Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Brittany and Brent had the honor of being the very first wedding to take place at Nikka Yuko this spring. Their Japanese Garden morning wedding photos took place half an hour after the garden opened for the season!

Since their ceremony was not until the late afternoon, Brittany and Brent opted to have a first look in the morning. Rather than see each other for the first time in church, the first look allowed for intimate photos of the exact moment they see each on the wedding day. (We love this because it usually means less stress for the couple, fresher makeup and flowers, and a more relaxed timeline.) We had Brent turn around when Brittany was only a few meters from him. You could see the exact moment the corners of his mouth started to curl up into a smile! Brittany swears his tears were on their way, but Brent held it together!

After the Japanese Garden photos, we headed west for some views of the coulees and then family photos in Indian Battle Park before the couple was on their way to their ceremony. We had so many great moments to pull them away from their friends and family. I couldn’t get enough of how adoringly they looked at each other all day.

Congratulations, Brittany and Brent!

This Indian Battle Park extended family photography session was a Christmas gift that was meant to take place outdoors back in December, but it was -30C the entire time the family was together! They made the wise decision to postpone until spring when everyone could actually be happy and comfortable in the photos. After a heavy rainfall earlier that day, everything was so green and fresh in the river bottom!

Three generations got together for this family session. The middle generation are part of a blended family, so they had both sets of their parents involved. Without my handy list of how everyone is related, it would have been impossible to tell sibling from cousin, sister from step sister, etc. Even all of the people who married into the family get along so comfortably with everyone that it’s hard to tell who is the sibling and who is the spouse! Everyone makes up one tightly knit family despite moving away, having children of their own, and seeing less of each other. This was such a great environment for the little kids who were happy to run to anyone there for comfort!

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When Jordanna and Deiter booked their Galt Museum winter wedding, they had their fingers crossed for a white wedding. You never know when you’ll get spring in February in Lethbridge! Even though it was cold, they missed the worst of our winter cold snap and were treated to a beautiful fresh coat of snow on the ground.

Jordanna wore a gorgeous red cape to stay warm in her wedding dress in the snow. Her dress itself was stunning, and a very proud internet order success story!

You’d never know by their faces how cold they were. Everyone was full of huge laughter all day and were incredible at tolerating the cold to get outdoor photography. Jordanna and Deiter were even more cute together than at their engagement session. This was especially true during their ceremony where they quickly switched back and forth from tearing up to huge grins.

After our very chilly photos outside, they warmed up with drinks at Italian Table before their reception back at the Galt Museum.

Congratulations, Jordanna & Deiter!

To celebrate Shirley’s birthday, her children planned a much needed update to their family photos. We ventured out in the warm Lethbridge winter air (warm, at least, for January) in Indian Battle Park, braving the mud and wind from the week’s Chinook.

Her and Kevin’s family is adorable. I appreciated how welcoming they were of the million times I made them hug each other! Shirley and Kevin were even willing to kiss in front of everyone!

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Barkley’s human dad came up with a great Christmas gift idea for his wife: gorgeous portraits of their new puppy! Barkley made a special trip all the way to Lethbridge for his Indian Battle Park winter puppy photos.

After only a few months, Barkley is already the size of most dogs. There is definitely Saint Bernard and Bernese Mountain Dog in those giant paws of his!

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Christina and Layne chose a beautiful sunny day for their river bottom winter maternity photos. I absolutely love golden hour at this time of year with how much the warm tones glow in the sun. We only had a bit of snow to deal with in the background! Christina radiated joy for her baby arriving soon.

She and Layne also brought along their first child, JackJack. JackJack is a very small dog with a blonde mohawk! I have never seen such a unique dog before! He wasn’t so sure about what we were up to but he was a good sport about the whole thing.

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