HOUSTON -- A camera theft turned into a personal tragedy for some Houston-area newlyweds. Hundreds of their professional wedding pictures disappeared with the camera, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Gina and Steven Ward are proud to show off their wedding rings, and they do it with a smile.

Ask about their wedding on July 3, and they'll tell you all about it while beaming.

"It was great. It was perfect," said Gina Ward.

"It was a beautiful wedding," said Steven Ward. "Her family came in from Colombia. My family came from the Czech Republic."

But if you ask to see their photos, these newlyweds can't show you an album.

"We want to have memories for both of us and our kids," said Gina Ward. "Now it's like we have nothing."

"Those kinds of moments like that can't be redone," said Steven Ward.

"My camera was here with my light bag," said photographer Simone Cartright. "It was all sitting here in one pile."

Cartright said her camera, with more than 300 pictures on it, was stolen from her living room Monday.

She said she believes someone came up her back stairs and jumped her fence. Her sliding door was cracked and that's how she believes thieves got inside.

"It was such a beautiful night and the pictures were wonderful," said Cartright.

"She captured everything," said Gina Ward.

"We did a lot of photos with family and friends we don't get to see that often," said Steven Ward.

Cartright took engagement photos of the couple earlier and they do have a few photos that friends took on their wedding day, but nothing professional.

Cartright has been putting up fliers, hoping someone will realize they took more than a camera; they took precious memories.

"A smile from a mom, our cousins running around, we can't get that back," said Gina Ward. "It's gone."

The couple and their photographer are putting up their own money as a reward, offering $1,000.

Anyone with information is asked to call 713-614-4669.