Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Ana and Nick wanted to get married with mountain views so they chose to have a Waterton Community Center wedding ceremony and reception. Their outdoor ceremony was perfect to take in the landscape of the national park, and we didn’t have to travel far to take photos at Cameron Falls and the beach overlooking the mountains.

My favourite part of Ana and Nick’s wedding is that Ana made her own dress and used fabric and lace from her mom’s wedding dress to create it. Even better, she made it a two piece convertible and turned it into a shortened version for their reception. She did a beautiful job but with that much work they joked she’d never make another wedding dress again ;)

Their wedding party were hilarious and kept all of us laughing all day, whether it was taking turns with the veil or totally nailing my instructions to “be geese.”

Congratulations, Ana and Nick!

Fay and Sinéad had been friends since childhood, but developed a deeper connection as they became adults. Their relationship has remained one of love and continued deep friendship, which was clear in every moment they were glued to each other during the wedding day. Their day celebrated nature and centred around their Helen Schuler Nature Centre rooftop wedding.

Just before the ceremony, they had the sweetest first look in the nature park. Instead of crying, they were so excited! Sinéad could not hide their awe at seeing Fay while Fay excitedly twirled to show off the excellent spin from their dress.

Fay went with a celestial theme for their look, having a star crown and a custom made dress featuring embroidered gold stars and moons. Sinéad embraced sunflowers and had them feature on their shirt, belt, tie, shoes, and floral headpiece. The two love playing DnD and worked their love for that into their details as well! The Round Table was a perfect reception location to reflect their favourite interests.

No queer wedding is complete without a little bit of rainbow, so they worked that into their wedding party colours. Everyone wore variations of green for a nature-centric vibe and had flower crowns, each with a colour of the rainbow. Sinéad’s youngest siblings got to embrace the full rainbow colours in their roles as flower girl and ring bearer.

Congratulations, Sinéad and Fay!

Meagan and Jesse care deeply about the people close to them and made sure everyone was an important part of their Castle Mountain summer wedding. Castle has been SO popular as a wedding venue this year and we got to start things off this season with one of our biggest weddings of the year and with amazing people.

We have had a lot of emotional weddings this year, but this one is definitely in the running for one of the winners. I think everyone cried at some point during the day, but it didn’t take long for the jokes to quickly dry the tears and get them going again (everyone made sure the day was as fun as it could possibly be!). Their dog Ellie also brought a light to the day with her dramatic head tilts and affinity for water. (The wedding party got their exercise protecting Meagan’s dress from wet dog.)

Meagan and Jesse’s wedding feels like such a milestone in my career. Usually when a client comes through a referral, it’s through a single friend or family member. In their case, I had photographed two different cousin’s weddings on each side. One of these was the 2nd or 3rd wedding I had ever photographed on my own. It blows my mind for there to be a 5th wedding and that I am still a part of their lives! Both sides of the family joked all day that I was their official family photographer. Meagan and Jesse, I am so thankful for you to continue to trust me with your family’s memories and it’s been an honour to watch your families change shape over the years.

Congratulations, Meagan and Jesse!

Olivia and Marko managed to incorporate all of their passions into their wedding day. The end result was a Norland wedding with medieval accents that really made a statement! They had a knight escort that guests could battle, custom-made long swords, and the biggest highlight of all, their horses. The couple both arrived to the ceremony on horseback and rode off once they said their vows. (The horses did amazing at their roles aside from some poorly timed poop.)

Despite how grand everything about their wedding was, what really stood out were the simple details. Olivia and Marko show such kindness and love towards each other and their friends. Everyone spent the day being silly and laughing, while taking time for quiet moments when needed. The couple weren’t afraid to sneak out whenever they needed a moment alone and were rarely spotted away from each other even amongst their large guest list.

Congratulations, Olivia and Marko!

What happens when geeks get married but they are also drama kids? You get an event that’s a fun combination of light sabers, dancing wedding parties, and reception events driven by game winners. This wasn’t Janna and Sam’s real wedding; that happened a couple years ago in an intimate way. This wedding was to have a party for their friends and family! Their Norland Estate spring wedding was everything they hoped their dream wedding would be. Once they found the Norland online, they knew it was the perfect place and they travelled to Lethbridge for everything to come together.

With the legal part well out of the way, they were able to have a fun, casual day without the stress of a tight schedule. One of the groomsmen officiated the ceremony and Janna and Sam’s daughter played a central role throughout the day (and somehow powered through the whole thing without a nap). We’re so glad we could steal them away at the end of the day for a fun light saber battle.

Congratulations, Janna and Sam!

Nicole and Brandon’s Italian Canadian Centre autumn wedding was well worth the wait! Their wedding planning started pre-COVID and they were finally able to have the wedding they wanted with all of their family and friends there.

Back in high school, they had made a bet with a staff member that if they got married, she would come to the wedding. That bet came to fruition, and they had her perform the marriage ceremony! Their vows were full of laughter and happy tears, especially when they first saw each other in the aisle. All of Brandon’s tension melted away when he had his first look at Nicole, and she was overcome with very teary smiles.

They booked a fantastic car to get around for their photos, a classic Lincoln from 94 Cabs, which made for amazing photos. This was the very first wedding the car has been used for since it was restored, so it was quite an honour to try it out. We had such a great time out for photos with them, especially thanks to their hilarious friends who had no shortage of great poses and jokes to make the couple laugh.

Congratulations, Nicole and Brandon!

p.s. A huge thank you to Matthew from Aspire Photography who helped me out when Cam wasn’t feeling well!