Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

There are so many cute small towns in our area. Erin and Jean’s wedding brought us out to Scandia near Brooks, where they planned their EID Historical Park wedding to be close to home and make it extra special. Their ceremony was held outdoors in front of the park’s gorgeous red barn, and we had no shortage of portrait locations between the park and surrounding areas.

Erin and Jean opted to have a first look at Erin’s family’s home. They used the beautiful row of trees that Erin helped her family pick out when she was a child (her dad said she had specified “trees with leaves” when they were choosing). Doing all of the emotional parts early was smart because it got everyone’s crying out before the ceremony (so they’d be recharged to cry again at the reception). That being said, both Erin and Jean were too busy smiling at their first look to take time crying!

Congratulations, Erin & Jean!

Hannah and Mark’s Springbreak Flower Farm greenhouse wedding centred around their love of adventuring outdoors. They chose their mountain venue in the Crowsnest Pass and wore hiking boots with their wedding attire. Any adventure they’ve embarked on with hiking boots has worked out, so why not extend those good vibes to their marriage? :)

The couple opted to have a first look in the greenhouse before their early evening ceremony, and we visited the nearby waterfall for their portraits. Their hiking boots meant we could get right up to the falls.

After the outdoor ceremony, their reception started with speeches inside the greenhouse, and finished off the night with one of the most active dance floors we’ve seen!

They had such huge smiles on their faces through the entire day that we barely needed to direct them. It’s so amazing to see high school sweethearts have a love that flourishes into such a happy life together. They are such sweet, caring people surrounded by that same love from their family and friends, and we were so grateful they extended that warmness to us sharing the day with them.

Congratulations, Hannah and Mark!

Rebecca and Aaron’s Countryside Barn summer wedding was a family-focused event that included their children at the forefront and incorporated many of Aaron’s family’s cultural traditions. They chose their date to coincide with Rebecca’s parents’ anniversary and several family members’ birthdays, so as they carried the date through COVID delays, their final date ended up on a Monday.

Not a single attention to detail was overlooked. (Not surprising when they are teachers!) Their navy and gold colour scheme continued through every detail, even the flowers, and they ensured their guests had tons of activities to keep them entertained. The most central feature was the teepee, which was the most popular (especially with the kids!).

Even though they had a few stressful starts to the day, they were so laid back and able to ride the flow of the day and enjoy themselves. This was my first time doing a wedding at Countryside Barn Venue, and it couldn’t have been for a better couple :)

Congratulations, Rebecca and Aaron!

For their wedding, Pamela and Gary chose the mountainscapes of Waterton for the awe they inspire and how that relates back to how they feel about each other. Most of their Waterton Community Centre summer wedding was spent outdoors to take in the scenery. We did an incredible job avoiding the crowds on the Canada Day long weekend in Waterton! Not only did we manage to get romantic photos without too many people in the background, but we strategically found parking everywhere we went (the biggest challenge we faced that day).

Gary and Pamela’s daughter Rosie stole the show many times throughout their wedding day, which was only fitting when she is so central in their life together. It was a long day for a two year old, but she stayed awake for the whole day to enjoy every minute with their family members visiting from far away.

We took the couple away from their family for a bit to get some photos with mountain vistas, and were happy to discover the wild flowers were still in bloom. Even better, they matched the wedding colours!

Congratulations, Pamela and Gary!

Michelle, Claire, and Andrey had a summer solstice polyam wedding at Pavan Park with nearly every rich, colourful detail handcrafted by them. This was the first polyam wedding I’ve had the opportunity to photograph and it means so much for it to be for friends I’ve known for well over a decade! Claire fully became a part of Michelle and Andrey’s lives during the pandemic when their friendship blossomed into love. It’s because of the pandemic that I haven’t had a chance to get to know Claire yet, but I know that if they love her, she is truly amazing – and spending the day with the three of them only served to enforce that.

Another first for me was witnessing a ceremony performed by a drag king! (I can still find new things to photograph after doing this for so long!). Calgary drag king Brad Diesel was both their officiant, MC, and a reception performer.

Their aptly titled “lovebirds handfasting ceremony” took place in a fairy ring they created under their favourite tree on the grounds of the John Martin Recreation Area. Everything took place in Pavan Park on this perfect long summer evening.

Congratulations, Michelle, Claire, and Andrey!

Remember the Scrabble marriage proposal? I had the honour of joining Meg and Shieghla again for their Bayshore Inn early spring wedding. It really is a privilege to follow people through so many important moments like these, especially when they and their families are so kind and wonderful to be around.

We returned to Waterton where they had an outdoor ceremony at the Bayshore Inn, officiated by MLA Shannon Phillips. Their children played a prominent role in the wedding – not just helping with the proposal, but by being in the wedding party! Shieghla and Meg’s sisters made up the rest of the group and led to some very emotional speeches at the reception.

Originally we hadn’t planned to return to the proposal spot at the Prince of Wales, but with most of the shorelines in town being flooded out from the recent rain and snow melt, we made a last minute change and returned to the same spot as before. Just before the reception, we went to Cameron Lake with only the couple and were happy the lake was finally visible through the snow! Shieghla and Meg were committed to the photoshoot and trudged through quite a bit of mud with us to make it to the boardwalk path that runs along the lake (a place the fires miraculously never touched). So worth the mud!

Congratulations, Meg and Shieghla!