Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Charlene and Terry had a very emotional session with their family. This sweet mother, wife, and grandmother had recently entered palliative care. Knowing they had the gift of time, her children planned their Hillcrest family photos so they could capture some last beautiful memories with her in photos.

It was important to do the photos where she raised her children in the Crowsnest Pass, so we chose a beautiful spot down by the creek in Hillcrest. (It’s such a small world that her daughter lives several houses down from me in Lethbridge, and here we were travelling to our shared home town.) The family made a very big exception for physical distancing that day because it was important to snuggle in close to Charlene and show how much she was loved.

Catherine and Douglas planned their event from across the country and returned to Douglas’s home town for their Springbreak Flower Farm summer wedding. With family members traveling from near and far, it was like a mini destination wedding!

Catherine swore she would never marry a military man, but then Douglas came along! The two are so compatible, including their mutual love of taking their cats on backpack adventures. What stood out the most in their personalities was how happy and positive they are. Despite some significant setbacks, from skin burns to a tray of cupcakes falling to the floor to botched dress alterations (Catherine’s mom ended up having to sew her into the dress that day), their positivity never faltered. They were just so happy to be marrying the love of their life! Douglas could not stop looking at his beautiful bride all day.

Catherine was a natural at wedding planning. She is a French language teacher and used to doing lots of planning! (She even laughed about how she had highlighted Douglas’s parts in their speech.) This attention to detail meant the day ran so smoothly, they had plenty of time to relax in between parts of the day (even if that contributed to a few extra tummy butterflies!).

Congratulations, Catherine and Douglas!

Lindsay and Terry love spending time outdoors, especially if it means visiting the Crowsnest Pass. Since their wedding is taking place in Lethbridge, they wanted to include this favorite destination of theirs in their engagement session instead. It’s always so tough to narrow down the scenic locations there! They decided on Lundbreck Falls autumn engagement photos, which was a perfect time of year as nearly all the tourists were gone. We got so lucky with the weather too! Despite a heavy snowfall warning, down below the mountains the fall landscape held on in gorgeous red and yellow tones. Only the mountain tops were dusted with a coating of snow to show the seasons colliding. Terry and Lindsay did an amazing job pretending it was warmer than it was (behind the scenes I was in a poofy parka!) and we were pleased to discover how much warmer it was at the base of the falls!

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It’s such an honour when couples have us spend the day with them when everything else is otherwise very intimate. Kelsie and Scott had a Lundbreck ranch outdoor wedding ceremony at his parents’ place and planned a low key event for their small but important guest list. To embrace the ranch theme, Kelsie wore a beautiful summer dress and cowboy boots and they used their vintage pickup truck both for photos and transportation.

After their ceremony overlooking the mountains, we travelled around the area making stops at Lundbreck Falls, the Burmis Tree, and Hillcrest for portraits. This gave Kelsie and Scott tons of private time during driving to spend with each other before rejoining their friends and family for their dinner reception in Waterton.

Kelsie and Scott were so great to work with! We took them through water and trees, and Kelsie was thrilled to have a chance to go barefoot in the creek for a few photos. (It was a welcome relief from the heat that day so I understand her excitement!) They are so happy together that I never had to remind them to smile at each other :)

Congratulations, Kelsie and Scott!

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Our last few weddings at this amazing venue were forced into the greenhouse because of rain, but Amanda and Jesse got lucky and had the SpringBreak Flower Farm outdoor ceremony they planned for!

We met up with the girls at the flower farm’s bed and breakfast where Brio Salon and Katt Panic were finishing making them all look stunning. Amanda and Jesse were both so excited to see each other that they were full of nervous jitters before the ceremony. Amanda, her mom, and her bridesmaids had to keep distracting themselves so they wouldn’t tear up, and Jesse could hardly contain himself while he watched Amanda walk down the aisle.

For photos they brought along their adorable corgi Sadie. She had a great time exploring and didn’t seem too phased by her mom wearing a big white dress ;) Sadie was cheered on by the entire wedding party every time she was a good girl for her photos.

After photos, they headed back to the SpringBreak Garden Centre where they celebrated their reception with food from Country Encounters and music from Prime Entertainment.

Congratulations, Amanda and Jesse!

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Amanda and Jesse decided to do Lundbreck Falls summer engagement photos to make use of the beautiful weather we had this summer. It also gave us an excuse to go on a bit of an adventure for photos as their wedding will be taking place in the city. They are so comfortable in each other’s arms and exude happiness together. They are such a perfect couple!

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