Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

2019 was a busy one for us with Cam and I travelling all over the province! We got to take photos in some fun new places this year, including Heritage Acres and Boulder Run in Pincher Creek, the town of De Winton, and the rooftop patio of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. Waterton was a very popular destination this year and we spent so much time there, I considered setting up a tent!

The winter weddings started in September with our first huge snowfall of the season, giving their Brazilian guests a real taste of Canada.

Animals stole the show many times this year. One couple was stalked by a cat, another bride included her pet cow in photos, and so many dogs got to witness their people get married.

From a red wedding dress to Harry Potter magic to alleyway beer shotgunning, 2019 was an unforgettable year.

I hope you enjoy looking through our best wedding photos of 2019 as much as I liked choosing them!

When I found out where Michelle and Pieter were getting married, I was so excited to return to one of my favorite venues! They planned a Gladstone Mountain Ranch summer wedding as a bit of a destination wedding while still staying in the province. The ranch, tucked between Pincher Creek and Castle Mountain Resort, is such a hidden gem in Southern Alberta!

Michelle and Pieter combined classy with low key, mixing elegant gowns and sweeping ceremony vistas with accents of wild flowers, a BBQ dinner, and a s’mores roast at the end of the evening. Their ceremony was followed by a cookie bar and lawn games to keep their guests busy while they explored the ranch with me for photos.

The couple are such naturals in front of the camera, despite telling me otherwise. I had forgotten they warned me they aren’t used to having their photo taken until, at the end of portraits, they brought up how comfortable they ended up feeling! (Hopefully this experience will convince them photos can be fun, haha.) Their wedding party and family definitely added to the fun too. When the groomsmen weren’t lifting Pieter in the air, the girls could usually be found striking poses for each other.

We had an amazing time with them, and it’s not often we can say the bride was hunted by a house cat! (You’ll have to check out the photos below!)

Congratulations, Michelle and Pieter!

I’m excited this year to be offering a new style of album, the Modern+ Album! This is an upgrade to my regular Modern Albums featuring a square size and special finish on the thick pages, tailored especially for weddings. This album comes in a 10″ square size and is presented in a fabric bag (various choices available).

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Continuing with a fantastic year of friends getting married, April and Ed’s Gladstone Mountain Ranch wedding was another very special one since they have been dating since we were in high school! (Obviously there were many jokes about how Ed likes to take his time with important decisions.)

They came back to Alberta for their very intimate wedding and chose a beautiful spot in the trees for their ceremony at the ranch. It’s such a gorgeous, peaceful location in the mountains and they couldn’t have picked a better spot! With the wedding being so intimate it gave us lots of time to spend with just the two of them for photos. After all this time they still know how to be romantic and I love seeing how comfortable they are with each other. :)

April is a very literary person so books played a huge part in the theme of their wedding, combining with natural forest touches. It was fantastic to get to work with Andrea at Elegant Weddings and Events again, who kept the day running perfectly.

Congratulations, April & Ed!

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