Losing your partner in a tragic car accident is one of the worst ways to have someone taken from you.
Rafael Del Col had to live through this tragedy.
What made his loss even more painful was the fact that his wife, Tati, was pregnant with their second child at the time of the accident.
In the blink of an eye, Rafael’s world was turned upside down. The love of his life was gone; he was left to raise their toddler Raisa all by himself.
After months of grieving, Rafael decided to be more proactive with his grieving process and created a blog. In his blog, he wrote about widowhood and raising a daughter as a single dad. He sought out support through sharing his feelings and thoughts. But something wasn’t quite right.
He needed just the right way to honor his late wife Tati.
Then, a revelation came.
He and Tati, just before their wedding in 2009, had gotten a professional photoshoot done. He would recreate these pictures in order to honor her memory. How?
By having their daughter, Raisa, take the place of her mother. It would be a father-daughter photoshoot inspired by Rafael and Tati’s pre-wedding photos.
The results are stunning:
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The photos are adorable, but they would surely bring a tear to anyone’s eye who knows what Rafael and Raisa have gone through. Raisa’s precious smile just makes you want to give her a hug and not let go.
The father-daughter combo were joined by their dog Raul, who was a part of the original photoshoot as well.
“I bought [Raul] for Tati in the beginning of our relationship,” reminisces Rafael.
The duo really paid attention to detail. This necklace Raisa is wearing is the same exact one her mother wore:
Also notice the fingers in the jean pockets. Adorable!
She even put on her mother’s heels. I bet they are going to become her favorite pair when she is actually old enough to wear heels. These pictures bring so many emotions to the viewer!
There’s one thing Rafael wants to make clear — that these are not “sad” pictures.
“I hope you do not see this project as sad. We still live this pain, the longing, but we are well, we are happy. Now, thank God, things are adjusting slowly, my daughter is healthy and is growing and developing normally. Besides the responsibility of taking care of my princess, I need to deal with feelings of grief, the loss of my partner, with whom I lived for 10 wonderful years.”
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Check out this video to see more exclusive photos and a peek into the behind-the-scenes of this wonderful photoshoot!