Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

When Jenn told me, “We are a silly family and enjoy weird things!” on her intake form, I knew we were going to end up with some quirky family photos!

Ken and Jenn had many reasons to celebrate when they had their family session over Thanksgiving. It was the first time they were all together in over a year after some of the girls went away to school, and they had just gotten guardianship of their son! They also wanted some photos to honour their aging dogs Jack and Mr. Nibbles. The dogs were thrilled to be included in the action!

Their silliness came out through the entire session with tons of action shots, flexing, bunny ears, and piggyback rides.

We always joke about how Alberta can have all four seasons in one day, and no where is this more true than in the mountains. Nicole and Derek’s session had to be postponed so many times because of October blizzards, and they finally got the proper autumn session they wanted in November! Other than the usual Crowsnest Pass wind, it was such a beautiful day for their Willow Drive family photos.

The kids loved the adventure we went on in the valley. The older kids especially loved being able to pose with their little brother, and had a ton of photo requests they listed off for me :) They were also pretty excited to let me know they had met my dad another day!

This area is one of Nicole and Derek’s favourite places in the Crowsnest Pass. It was so sunny and perfect to take in all the mountain vistas.

Melinda’s secret plan to propose to her boyfriend Gage during their session turned into an even bigger surprise for her with double proposal engagement photos!

As far as Gage knew (or so we thought), he and Melinda were going to have a couples photoshoot in the river bottom…

Sonny turned the exciting age of 70 this year and was able to break his birthday into several small celebrations to practice social distancing and keep group sizes down. For one of these celebrations, he booked Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden autumn portraits with his wife Kimiko for the final weekend the garden was open for the season.

Everything aligned perfectly for us! The colours were extra vibrant this year, there wasn’t a hint of wind, and Sonny’s actual birthday happened to coincide with this beautiful day. Sonny and Kimiko are adorable together after nearly 50 years of marriage, and their garden host and I shared in the delight of watching the couple giggle and embrace.

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend this extra time at Nikka Yuko this year. (One of my hobbies is taiko drumming, and we got to be the final performance of the season!) The garden is by far one of the most beautiful places in Lethbridge, and I can’t decide if I like the fall colours or spring blossom season more!

When Emily and Cody’s plans for a destination wedding in 2020 didn’t pan out, they kept the idea of a destination but made it a little more local! Their families joined them for an outdoor Waterton autumn wedding at the Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort. With perfect weather, they were able to have their ceremony outside on the resort’s green space. Emily’s dad performed the ceremony, making it extra special. It was such a joyful day for everyone involved. The couple weren’t the only ones smiling and laughing non-stop!

Their wedding was incredibly timed with the fall colours this year! Waterton was covered in rich yellows, reds, and oranges with still a bit of green left, and all of the new growth is so vibrant as it bounces back from the Kenow Fire. We took them to the entrance of the Bertha Lake hike to take full advantage of the colour. Emily and Cody were totally down for a small hike! They even received a few bonus congratulations from the last hikers of the season.

Congratulations, Emily and Cody!

Odessa and her family wanted to update their family photos to celebrate their move to the city. They thought it would be fun to have something iconic to Lethbridge in their photos, and what could be more Lethbridge than the high level bridge?

We worked out a date when Odessa’s oldest son was visiting from university. The younger twins had a blast hanging out with their big brother again. The three of them had competitions of jumping over posts in the park, took turns giving each other piggyback rides, and enjoyed climbing on the bridge even when it wasn’t part of the photos.

Their family has such an amazing connection to each other, making the photo session feel more like a playful outing than an actual photoshoot!