Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Our summer of smoky skies hit its peak for Kyle and Julia’s wedding. The day before their Bayshore Inn outdoor wedding ceremony, the town of Waterton was put under evacuation alert due to a new nearby fire! Luckily the conditions held and everything went ahead as planned. (The happy ending is the next day saw a huge downpour that helped to lift the alert!)

Julia and Kyle have a love at first sight story and continue to look at each other with that intensity. Both of them were so emotional at the ceremony, quickly shifting from happy tears to giant smiles.

Their wedding party kept them laughing all day and made the best use of their half day in Waterton by exploring the landscape. From going barefoot in the water to using downed trees as balance beams, they made use of all the nature around them! Kyle and Julia have such special relationships with their family that their siblings are also considered friends to each of them and were an obvious choice to have in their party.

Once we completed photos in Waterton, we drove out to Cardston for their tent reception at Kyle’s dad’s ranch where they were free to party all night.

Congratulations, Julia and Kyle!

(more…)

Matthew wanted to give his bride-to-be Sarah a proper tour of his home town area when they travelled here for their wedding. They hit the best of everything with a Bayshore Inn ceremony and Readymade wedding reception, with getting ready photos in Lethbridge. Arriving for their photos in Waterton was Sarah’s first ever visit to the national park! We all wished for less smoke so Sarah could see how amazing the mountains are, but could catch just enough of them fading into the horizon.

Sarah looked stunning with a classic, romantic look, and Matthew wore his military formal wear. They looked amazing together. Following us throughout the day was their daughter who had so much fun that she couldn’t stop shouting “Yay!”. It was contagious and made everyone around her also exclaim with joy! Sarah and Matthew could not stop grinning at each other and their daughter all day.

After a first look at Cameron Falls, portraits at the Prince of Wales, and an outdoor ceremony at the Bayshore Inn lawn, they and their guests headed closer to home. Their fun reception was held at the Readymade hall where we were joined by all of the guests who weren’t able to make it to Waterton but still wanted to help them celebrate.

Congratulations, Sarah and Matthew!

(more…)

Nicole and Derek planned for their beautiful day to take place in Waterton, a favourite travel destination for them, with a Bayshore Inn outdoor summer wedding. Their theme of “Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars” was gorgeously put together with star decorations, motifs of constellations, and a blue colour scheme to reflect the dusk sky.

They are both so easy going and able to laugh about things that go wrong. This came in handy with some of the memories they made that day! The mere 30 minutes it rained all fell on their outdoor ceremony, but with enough umbrellas and speedy vows, they didn’t have to compromise and move the wedding indoors. Just when they thought that was enough of a challenge, Nicole angered an entire colony of ants who got trapped in the lacy layers of her dress! She rolled with it and once we teamed up to clear them out, she was happy and ready to go for photos again :)

We spent the day with them and their fun wedding party visiting Red Rock Canyon and Cameron Lake. The free Canadian parks this year meant these beautiful locations were packed with tourists, but we used photography magic the best we could to make it look like Nicole and Derek were sharing private, intimate moments without a hundred eyes watching them!

Congratulations, Nicole and Derek!

(more…)

It’s been hard parting with all these pretty albums this year! This earthy coloured book is Robert and Carla’s fall Waterton wedding album. Their autumn themed wedding at the Bayshore Inn looked gorgeous against the brown colours chosen for this album, and we went with nice big photos spread over the pages. It’s Waterton – you have to show off how amazing the landscapes there are!

This is an example of the Modern+ Album, one of the albums offered specially for weddings.

(more…)

Robert and Carla made sure family played a prominent part in their Waterton Bayshore Inn autumn wedding. Their wedding party was mostly made up of siblings, their small guest count gave them more time to visit with family members, and most importantly, their adorable girls were a highlight of the day and got to enjoy their own special dance with Rob in the evening. They made it obvious what their priorities are in their life together :)

They chose such a gorgeous day at the end of the season in Waterton to hold their wedding. Their orange and red colour scheme perfectly complemented the fall colours and the dwindling tourists meant we got to visit a mostly empty Red Rock Canyon!

Carla and Robert were a joy to work with. They are madly in love and busted out hilarious jokes every few minutes. Their wedding party members were so warm and generous too, so it really must run in the family.

Congratulations, Robert and Carla!

(more…)

Monika and Peter love the outdoors so it was no surprise that Waterton was the perfect fit for their wedding. Their Bayshore Inn outdoor yard ceremony took place in such gorgeous weather with their closest friends and family in attendance. All day they were surrounded by so much love!

They subtly worked a couple of their geeky interests into the wedding with superhero socks, cufflinks, and even underwear, plus a Star Wars wedding band. The rest of their theme had a romantic look with subdued colors and beautiful white wild flowers.

Videography that day was provided by their adorable dog Brian. I’m not sure they’ll be hiring him again after he missed part of their ceremony by rolling upside down ;)

I loved watching Monika and Peter interact with each other. They are so comfortable together and naturally melted into each other’s arms for every photo.

Congratulations, Peter and Monika!

(more…)