Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

What’s the best way to celebrate 40 years of marriage? Barbara and Larry chose to celebrate by telling their kids they were making a one hour detour before dinner to do 40th anniversary family photos!

Barbara has seen many couple start their lives together in her time as a marriage officiant, so it was wonderful to see her celebrate her own marriage! I’m so grateful to constantly be included in their family’s milestones for photos.

This session was lots of fun now their grandson is old enough to pose and make silly faces on command, though I think his uncle was even more of a ham in front of the camera! We spent this warm evening down in Lethbridge’s river bottom, and even got to visit some goats at the end.

Chris and Richard planned for High Level Bridge multi-generation family photos while their family was visiting for the weekend. These photos were long overdue since it had been 13 years since their last family session!

Many family members have moved away from Lethbridge, but still have a fondness for the city’s biggest landmark. The river bottom along the Lethbridge Viaduct was therefore the best place to choose for photos.

Their family came prepared with lots of fun props, including the big picture frame they could use to show off their children and grandkids!

When Janet and Alvin celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, their children gifted them a photo session for Indian Battle Park family portraits. It was the perfect time to update their photos while each of their children’s families were back in Lethbridge.

Their family is adorable and cares for each other so much. With each hugging embrace for photos came huge smiles from everyone involved. Alvin and Janet themselves snuggle and grin like newlyweds even after 40 years!

Dan and Sheila were gifted a portrait session for Christmas and waited until we had gorgeous weather and their granddaughters were visiting. Wanting something a little off the beaten path for the city, we decided on Lethbridge Research Centre family photos. The centre’s Fairfield Gardens are one of my favourite and most under-utilized locations here so I was thrilled when Dan was the one to suggest it!

The family made their session so much fun by constantly goofing around together, teasing each other behind the camera, and not being afraid to roll around with Aspen the dog on the ground. Aspen was quite the show stealer with his energetic antics and the team work from the family that it took to have him hold still for only a few photos at a time.

Unfortunately Aspen unexpectedly fell ill not long after this photo session so this post is in his memory. I’m so thankful we were able to get these amazing moments of him with his family.

It’s a big deal when Bob and Linda come to visit! These sweet grandparents live in northern Canada, but their grandson and his family and sister are in Lethbridge while he completes his degree. Bob and Linda planned a special trip to see their great grandchildren and have a family photo session while they were in the city.

We picked the University of Lethbridge as our backdrop both because of the wind and because the location is meaningful while Ken goes to school there. (Usually my clients get a little worried about getting lost on campus, but Ken easily knew his way around!) We explored the new Science Commons building and the kids loved all the elevator rides!

Bob’s great grandson is named after him, so he brought along special matching embroidered hats for the two of them to wear. I’m only disappointed the elder Bob didn’t have bright green hair like his great grandson ;)

When Gary and Sylvia’s family booked their session, I was warned about two cranky boys: 1 year old Takeshi who was currently teething… and grandpa TJ who does not like having his photo taken! Ribfest over at Henderson Lake made us decide to switch over to Nicholas Sheran portraits. This was a great decision as we found a spot completely sheltered from the crazy wind that day!

The little boys loved climbing in the trees (so did their dad) and having sword fights with sticks. Grandpa TJ peacefully sat back and laughed at everyone having to chase the kids into photos.

This was a really special family session that allowed them to get four generations together in one photo.

p.s. Final assessment? None of the boys were very cranky :)