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Tara Foley, who revealed the pictures during her wedding following her grandmother’s passing, says she intended to keep them as a surprise.
Tara Foley’s 102 year old grandmother started getting hospice care only a few weeks after she bought her wedding dress.Stasia Foley, Foley’s grandmother, stated to hospice staff in Naples, Florida, that her objective was to go to her granddaughter’s wedding that summer.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Tara, a 37-year-old realtor, says, “I knew she wouldn’t be able to make it back to Texas for my wedding.” “I had to go to her when I heard that,’ I said. She needs to see me wearing my dress. And I want to come as near to fulfilling her last wish as I can.
On January 28, Tara informed her parents that she would be traveling to Miami with her fiance, Matt Bars, who is 41 years old. She arrived in Fort Myers by plane instead. (Since she didn’t want her fiance to see the dress before the wedding, she didn’t bring him along.)
In order to complete the legacy film she began producing in September, Tara informed her aunt and uncle that she needed to ask her Nana a few more questions.
Tara had her hair and makeup done and was waiting outside her aunt and uncle’s condo. It was revealed that Tara’s grandmother had a guest.I thought it was going to be you, and she said as she turned to face me, Tara says.
Photo Credits – MARIE KAMP/RED DOOR PHOTOGRAPHY
Tara quickly changed her Stella York wedding dress and staged a picture session for her Nana within the condo’s clubhouse.I desperately wanted her to see me in my dress, Tara says. She simply ran her fingers over my dress’ tulle and silk. She was staring at me and my clothing nonstop.
She referred to Tara as a stunning bride.Tara recalls, “I was extremely emotional. She don’t often cry. She, too, started to cry.Even the photographer claims that while taking the images, she started to cry.
Marie Kamp, a photographer with studios in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Fort Myers, Florida, adds, “It was very precious.” It was quite sweet.When speaking with Tara on the phone for the first time, Michelle Weaver, a makeup artist, started crying. She calls it one of the sisters’ favorite photo shoots.
Weaver tells PEOPLE, “It will always be in our hearts.”
Tara Foley and Stasia Foley
Tara put her hair up in a ponytail and removed her bridal makeup afterward. She made a promise to keep what she told her Nana private.All of the photographs were meant to be a surprise, Tara explains.
I’ll tell them we went dancing, the woman replied as she put her finger to her chin and turned to face the window.
Three months short of turning 103, Tara’s grandmother passed away on February 23rd, less than a month later. But until the day of her wedding on June 1, Tara kept her photo shoot a secret from her family. I’m great at keeping secrets, Tara admits.
Tara surprised her family with framed pictures from her secret photo shoot while she and her bridesmaids were getting their hair and makeup was done at Hidden Falls Ranch in Spring Branch, Texas.
My father believed that I had combined two images using Photoshop. Just the photo itself impacted him deeply. He didn’t believe that to be true,” Tara explains. The tears just started flowing at that point. Everyone was simply really shocked and overwhelmed with emotion.
Tara Foley and Stasia Foley
She claims that the moment was unusual for most of her weddings and was documented by her wedding photographer.
Photographer Misty McLendon from Austin claims that “it’s more sensitive and intimate.” “I could never keep a secret for as long as she did,”
Tara’s photograph with her grandmother has received more than 1.7 million likes and 578,000 shares since it was posted online.
“The photographs have totally touched everyone,” said one person. Everyone was quite friendly and nice, adds Tara. People are letting me know how wonderful the world can be despite the craziness of social media’s negativity. Everyone is acting really kindly. I appreciate everyone telling me stories about their grandparents.
Tara Foley and Stasia Foley
Tara can’t pick which picture to frame for herself because she turned one of the photos into a canvas print. She says, “There are just too many of them that I love.”
Kamp, a photographer, is shocked that her images have gone viral. Kamp knows how precious it is to have pictures of a loved one who has passed away because her 2½-year-old daughter passed away in 1994 due to a cardiac condition.
I enjoy giving this to folks, says Kamp. “Photos are highly significant. It’s the last thing you sometimes have.
What do you think about the beautiful bond between a granddaughter and a grandmother? Have you experienced a similar incident? Please let us know your story, and don’t forget to spread the news so that we can hear from more people.
