This Wedding Photo Went Viral For All The Right Reasons

"This was far more than just a wedding. This was a community event that touched many."
A wedding photo taken in the Australian outback is going viral for a very important reason.
Photographer Edwina Robertson-Cuninghame traveled to Western Queensland, where drought has affected 80 percent of the region, for a wedding earlier this month. A week before the ceremony, bride Ingrid Uebergang's family made the difficult decision to sell all the cattle off their 16,000-acre beef operation farm due to financial hardships and environmental uncertainty, according to Queensland County Life.

“Blackall is a pretty important place for me; I’ve grown up there my whole life,” Uebergang told the publication of returning to her hometown for her wedding. “It’s such a beautiful place as well even in the middle of a drought, it really comes alive...And I was really hoping it would rain.”

On the big day, Robertson-Cuninghame captured a photo of the wedding party on the dusty farm and shared the photo on Facebook in order to raise money for Tie Up the Black Dog, an organization dedicated to helping people living in rural and drought-ridden Australian communities who are battling depression and mental illness. She promised to donate $3 for every share the post received.

Edwina Robertson Photography

And the post took off.

The photo was shared thousands of times by people around the world. Robertson-Cuninghame pledged $15,000 to the cause, according to Australia's ABC, and she was also able to help raise thousands more for the organization.

"I believe it was successful for two reasons," she told The Huffington Post in an email Thursday. "Having a visualization with a story helped people connect with it much more and I feel it wasn’t just all about doom and gloom. Everyone loves a feel-good story and this had [that] incorporated as well. Everyone involved in this story benefits out of it so it’s wonderful that so many people have seen this!"
She continued, "The bride, Ingrid, was overwhelmed and humbled that so many people have taken the time to take notice and try to help this cause. She never expected her wedding photos to go viral (neither did I). She’s been in support of this the whole way!"
Head over to OzCrowd.com to donate.
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography
Edwina Robertson Photography

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