Mother's wedding photo pays moving tribute to her late son

'I needed this picture more than... anyone could ever know. This is my family'

The image was edited by photographer Brandy Angel (Brandy Angel/Facebook)

A mother has had her wedding photo edited to include an image of her son who died of leukaemia earlier this year, in a tribute shared by thousands on social media.

Anna Bozman Thompson’s son, Lake, died of acute myeloid leukaemia in May at the age of eight. Having delayed their wedding during his illness, Lake's parents eventually married in Georgia in October.

Ms Bozman Thompson, a mother of three, told Huffington Post it was a "special" but "bittersweet" day because her son was not there.

As she wanted to include Lake in a family photo taken on the day, her photographer, Brandy Angel, managed to edit the photo to include a faint image of him.

So many emotions today as ️Lake has been gone for 6 months now. Somehow I have managed to continue going but there have...

Posted by ~Prayers for Lake Bozman~ on Sunday, 1 November 2015

The photo has been shared more than 2,000 times and has garnered more than 20,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook. Social media users have also commented with messages of support for the family and shared their own stories.

On the Prayers for Lake Bozman Facebook page, his mother said: “It was almost unbearable to take family pictures without him.”

“I could feel my emotions taking over after the ceremony when it was time to take pictures. I became anxious and almost irritated but I knew these pictures had to be taken. They turned out beautiful and thanks to my amazing photographer she was able to get some special edits done.

“I needed this picture more than she or anyone could ever know. This is my family.".

Brandy Angel told BBC Newsbeat it was “extremely emotional” to edit the images because she was a mother herself.