An emotional bride fought back tears when she looked at the work of a live portrait artist on her wedding day and saw how her late mom had been painted into the work.
When bride Daniella Apa Giansante, 27, initially hired Catarina Cruzeiro to paint her wedding day, Daniella’s mom, Jennifer, was involved in the planning and looking forward to the big day.
But Daniella and her family were left crushed when Jennifer passed away from a sudden and unexpected heart attack at age 58.
Jennifer’s passing was extremely tough on Daniella, leaving a “huge hole in my heart,” she said.
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And so, before Daniella’s big day, on September 28, she asked Catarina if she could include her mom in the finished work.
Following the ceremony at St. Jude Roman Catholic Church in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, Catarina got to work on her painting, which she captured on video as it came to life.
The finished work saw Daniella’s husband, Anthony, 28, kissing the bride in an empty church with no guests in the pews.
But there, at one end of the aisle, a person stood proudly, their hands clasped as they smiled at the couple.
That addition was Jennifer, and as soon as Daniella headed over to see Catarina’s work, tears began to form in her eyes.
The moment was captured on video and later shared on social media. And the clip soon went viral, garnering more than 10 million views.
Daniella said: “I was watching throughout the night and saw my husband and I in the painting.
“Someone came up to me to ask if I saw the painting; I said ‘Yes,’ and they said, ‘No, Daniella, come again…’ and when I saw it, I lost it.
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“Unless you have lost a parent, I don’t think you will understand the feeling.
“It’s like she was alive for that split moment.
“The painting meant as much to my dad as it did to me and I am going to get a copy and print it for him.
“Everyone was crying, but not out of sadness – we all felt her with us the whole day, so seeing it was insane.
“I can’t even put it into words.
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“When a child loses a parent, especially the way I did, it’s like a piece of me left with her.
“For that split second, that piece was back with me.
“Every time I look at the painting, it feels like she was physically there the entire day.
“I haven’t seen her smile in two years, so it was like seeing her again in real life.”