TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A photographer has shared heartbreakingly beautiful photos of a Virginia bride-to-be and her terminally ill father.

Becky Carey was in the middle of planning her wedding when she learned her father, Tim, an Air Force veteran might not be there for her special day. 

The bride-to-be and her fiancé Matt had been trying to arrange an engagement shoot with photographer Bonnie Turner before she learned the devastating news that Tim, who was battling cancer, would be moving to hospice care.

In an e-mail to Turner, which the photographer shared on LoveWhatMatters.com, Carey revealed that her father’s health was declining rapidly.  She apologized for calling off the engagement shoot, but offered up an idea: instead of taking photos with her fiancé, she would take pictures with her father, Tim in the event that he would not be there for her wedding. 

“Matt and I will worry about our photos later, because this is more pressing with time,” Carey continued. “Of course this is a very difficult and dark time, but I know how you feel about love and capturing it so beautifully and meaningfully.”

Turner agreed and went to Carey’s childhood home, where she captured a series of images featuring the bride-to-be smiling, dancing and laughing with her father in their backyard.

Sadly, Tim passed away on March 28, before his daughter’s wedding day. 

“My heart is heavy today as I have been informed of his passing. He fought so hard for a very long time,” Turner wrote on Facebook.“These photos are near and dear to this family and most of all, special to [Becky.] Photographs and memories are EVERYTHING when they are all you have left.”

The post has been shared more than 33,000 times.

“I’m sobbing. Photographs are everything,” a commenter wrote. “These are so beautiful.”

“I absolutely love this! As someone who didn’t get to dance with her dad at her wedding I can’t even begin to tell you what a treasure these pictures will be to her now and in the future,” another said.

Turner has since created a memorial fund for the Carey family via GoFundMe.