Sweet and Soft Family Session at McPherson Farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | Breauna, Aaron & Luca

If I wrote everything I wanted to say, this post would be pages long…

I met Breauna and Aaron in June of 2021 when my husband and I were shooting Carley & Justin’s Virginia Wedding. Both Breauna and Aaron were in the wedding party, and like at most weddings, I befriend the bridal party enough to often become friends on Facebook.

Many times, I lose track of who is who, what wedding, when, where, etc as time passes. But something was different about Breauna. I often saw her posts of her sweet little boy on my feed, or more photos of Breauna and Carley together, and even the announcement that she and Aaron were expecting a little girl.

I was also pregnant at the time with our son and it is such a blessing to be expecting at the same time as other mom’s so you can feel not so alone in a very new experience.

But our experiences quickly became very different. When I read Breauna’s post on December 5th 2021. Breauna had been experiencing severe pain for sometime in her abdomen. That pain was confirmed as large mass that was in fact cancerous. Diagnosed with stage 3 Sarcoma, Breauna began her chemo treatments.

Her full story is not mine to share, but just a few months later, on March 2nd of 2022, Breaua and Aaron shared that on February 26th, they had lost their baby girl.

My heart broke.

This girl that I had only just met briefly at a wedding the summer before I just wanted to run to her and hold her hand and tell her that it’s okay to hurt, to be mad, to be in pain, to be so frustrated and confused. That it’s okay to feel every emotion because she has every right.

Since that day, via her Facebook posts, I have been in absolute awe of the strength that this woman exudes. The kindest smile and softest eyes and the most powerful heart.

When Breauna reached out for their family photos, the opportunity was truly an honor. Last night was the most beautiful sharing of time together, sweet laughs, some shy smiles, a monkey, a very independent little boy, the most genuine love, and as I said — a woman who exemplifies the incredible thing it is to be both so strong and so gentle all at once.

To Breauna, Aaron, and Luca – may the years ahead be softer on your hearts, but may you also see more clearly the incredible ways in which you’ve grown.