Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Sheridin and Ian based their wedding around the mountain landscape of their hometown. Their Willow Drive outdoor wedding, entirely held at Ian’s brother’s place, provided sweeping views of the mountains in the Crowsnest Pass and made it easy for so many family members to be there.

This wedding was a celebration of the life Sheridin and Ian have already built together. After meeting in high school, education and work pulled them in different directions for many years while they successfully maintained a long distance relationship. They have finally been able to build a home together and were ready to have a party to celebrate that fact!

After getting ready at their own home and having a backyard first look, we headed to Willow Drive for portraits. Having their wedding there made it so easy to hop between the amazing views in the field and at the Starcreek Falls trail.

They really wanted to center the reception around their love for their families. The heartfelt speeches resulted in so much laughter and crying (sometimes both in the same breath).

Congratulations, Sheridin and Ian!

And we’re back! It felt amazing to be back at weddings now that the restrictions are starting to lift. Kari and Terry were so sweet and welcoming, so their wedding was such a fantastic start to the season. They started planning their Prince of Wales spring wedding early so we lots of time to look forward to it.

Normally we spend the day zipping around Waterton, but Kari and Terry planned to spend their whole day at the hotel. After getting ready in the beautifully renovated rooms, they had their ceremony in the hotel’s lobby with the huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the mountains.

We had just the right amount of breaks in the rain to get Kari and Terry outside for their family and couple’s portraits, and the rainy weather meant for once there wasn’t a hint of wind!

Kari and Terry kept their guest list small with the people who are the most important to them. Between these valued relationships and the relief of finding out everyone could come, there was a lot of crying! Kari’s daughter had to keep reminding her not to cry off her makeup and during the ceremony at least half the guests had tissues ready.

p.s. I think it’s so cute they have rhyming names, but quickly found out a mask muffles who I am actually speaking to when posing! We had to fall back on “K & T” for directions ;)

Congratulations, Kari & Terry!

Halloween is by far my favourite holiday, so you can imagine my excitement when Jessica and Dustin contacted me while planning their Halloween sunset wedding. Jessica adores Halloween and she was not about to let the rare Saturday it fell on go to waste!

They wanted their ceremony to take place outdoors to incorporate the setting sun and chose a friend’s farm just outside of Orton. We got lucky with a gorgeous Halloween evening, and the farm had such great curvy trees to go with the theme.

Jessica wore a beautiful black wedding dress with lace accents and a black veil, and had a friend build them a coffin for a very dramatic bridal entrance. This is definitely the first wedding coffin I’ve photographed!

Congratulations, Jessica and Dustin!

Erin and Taylor chose the most beautiful day to have their Lethbridge City Hall spring wedding. This was the first day of spring where it truly felt like summer was on its way and the air was filled with the sweet smell of tree blossoms everywhere we went.

We arrived in time for Erin to have her “assembly line” of first looks in her parents’ back yard. Her father got to have the first first look, followed by Taylor once he arrived with his groomsmen. Erin’s dad won the award for most crying during the first look :)

After portraits at Aperture Park, they headed to City Hall for their ceremony. Edgar the Barnowl presenting their wedding rings offered a unique touch to the day! He was very well behaved during the entire ceremony.

The day had already been filled with tons of laughter, but once the reception rolled around and everyone had time to relax and visit with each other, the laughter was non-stop! We had trouble prying ourselves away from all the happy dancers even after our photo coverage was over :)

Congratulations, Erin and Taylor!

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Desirée and Craig wanted to reflect their love for the live music scene by hosting a Crowsnest Pass night time wedding at The Greenhill Hotel in Blairmore. With Craig being a musician, their concert-themed wedding was perfect! In addition to closing out the evening with an open jam stage with their friends, their decorations were accented with records and musical notes.

I noticed back at their engagement session that they have such huge emotions around each other and the wedding day was no exception. Craig was so overwhelmed during the ceremony while Des acted as his rock, wiping away his tears. They later had this hilarious exchange…

Des: Are you okay to drive?
Craig: I haven’t been drinking…
Des: I mean emotionally!

One special touch in their wedding was how much they included Desirée’s son. Not only was he their ring bearer, but he joined them in a hug after the first kiss and had a special marriage certificate to take part in the signing of.

Congratulations, Desirée and Craig!

p.s. Special thanks to Nate at Rydography for filling in for Cam as second shooter / assistant!

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While most of our weddings this year had a huge chance of being rained out, Shelly and Mark’s Paradise Canyon summer wedding never once had that threat. Instead they had an amazing hot day for their outdoor ceremony at the golf course.

They chose to hold both their ceremony and reception at the scenic Paradise Canyon Golf Resort, overlooking the coulees. With Mark’s family travelling a far distance to attend the wedding, it was fitting they got to spend this special day in such a distinct Lethbridge landscape!

It was amazing seeing Shelly and Mark interact with each other. While they are normally very collected people, they couldn’t hold back their emotions at times like seeing each other down the aisle and sharing emotional speeches. I love photographing criers ;)

Congratulations, Mark and Shelly!

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