Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Remember the Scrabble marriage proposal? I had the honour of joining Meg and Shieghla again for their Bayshore Inn early spring wedding. It really is a privilege to follow people through so many important moments like these, especially when they and their families are so kind and wonderful to be around.

We returned to Waterton where they had an outdoor ceremony at the Bayshore Inn, officiated by MLA Shannon Phillips. Their children played a prominent role in the wedding – not just helping with the proposal, but by being in the wedding party! Shieghla and Meg’s sisters made up the rest of the group and led to some very emotional speeches at the reception.

Originally we hadn’t planned to return to the proposal spot at the Prince of Wales, but with most of the shorelines in town being flooded out from the recent rain and snow melt, we made a last minute change and returned to the same spot as before. Just before the reception, we went to Cameron Lake with only the couple and were happy the lake was finally visible through the snow! Shieghla and Meg were committed to the photoshoot and trudged through quite a bit of mud with us to make it to the boardwalk path that runs along the lake (a place the fires miraculously never touched). So worth the mud!

Congratulations, Meg and Shieghla!

I love seeing my past wedding clients growing their families! Vanessa and Robbie made a day trip down for their Waterton winter maternity session. This was one of the rare times I got to photograph snow this winter, so I appreciated it despite the freezing temperatures! Vanessa herself was super brave to strip down to her dress and no coat a few times. It helped that they came prepared with mochas to warm up on!

We adventured through what was open in the park. Luckily we were able to access nearly everything since Waterton didn’t yet have snow up to the rooftops! We set up a little mocha picnic on one of the snowy trails and confused a few hikers.

When Meg wanted to ask her partner Shieghla to marry her, she decided it was going to be a group effort. After first asking Shieghla’s children for permission, she arranged a gift certificate with me. Their Waterton surprise proposal session was disguised as family photos for an anniversary gift. Meg then had oversized custom Scrabble tiles made by Nixynn Fine Wood Products – Scrabble is one of their favourite hobbies to do together – and came up with a plan for their family members to sneak the tiles into the session.

I met up with the family at Linnet Lake to start with regular portraits, and work through some of Meaghan’s nerves until she was ready to ask the question!

Finally it was time at the Prince of Wales! Meg and I had shared diagrams and code words before the proposal session. I asked the other family members to stand to the side while I took photos of the couple, giving them a chance to stealthily pull the Scrabble tiles out.

Shieghla was shocked and had never expected it! (Of course she said yes!) Her and Meg were so lost in the moment, they didn’t even hear the onlooking tourists clapping for them!

Congratulations, Meg and Shieghla!

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!

Margie and Daryl decided on a Waterton destination wedding in the late summer when planning their event. Their intimate Bayshore Inn wedding ceremony was held outdoors in the hotel’s yard overlooking the lake. They made the day special for their children by having them come along for all of their portraits and letting them have a full tour of the national park.

We were so excited that Red Rock Canyon reopened this year and we could finally go back there for photos! Margie and Daryl loved it from the samples I showed them and were ready for adventure at the end of their portraits. Margie was so excited to get down into the water that she asked about it before I suggested any rock climbing! It always give the tourists quite a show to see people in formal wear scaling the rocks and gingerly stepping over the wet pebbles in the stream.

This couple hardly needed any direction, which is especially impressive once you see their huge upside down dip!

Congratulations, Margie and Daryl!

Natasha and Jeremy are perfect examples of patience as they planned their intimate Waterton Lakes Lodge wedding through the pandemic. The couple had to save dress and suit shopping until the last month while they waited for stores to allow customers and it was only a couple weeks before their wedding date that select national parks were allowed to open, meaning we could actually get into Waterton!

Through all this, Natasha had the added challenge of secretly transforming their vows from an elopement to a small wedding as a surprise for Jeremy. Although their guest list had to shrink to accommodate the gathering rules, they were still able to have their immediate families in attendance. Jeremy had no idea until he walked to the ceremony site and saw everyone (which started a cascade of everyone happy crying)!

It was strange seeing Waterton so quiet during its peak season but it gave us so much more space to get around for photos. And best of all, it didn’t rain on us one bit even though it threatened to. Natasha, Jeremy, and their families were so kind and great to work with. This sweet couple really made our first wedding of the season easy!

Congratulations, Natasha & Jeremy!