Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

This year the YWCA Lethbridge & District put on another amazing Women of Distinction Awards dinner on International Women’s Day. It was an honour to get to photograph the event again, especially with the introduction of the new Truth and Reconciliation and Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year we had less of a time crunch so I was able to meet all of the winners beforehand for their promotional photos so the event itself was a little less stressful for them!

This year’s event was held at The Coast Hotel which gave the organizers space to use multiple rooms for a VIP event before the main awards.

Jacqueline and Matthew’s Galt Museum late autumn wedding couldn’t have fallen on a better year. The gorgeous fall we had meant they still had fall colours and (sort of) warm temperatures for their wedding day. They chose the exact date of their 10th anniversary to get married since the date was already so special to them. The couple went with a starry night theme with blues and purples, which looked beautiful with the autumn colours.

Their ceremony involved lightsabers and such a huge reaction from Matthew when he saw Jacqueline enter the aisle. So many family members couldn’t stop their happy tears, including Matthew’s grandma who I overheard several times exclaiming, “It’s just so beautiful!” Matthew’s sister performed the ceremony (and managed to just barely make it through without crying too much). Jacqueline has younger siblings so she was able to include them in the wedding party as an older flower girl and ring bearer, matching in the wedding colours. All siblings were included somehow in the ceremony!

Partway through photos, we had their dog Fenrir specially escorted to us. He was so excited to see them that we could hardly get him to sit still! Basically he had an even bigger reaction during his first look with Jacqueline than Matthew did ;)

Congratulations, Jacqueline & Matthew!

Alice and Aaron started their laidback day with Henderson Lake autumn wedding photos and a first look at the park. Aaron arrived in an orange Corvette belonging to Alice’s parents (which he drove very, very carefully) – a perfectly coloured car for a fall wedding!

This was my third time working with Alice’s extended family this year and I’m so honoured they have made me a part of their important moments like this. We had so much fun with this couple who kept us laughing the whole time! Within an hour we managed to crash a medieval club, almost cause a car accident (not our fault!), and witness a new record of tongues sticking out in family photos.

After photos were finished, they had their intimate ceremony in Firestone Restaurant‘s private room. It was the perfect size for their guests and a perfect match for the warm fall vibes of the day.

Congratulations, Alice & Aaron!

MJ and Dan decided to get all the big things out of the way at once by having their McKillop United Church wedding at the same time they are doing a massive garage renovation! You’d never know they had so much on their plate by how happy and laid back they were throughout the wedding day. They even had the added stress of their initial ceremony location falling through, but they rolled with the situation and McKillop United wonderfully came to the rescue at the last minute.

The couple chose a classic wedding look with a monochromatic colour scheme. MJ loves bling and choose the perfect dress and shoes to show that off! We had lots of time for photos so we were able to visit both Henderson Lake and the coulees before returning to their reception at the Coast. Dan is a car guy so it was an added bonus they had extra time to cruise around in their limo!

Congratulations, MJ & Dan!

I decided I was due for a sample album update this year and chose to create a Lethbridge Research Centre wedding album out of Krysty and Kole’s wedding last September. Their wedding was a perfect fit to show potential clients as it starts with both of them getting ready at the Lethbridge Coast Hotel in the morning and has all parts of the day until their sparkler exit at night.

The full page spreads of the Modern+ Album were perfect for showing off large images of their ceremony at the Lethbridge Research Centre, full wedding party against the coulees, and sunset photos at Henderson Lake just before dinner.

Choosing the spine colour was a tough choice as their wedding had a few gray tones, but the natural colours on the cusp of autumn would look amazing in a brown. In the end I chose the dark brown leather spine and chocolate album bag to accent their photos. Thanks to the popularity of this album style and its really fast turnaround time, this year forward I’ll only be offering this style for weddings. If you’ve seen the other styles and still prefer those, they are still available by special request!

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Just one day after second shooting for Melanie, I got to do it again with Kassey from Red Tree Photography! This time we had a Trinity Reformed Church wedding with Jessica and Josiah, who met at college and fell in love. Josiah’s family travelled from Ontario to meet Jessica’s Alberta family and have their beautiful ceremony at Jess’s family’s church.

Jessica and Josiah looked amazing, especially with her flower crown and his red bow tie. We took the wedding party to Indian Battle Park for portraits after the ceremony, then just the bride and groom downtown before heading to their reception at the Coast Hotel.

Congratulations, Jess and Josiah!

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