Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

It was such a great year for families finally being able to get together, and that meant many opportunities to photograph multiple generations. Shirley and Richard managed to get a whopping FOUR generations together for their late autumn extended family photos in Lethbridge’s river bottom.

We had such a perfect golden hour while the weather was still warm at the end of fall. It gave the little kids a perfect opportunity to run around on adventures between photos, and give their dads chasing them some exercise.

Claudette and Marc had plenty of things to celebrate and combined it all for autumn family and pet photos. The couple were recently engaged so it was a perfect time to update family photos with the boys, as well as get a few cute engagement photos.

They also wanted to celebrate their older dog Stella while she’s still full of energy (the river bottom brought out extra energy). While Stella is in her senior years, little Monte is a brand new addition to the family!

After some cute photos with the dogs, they were put back in the warm vehicle so things could be a little more chill for the human members of the family.

We had to work quickly… after a gorgeous autumn week, Claudette and Marc’s photoshoot was scheduled just one hour before the first big snowfall of the season started! It was MUCH colder than these photos let on! ;)

Nicole and Brandon’s Italian Canadian Centre autumn wedding was well worth the wait! Their wedding planning started pre-COVID and they were finally able to have the wedding they wanted with all of their family and friends there.

Back in high school, they had made a bet with a staff member that if they got married, she would come to the wedding. That bet came to fruition, and they had her perform the marriage ceremony! Their vows were full of laughter and happy tears, especially when they first saw each other in the aisle. All of Brandon’s tension melted away when he had his first look at Nicole, and she was overcome with very teary smiles.

They booked a fantastic car to get around for their photos, a classic Lincoln from 94 Cabs, which made for amazing photos. This was the very first wedding the car has been used for since it was restored, so it was quite an honour to try it out. We had such a great time out for photos with them, especially thanks to their hilarious friends who had no shortage of great poses and jokes to make the couple laugh.

Congratulations, Nicole and Brandon!

p.s. A huge thank you to Matthew from Aspire Photography who helped me out when Cam wasn’t feeling well!

Andrea and Jeff had always planned to keep their Via Church autumn wedding small, but had no idea it was still going to fit within the new rules when they were only booking one month out! With just their immediate families and a few close friends in attendance at Via Church in north Lethbridge, they didn’t have to modify their guest list at all.

This was a very special ceremony for them. Jeff’s father is involved in the church and performed part of the ceremony. Andrea’s son was their ring bearer, a very important role when they otherwise didn’t have a wedding party.

After their ceremony, we headed to Pavan Park for family photos. All of the cousins loved playing together in between posing, and luckily everyone was a really good sport in the usual Lethbridge wind! Once their family headed out, Andrea and Jeff finally got to enjoy each other’s company and really relax together.

Congratulations, Andrea & Jeff!

Rebecca and Colin planned their Trinity Reformed Church autumn wedding with splashes of yellow, which worked out perfectly with the fall colours in Pavan Park that day! We were originally going to do portraits at Henderson Lake, but after a windy week I’m so glad we made the decision to switch spots.

I first met Rebecca at her sister’s wedding a few years ago, so it was amazing to see her again so in love. Her and Colin are a perfect match, constantly making each other laugh. I think there were a few times they got so caught up in the moment with each other that they forgot their wedding party was even there!

We did all of their portraits with their wedding party before their ceremony, which was a perfect way to spend the warm afternoon. Their families then met us at Trinity Reformed Church for their ceremony. The church’s long aisle and steps to the alter were perfect for showing off Rebecca’s beautiful long lace train on her wedding dress.

Congratulations, Rebecca and Colin!

Bobbi-Jo and Ryan celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last year and decided that would be a great time to update their family photos! Like most families, they started spacing out regular photos once their babies turned into bigger kids, so it’s been a few years since I last saw them. I can’t believe I’ve been photographing this family since their oldest was a baby. How did the kids all get so big??

Their warm autumn afternoon family session was a bit of a miracle after we had to move their photos around several times trying to avoid the snow that was on its way. This gorgeous sunny session took place mere hours before the blizzard moved in!

It was wonderful to catch up with them again and the boys had so much fun having races and climbing on the bridge in Indian Battle Park.