Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

William and Becky had a beautiful early autumn wedding around their home turf in Southern Alberta. I had already done photos with them a couple times before so I knew how fun they were before we even started. They are such naturals in front of the camera and so crazy in love. It’s been amazing to see how much more obvious their love has become since I first met them in the winter!

After getting ready in Nobleford, we headed over to the Bethel Free Reformed Church in Monarch for their ceremony and wedding service. For their portraits I was excited to finally get to go to the Lethbridge Corn Maze, which has been on my wedding photography bucket list for a while ;) Their time spent not getting lost in the maze was followed by Park Lake wedding photos. We had already done their engagement photos there but with the new autumn colors, it looked like a brand new location and worked perfectly with the yellow bridesmaid dresses.

Congratulations, Wink and Becky!

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After already sharing so much of their life together, Chad and Samantha decided to make it official with an intimate Milk River wedding. Traveling from Calgary with their beautiful girls, they chose Milk River for its proximity to family and small town charm even though neither of them are originally from there. They ended up with a beautiful day where the big, blue rural Alberta skies opened up after weeks of rain and smoke.

They started out their day with a short ceremony at St. Paul’s United Church with only their closest family and friends in attendance. The church had a beautiful courtyard so we mainly stayed there, but had a chance to drive out a bit for views of fields and mountains.

Samantha and Chad are so sweet, which came across in every single interaction with them. They are both so bubbly and happy, it’s clear to see how they are still such a perfect match after all these years together.

Congratulations, Chad and Samantha!

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It’s impossible to talk about Evan and Emily’s wedding without first addressing all the crazy little things that went wrong that day. Between rain, incorrect church readings, and car accidents (to only name a few), each new thing that came up had us shaking our heads and feeling piling sympathy for this sweet couple. However, what mattered in the end was that the overall love and happiness of the day overpowered the trivial things and they still had such a beautiful, elegant Calgary Catholic wedding.

Every time Emily looked at Evan, you could see her stress melt away as she shot him her beaming smile. I quickly learned that asking them to look serious in any photos was a challenge ;) They are so supportive of each other and true equals in their relationship.

We already knew the kindness and warmth of Evan’s family from when we photographed his sister’s wedding several years ago, but Emily’s family easily matched that hospitality! (Though the long running joke through the reception is that Evan’s family wins in the quantity of happy tears they cry.)

Congratulations, Evan and Emily!

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Derek and Tara-Lee held a beautiful Coaldale farm wedding this summer, making use of some amazing country locations in the area. The rustic aesthetic was offset with classic touches of lace and soft pink.

After the girls got ready at Tara-Lee’s house (including makeup done by Tara-Lee’s sister, Karina), they headed to the Coaldale Canadian Reformed Church for the ceremony. Between all the tears and Tara-Lee never being able to hold back her huge grin, there was so much happy energy there!

They both looked stunning and are always so blissful in each others presence. We had such a laid back day with them while everyone joked around and had fun at all the farms we visited.

Congratulations, Derek & Tara-Lee!

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We loved taking part in Richard and Crystal’s Crowsnest Pass Scottish wedding this past weekend because, let’s be honest, weddings are awesome when you include kilts and bagpipes! They included Richard’s family tartan in the kilt, bouquet, and fathers’ ties :)

Crystal returned to her hometown for their wedding and started the day getting ready at her family’s house before their ceremony at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Blairmore. Afterwards we headed to the Miner’s Path for photos before sending them back to the church’s basement for their reception.

Richard and Crystal are such a perfect match for each other. They both have such positive attitudes and love to joke… we got to watch them make each other laugh all day! Their friends in the wedding party were the same and by reception time, everyone was so happy dancing and socializing.

Congratulations, Richard and Crystal!

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This post is a little late, but Lorelei had first dibs on showing the photos :)

Last December I had the pleasure of second shooting for Lorelei Hoffarth for Jennifer and David’s snowy Lethbridge winter wedding. It was extremely cold that day so we mostly stuck indoors with Casa, their church, and their reception venue, but at the end there were brave enough to head out with their fur shawls for a few snow pictures too!

I started out the day with the boys at Casa, and soon Lorelei and the girls joined us.

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