Saying goodbye to a wife and mother: Father and daughter recreate old wedding photos in the ultimate act of love

Ben Nunery and his young daughter Olivia have published a beautiful photoshoot, in which they bid farewell to their home and to their wife and mother Ali, who died of cancer at the age of 31…

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

When Ben Nunery and his wife Ali got married in 2009, they decided to take their wedding photos in their brand-new home, where they planned to make a life together.

However in 2011, 31-year-old Ali passed away from a rare form of lung cancer, leaving behind her husband and their 1-year-old daughter Olivia. After two years on a "roller coaster of emotions", as Ben describes it, he and Olivia are ready to move out of the home they shared with Ali - but not without saying goodbye.

As they were moving through the house, Ali stopped to play with her mother's curling iron, mirroring an old wedding photo.
As they were moving through the house, Ali stopped to play with her mother's curling iron, mirroring an old wedding photo.

With help from his sister-in-law Melanie Pace, a professional photographer, Ben and Olivia set out to create a unique set of photographs that would help them to pay tribute the past and remind us that life moves forward.

Speaking with TODAY.com, Ben said: "I was just really looking for a way to say farewell to the house, and have some things that Olivia and I can have to...remember the house.

"When Ali and I got married, we closed on the house the day before our wedding, so we did wedding photos in the empty house."

Left: 2009, Ben waits for his bride Ali to come down the stairs. Right: 2011, Ben and Olivia play in the stairwell.

When he wrote about the experience on Melanie's blog, Ben explained that, while his is a heartbreaking story, it is not a story of grief and sadness:

“Many people have asked me how I felt while doing that photo session. What I want them to know is that this isn’t a story about grief and loss and hurt. Yes, I’ve gone through those emotions and still do but that’s not what I want people to see in these photos."

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"This is a story about love.

“This isn’t a story about grief and loss and hurt. Yes, I’ve gone through those emotions and still do but that’s not what I want people to see in these photos. This is a story about love."

Olivia cuddles onto daddy Ben's leg

“The memories of Ali don’t live in that house. They live with us, in our hearts

“I wanted to be able to show Olivia the place where her mother and I started our lives together and dreamed of raising children.”

Ben and Olivia share a tender moment as they say goodbye to theirs and Ali's home

“Our lives will continue down a curvy and uncertain path, but Olivia and I will be able to look at these photos and know that for a short time there was a place where I was the luckiest man in the world, even if just for a little while,” wrote Ben.

Dancing in her footsteps: Ben and Olivia recreate the dance he shared with Ali as they began a life in their new home together

Melanie, who noted in her blog post that she often feels her sister's presence, said she felt Ali's guidance during the photo shoot:

"It's almost like she was nudging me along as I was shooting, telling me which places to go and what to use as props," she told TODAY.com.

Ben gave Olivia a helping hand - or foot - when it came to those difficult dance steps.

"It was a very overwhelming feeling to have her so close even if she was not physically there."

Ben wanted to show that, while the past is still a part of their lives, he and Olivia are ready to move on with their lives

Ben said that while he did the shoot for himself and his daughter, he is heartened that the images have had an effect on others.

"I hope that people can see it as evidence of a love that Ali and I shared that is still very deep, [and] that love carries on, and it doesn't die."

Ben and olivia sit with the glass angel that the little girl refers to as "Mummy"
Melanie said she was deeply moved when she went to take this photograph in Olivia's room and the little girl bent down and picked up something: a white feather. "Oh hey sis! Glad you could make an appearance in this sesh."
"She was fidgeting the whole time," Melanie writes of Olivia during the photo shoot, "and you can't really tell in still frames but you can in the shot on the right."

Ben said that while he did the shoot for himself and his daughter, he is heartened that the images have had an effect on others.

"I hope that people can see it as evidence of a love that Ali and I shared that is still very deep, [and] that love carries on, and it doesn't die."

Ben learnt the song he and Ali had for their first dance on the ukulele and would play it to her in hospital. Here he is sharing his musical talents with little Olivia.
Olivia and Ben will never forget Ali

"People who don't know us personally but may have experience with losing a loved one can see that as an example of healing and life moving on.

"It doesn't mean that we forget our loved ones, but find ways to remember them and keep that memory going."

We were incredibly touched by Ben and Olivia's story and hope that they continue to make happy memories in their new home together.

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