Debbie got the photographer to insert pictures of her late husband into the photos that she shot.
Posing in the Arizona desert, she donned a wedding gown, got her hair and make-up done, and posed beautifully alone before the edits were made. Once the photographer added her Photoshop skills to the photos, she made them look as if her late husband-to-be was there alongside her, kissing her, and holding her.
While she looked blissful and radiant in the pictures, inside, she was heartbroken.
"Today was supposed to be the best day of my life. Today was supposed to be the day I married my best friend. I was supposed to wake up, put on my wedding dress and walk down the isle (sic) to the man of my dreams. Today, in front of all of our family and friends Randy & I were going to express our love for each other once again, and our vows that we would hold sacred to our hearts. Today was supposed to be the day I have dreamt about since I was a little girl. Today I was supposed to become a wife. Today I was supposed to become Mrs. Zimmerman... ...but today I woke up alone as I do every day," she said in a post.
Debbie shared the pictures on her Facebook page for the world to see. Check them out below:
Her pictures have been met with love and support from thousands of Facebook users.
One of the comments, from Facebook user Johane Sayser Sr, read: "Incredibly precious story. Thank you for letting us into your world. May you find healing and strength to continue your amazing journey."
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Before concluding her post, Debbie shared a very important message to those who read it.
"Please I beg each and every one of you that reads this post, WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES, stop at stop signs and drive with care because you never know whose whole world is on that bike. Maybe if that person stopped, I’d be marrying my Randy, my best friend, the love of my life," she said.
I can’t begin to imagine the pain that Debbie continues to go through.
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For me, I couldn’t imagine going this route, and would probably find solace in past memories as opposed to Photoshopping my late partner into future experiences. This seems a little on the macabre side for me, but each to their own.
What do you think? Was her photoshoot sweet or creepy? Let me know below.
Main image courtesy of Facebook/DebbieGerlach