Photographer Lindsay Morris has a beautiful photo essay that documents the best day in the life of a young woman with Down Syndrome.
Morris started her project after a chance encounter with another woman named Janice Di Joseph and her daughter Ricchina, on a train.
Drawn to the young lady’s “dreamy, warm and welcoming” aura, Morris struck up a conversation with Di Joseph, and found out that she was planning a wedding-themed surprise 25th birthday party for her daughter.
As Di Joseph and Ricchina started attending more weddings over the years, Ricchina often questioned her mother about why she couldn’t get married, said Di Joseph in an interview with Slate.
“I would die whenever she asked, because I didn’t know what to say,” she recalled.
On Morris’ part, it was a chance to tell people’s personal stories through her photography. “People have extreme discomfort with people who don’t conform to our expectations of normal. I think photography gives us the opportunity to tell a story compassionately and gives a glimpse into a world they’re unaccustomed to seeing.”
The result is a series of heartwarming and intimate pictures that not only capture the joy and excitement of Ricchina’s special day, but reveal the strong bond between mother and daughter.
Scroll down for more photographs of the wonderful occasion, and view the rest of the series here.
[via PetaPixel and Slate, images via Lindsay Morris]