After fiancé's death, Michigan bride poses for powerful wedding photos alone

A Michigan woman who lost her future husband in the line of duty chose to pose for her wedding photos alone — to honor their love and leave the pain behind.

Nikki Salgot of Saint Clair Shores, Mich., said on Facebook she wanted the photos as a reminder that her fiancé's death could not break her. Salgot’s fiancé Wayne State University police officer Collin Rose was shot and killed while patrolling last year, the day before Thanksgiving. They were planning to marry Oct. 14, 2017.

As the date neared, Salgot reached out to photographer Rachel Heller of Rachel Smaller Photography to capture a memorial photoshoot.

"I remember being in tears on the way there, thinking, 'How am I going to do this? How am I going to find a way to take photos that will do this justice, not just for her but for him," Heller, who herself was about to be married the following week, told Today.

Salgot wore her white wedding dress and held a folded American flag for the photos taken 10 days before what would have been her wedding date. 

“She captured images that still vividly show the pain left behind; images that show I am still able to laugh, smile and be me; images that show this loss has not and will not destroy me; and my favorite, images that show I am still just as fierce as ever and refuse to let this define me," Salgot said. 

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Heller told Today when she saw Salgot that day she knew these photos would be pictures of "grief and resilience and strength and vulnerability and authenticity, all at once."

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