Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

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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It’s a little harsh to start your wedding day needing an EpiPen, but Cheryl and Josh are tough and had an awesome day despite the rocky beginning (plus it sure adds to the quirky memories of the day!). We had perfect weather for a sunny Lethbridge autumn wedding, with beautiful fall colors to make their vivid wedding party outfits really pop.

After the girls got ready, we headed over to the Immanuel Lutheran Church on the west side where the minister worked awesome Star Wars jokes into the ceremony. The west side had so many amazing locations this autumn that we didn’t even have to leave it until it was time to go to their reception at the Italian Canadian Club :)

There were a few wedding party crossovers from previous weddings and as usual, they were such a fun group! Cheryl and Josh are amazing in front of the camera and you can tell how madly in love they are every moment they are together.

Congratulations, Josh & Cheryl!

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Kayla and Jeff had a beautiful, elegant Crowsnest Pass wedding at the end of summer with so many well thought out details! The hints of pink, gold, and white throughout their day added perfect touches and I especially loved their matching balloons (a special thanks to the bridesmaids for inflating those before the ceremony!).

I love seeing how happy Kayla and Jeff are around each other and they were just as cuddly as at their winter engagement session, even though they didn’t need to keep each other warm this time!

They started their day with a ceremony at the Catholic Church in Blairmore and followed with a reception at the Coleman Sportsplex. They did a gorgeous job working their pink and gold colors into the decorations and candy/sundae bar, and you couldn’t recognize the venue as being a curling arena!

Congratulations, Kayla & Jeff!

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