Lethbridge Portrait & Wedding Photography & Design by Tanya Plonka

Last summer I second shot for Michael Warf a few times, and I’ve finally had a chance to go through what I captured and pick out some favorite frames!

Amy and Trevor got married in gorgeous Waterton, and incorporated their dogs into the bridal party. It was a beautiful day and went by way too fast, so I spent another hour wandering around the park after we were done. Luckily, no one was attacked by deer, though we sure encountered a lot of them. (more…)

Jeremy and Eve were my first wedding of the year, and what a great way to start it off! They’ve been in love for quite some time now and only finally decided to tie the knot (which led to some great “It’s about time!” jokes during the ceremony). With their closest friends and family watching, they had their intimate evening ceremony in the Galt Museum. Luckily we were able to keep everything inside because it was a bit too chilly outside, but the Galt was warm and cozy.

We didn’t have much time for photos, but I had an awesome time with them when we were together. Eve is a total sweety, and I loved how Jer would randomly pull out silly faces in the photos. However, he knew just when to stop doing them so no one would get mad at him!

After the photos, Eve and Jer rejoined their family for hors d’oeuvres and music. I hope you guys had a fantastic time all night! (more…)

When Katie and Christian asked me to photograph their wedding, I was elated. In my early concert going days, I loved to watch Christian and best man Steven’s band Atrophy Manuscript, but with the band no longer together, I hardly ever run into the guys anymore. It was neat after all this time to see Christian getting married (and to such a wonderful, gorgeous girl!).

They had a small evening ceremony at the Galt Museum, so we did the photos beforehand just before the sun went down. The light was gorgeous and we couldn’t have asked for a warmer, more peaceful day. The sun set just as they walked down the aisle. Everything they arranged was beautiful, and I’m so happy they chose the time of day that they did.

Thank you for sharing your day with me! (more…)

Jocelyn and Matthew were married last weekend at a beautiful, intimate ceremony at Henderson Lake with their closest friends and family (officiated by my favorite, Norma!). Though they are both fairly quiet people, they constantly shared all these cute moments between one another that had me smiling a lot too. Matthew took some encouragement to smile with his teeth in the beginning (including his family yelling, “Teeth!” at him), but after a while his grin was ear to ear every time he looked at Jocelyn :)

As you’ll see, they kept things unique with Jocelyn’s awesome green shoes, super colorful flowers, and a Best Lady in place of a Best Man.

Thank you to Andrew Suderman for helping out, and climbing on garbage bins for family photos! (more…)

The rain stopped just in time for Nick and Alyson’s beautiful wedding at St. Patrick’s church. Because they live in Vancouver, I didn’t actually meet them until the week of their wedding, but instantly took to them and knew I was going to have a great time (and I was right!). This was another crazy fun wedding, and all we did all day was play with the bridal party. With our first stop being a playground, it definitely set the tone for the rest of the day. I managed to sneak serious photos in throughout the day, but it was tempting not to ;)

Later on they had a big party at the Coast Hotel with DJ Thom, and it was another of those rare receptions where the dance floor was always packed. Wonderful!

Thank you to Sarah Underwood for climbing on things and helping out! (more…)

Many many years ago I met “Pleasant” Ross through our mutual friends in the university’s music department, and when I met Erin I was thrilled to find out she perfectly matched him in charm (she is officially “Pleasant Erin” now). The two were married at the Galt, which is always one of my favorite places in Lethbridge, and had their wonderful, silly friends standing up along with them. All the tears Erin and Ross fought back during the ceremony had me emotional too, and it’s always much stronger when I know the people!

I had so much fun with them all day, and their bridal party never failed to keep me entertained (I was delighted the week after when, second shooting for Michael, one of the same groomsmen showed up in that bridal party!)

The reception was a fantastic party where everyone was full of energy and had so much fun (the candy bar may be to blame for some of that). Normally I don’t post a ton of reception photos, but in this case I couldn’t resist :)

Thank you to Jan for helping out again! (more…)