When Kelsey Moeller shot a pre-wedding "first look" with her kindergarten students, she knew it would be meaningful, but not in so many ways.
"It was the last thing we got to do together before COVID-19, and I will forever be thankful for that memory," Moeller, a teacher at Hugh Goodwin Elementary School in El Dorado, Arkansas, told "Good Morning America" of the pictures taken on March 12.
The shoot was the idea of her photographer, Angi Gibbons of Flying Pig Photography. "When I discovered she was a kindergarten teacher, I told her I'd love to take a bridal portrait of her with her class. She and her mom loved the idea and ran with it," Gibbons said.
It turns out teaching is a family affair. Kelsey's mom, Jerri Beth Smith, was a teacher at the same school for 20 years.
MORE: Photographer captures powerful moment of tearful black mom with her son at protest"While Kelsey was getting into her dress, I gathered the children in the hall and explained they were the very first ones to see her in her dress," Gibbons told "GMA." "Their expressions when they came into the room were priceless."
Kelsey loved the idea so much, she said, because "my kiddos are my life."
She told "GMA," "I come to school excited to see them, and leave thinking about them. I think a lot about how I can be better for them and how to make learning exciting. I strive to be that teacher that they always remember."
The "first look" moment was certainly a memorable one for the 5- and 6-year-olds.
MORE: I'm a working mom interrupted 27 times in 11 minutes"Their reactions were the best," she said. "The girls giggled and were so excited, and the boys, well, some of them were so in awe and some wouldn't even look at me! Their moms texted me later that they came home talking about it and said they were just smitten."
It was a special day for Gibbons, too, who said Kelsey and her mom "ran" with the idea. "The children's parents had dressed them for the occasion," she said. "There were rose petals, and team bride and groom glasses and the children had created a hand-painted dress as a surprise gift for their teacher. "
As for Moeller, who was married on May 30, the memories from the first-look photos are a gift to look back on a very special class.
"Some days teaching is hard and you have really bad days, but you get to start over the next day and be better," she told "GMA." "Those kids come to school to see you and learn from you. They are so excited to see you and that makes those hard days worth it! I wish everyone loved like a kindergartner because let me tell you, that is some big love."