Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Jordanna and Deiter managed to sneak in vibrant Lethbridge autumn engagement photos before the snow arrived! We used lots of snuggling and hand holding to get them through the crisp cold that day. I think they did a great acting job making it look like a warm autumn evening. It definitely helps that they are so cute when they cuddle each other! I had a great time exploring the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve with this upbeat couple and can’t wait for their wedding in a few months.

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When Erica contacted me to do her 10th anniversary family photos, I thought it would be fun to dig up her and Bill’s wedding photos from a decade ago for comparison. This is one of the weddings I did before I had my own business so it was going way back! Some of the photos were a little embarrassing to look back on, but I loved seeing how much I’ve improved since then.

Some observations:
1. Crazy Cakes has always had that square hole in the wall. (I’d normally edit that out, but it’s cute to see the building hasn’t aged much!)
2. Ten years ago the Dutch angle was very popular in wedding photography and I had a lot of trouble pulling out old photos to recreate that didn’t make me dizzy with their tilt. Wikipedia says, “the Dutch angle is one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed,” making me scratch my head as to how this was such a huge wedding photography trend!
3. Erica and Bill are just as in love as 10 years ago.

It’s amazing to see the happy family they’ve grown into. Their two boys are such joyful, energetic kids and had a blast finding new surfaces to jump off of throughout the photos. We started the session downtown to revisit a few of the locations we had used in their wedding photos. Next we headed to the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve so we could make giant piles of leaves for throwing. I think our success at having fun is directly related to how many leaves the boys had to pull out of their shirts when we were done!

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I love seeing this family grow every year! Melissa and Schuyler brought their children out for Pavan Park autumn morning family photos on the tailend of the season. We were very lucky with this beautiful day as we had to reschedule once due to a huge blizzard! These are their first full family photos since their littlest arrived (he had his own newborn session while his siblings were out of the house on adventures). It was adorable seeing how much his brother and sisters looked after him. Whenever he fussed, they tried to cheer him up, and they helped Mom and Dad pack him around. We’ve traditionally done their family photos around their home instead, so this was a new experience with lots of exploration opportunities. The kids loved throwing the leaves, exploring through the trees, and sliding down the banks to the river.

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I was so excited to hear from Ami-Marie when she got engaged to Devin. I’ve photographed her friends and family, and now I get to photograph her in love! Her and Devin love the fall (it’s when they are having their wedding too) and decided on Indian Battle Park autumn engagement photos while all of the amazing colours were out. We explored the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve for the first part of their session and then visited downtown Lethbridge, which was just as vibrant. Ami-Marie and Devin are so cute together, full of snuggling and laughter. I’ve been told that Devin will need to lose his beard soon for work, so I’m glad we were able to capture its glory in this engagement session!

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Stacie and Gerrit planned a romantic Lethbridge Sandman Signature Hotel autumn wedding with dark grays with deep red accents, all of which looked striking with the fall colours. In mid-October, we’re never quite sure what weather we’re going to get. Stacie and Gerrit were treated to all of the weather! The temperatures climbed early in the day, along with quite a windstorm that drove us indoors for family portraits. We refused to hide from the weather all day and sought shelter in the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve.

While Stacie and Gerrit laughed and had a great time with their wedding party in the river bottom (along with a lot of getting lost in each other’s eyes), the sky became blacker and blacker until we started hearing thunder and seeing lightning! We finished their photos in a downpour before rushing back to the safety of the hotel.

Their reception was filled with so many sweet stories from their families. Wedding receptions usually turn into a bit of a roast, but theirs was mostly a celebration of how loved they are by everyone around them (with a healthy dose of roasting from their siblings).

They took a break from their reception at the Sandman Signature Hotel (formerly the Lethbridge Lodge) for night time photos. Luckily by then the rain had stopped, and the snow hadn’t quite started yet! Stacie and Gerrit embraced tightly on the edge of the coulees – partly to stay warm but mostly because it meant they finally had a moment alone together :)

Congratulations, Stacie and Gerrit!

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Kendi and Roy had an intimate Lethbridge Sandman Signature Hotel late autumn wedding. Their immediate families and best friends got to take part in their ceremony in the hotel’s courtyard. It was such a quiet day at the hotel that it felt like they had the place all to themselves! They were all smiles and quietly joked with each other through facial expressions during the ceremony.

They made Roy’s daughter Cora an important part of their day, having her stand with them as the only member of the wedding party and then bringing her along for portraits. She even had awesome shoes to match Kendi’s!

After the family was sent off to get an early start on the reception, we headed to the Helen Schuler Nature Reserve on this beautiful day for their portraits. Now that the colours outside have subdued for the season, their red wedding accents really popped! Kendi and Roy were so easy to photograph when they spent the whole time snuggling and giggling together.

Congratulations, Kendi and Roy!

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