Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Michelle, Claire, and Andrey had a summer solstice polyam wedding at Pavan Park with nearly every rich, colourful detail handcrafted by them. This was the first polyam wedding I’ve had the opportunity to photograph and it means so much for it to be for friends I’ve known for well over a decade! Claire fully became a part of Michelle and Andrey’s lives during the pandemic when their friendship blossomed into love. It’s because of the pandemic that I haven’t had a chance to get to know Claire yet, but I know that if they love her, she is truly amazing – and spending the day with the three of them only served to enforce that.

Another first for me was witnessing a ceremony performed by a drag king! (I can still find new things to photograph after doing this for so long!). Calgary drag king Brad Diesel was both their officiant, MC, and a reception performer.

Their aptly titled “lovebirds handfasting ceremony” took place in a fairy ring they created under their favourite tree on the grounds of the John Martin Recreation Area. Everything took place in Pavan Park on this perfect long summer evening.

Congratulations, Michelle, Claire, and Andrey!

Remember the Scrabble marriage proposal? I had the honour of joining Meg and Shieghla again for their Bayshore Inn early spring wedding. It really is a privilege to follow people through so many important moments like these, especially when they and their families are so kind and wonderful to be around.

We returned to Waterton where they had an outdoor ceremony at the Bayshore Inn, officiated by MLA Shannon Phillips. Their children played a prominent role in the wedding – not just helping with the proposal, but by being in the wedding party! Shieghla and Meg’s sisters made up the rest of the group and led to some very emotional speeches at the reception.

Originally we hadn’t planned to return to the proposal spot at the Prince of Wales, but with most of the shorelines in town being flooded out from the recent rain and snow melt, we made a last minute change and returned to the same spot as before. Just before the reception, we went to Cameron Lake with only the couple and were happy the lake was finally visible through the snow! Shieghla and Meg were committed to the photoshoot and trudged through quite a bit of mud with us to make it to the boardwalk path that runs along the lake (a place the fires miraculously never touched). So worth the mud!

Congratulations, Meg and Shieghla!

Marisa and Tara got engaged while on a mountain climb (while Marisa was injured, no less!) and make frequent trips to go explore the mountains with their three dogs. They combined their love of outdoor adventures with Tara’s hometown to have an intimate mountain themed wedding. The couple wanted to do Star Creek Falls wedding photos prior to their ceremony, so we met up with them in Coleman for a mini hiking adventure.

Tara has tons of experience walking out onto ice rinks in heels after hockey games, so a little hike to Star Creek Falls with Marisa was pretty easy in comparison. Yes, she wore her heels the whole way, even over logs and wet rocks! We were thrilled that they were up for going all the way to the base of Star Creek Falls, which is incredible for photos.

After portraits, we journeyed to the other end of the Crowsnest Pass. Their ceremony was held outdoors at Tara’s parents’ place where we were joined by their friends and family. This was such a fun event! There were so many happy tears during their personal vows, and once the reception started, everyone there could not stop smiling. Tara and Marisa have such an amazing relationship, and everyone near to them shares in that joy.

Congratulations, Tara & Marisa!

When Meg wanted to ask her partner Shieghla to marry her, she decided it was going to be a group effort. After first asking Shieghla’s children for permission, she arranged a gift certificate with me. Their Waterton surprise proposal session was disguised as family photos for an anniversary gift. Meg then had oversized custom Scrabble tiles made by Nixynn Fine Wood Products – Scrabble is one of their favourite hobbies to do together – and came up with a plan for their family members to sneak the tiles into the session.

I met up with the family at Linnet Lake to start with regular portraits, and work through some of Meaghan’s nerves until she was ready to ask the question!

Finally it was time at the Prince of Wales! Meg and I had shared diagrams and code words before the proposal session. I asked the other family members to stand to the side while I took photos of the couple, giving them a chance to stealthily pull the Scrabble tiles out.

Shieghla was shocked and had never expected it! (Of course she said yes!) Her and Meg were so lost in the moment, they didn’t even hear the onlooking tourists clapping for them!

Congratulations, Meg and Shieghla!

Kit and Tristian managed to keep their wedding almost exactly as planned, other than having guests sit a little farther apart than they normally would! Their Dwell Urban Venue wedding was full of emotion and huge smiles (and social distancing).

Dwell was where Kit had originally wanted to propose to Tristian, but unfortunately it hadn’t been available for booking that day. It was therefore an obvious choice to be their wedding venue and totally matched the vibe of their wedding. After their morning ceremony, their guests were served treats while we took the couple to the Lethbridge river bottom for photos.

I had so many great opportunities to get adorable sneaky photos of Tristian and Kit. Anytime they thought they weren’t being photographed, they would continue holding hands, laughing together, or even trying out dance moves! I am so grateful to have followed them in this journey from proposal to union and to have seen their bond grow stronger in that time.

Congratulations, Kit & Tristian!

Cassie and Chelsea travelled south for their intimate Waterton wedding ceremony at the Bayshore Inn. As a child, Cassie would go to Waterton with her grandparents every summer. Choosing to get married there meant that now Chelsea could bring her grandpa back to the park! They could not have picked a more special location :)

Only their immediate family and a handful of friends were present and their wedding took place in Waterton’s off season. It made it feel like they had most of the park to themselves! (Other than us running into a random tour bus full of people at Cameron Falls!)

Their ceremony was instantly adorable as Chelsea started giggling uncontrollably as she came down the aisle. She only stopped giggling to cry at a handful of emotional moments during their vows. Meanwhile, their dogs Rufus and Winston tried to steal attention away by crawling under the guest’s chairs and excitedly jumping on anyone who came too close to say hello. By the end of the ceremony, they were so excited that they could finally get hugs from their moms!

Chelsea and Cassie were so great to work with, happily braving crazy wind and hiking over rocky beaches in their dresses. They rarely quit breaking into laughter and stealing kisses, and we may have caught a few butt grabs when they thought no one was looking.

Congratulations, Cassie & Chelsea!