Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Our summer of smoky skies hit its peak for Kyle and Julia’s wedding. The day before their Bayshore Inn outdoor wedding ceremony, the town of Waterton was put under evacuation alert due to a new nearby fire! Luckily the conditions held and everything went ahead as planned. (The happy ending is the next day saw a huge downpour that helped to lift the alert!)

Julia and Kyle have a love at first sight story and continue to look at each other with that intensity. Both of them were so emotional at the ceremony, quickly shifting from happy tears to giant smiles.

Their wedding party kept them laughing all day and made the best use of their half day in Waterton by exploring the landscape. From going barefoot in the water to using downed trees as balance beams, they made use of all the nature around them! Kyle and Julia have such special relationships with their family that their siblings are also considered friends to each of them and were an obvious choice to have in their party.

Once we completed photos in Waterton, we drove out to Cardston for their tent reception at Kyle’s dad’s ranch where they were free to party all night.

Congratulations, Julia and Kyle!

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Matthew wanted to give his bride-to-be Sarah a proper tour of his home town area when they travelled here for their wedding. They hit the best of everything with a Bayshore Inn ceremony and Readymade wedding reception, with getting ready photos in Lethbridge. Arriving for their photos in Waterton was Sarah’s first ever visit to the national park! We all wished for less smoke so Sarah could see how amazing the mountains are, but could catch just enough of them fading into the horizon.

Sarah looked stunning with a classic, romantic look, and Matthew wore his military formal wear. They looked amazing together. Following us throughout the day was their daughter who had so much fun that she couldn’t stop shouting “Yay!”. It was contagious and made everyone around her also exclaim with joy! Sarah and Matthew could not stop grinning at each other and their daughter all day.

After a first look at Cameron Falls, portraits at the Prince of Wales, and an outdoor ceremony at the Bayshore Inn lawn, they and their guests headed closer to home. Their fun reception was held at the Readymade hall where we were joined by all of the guests who weren’t able to make it to Waterton but still wanted to help them celebrate.

Congratulations, Sarah and Matthew!

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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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Everything came together so beautifully for Jessica and Jordan’s Waterton Community Hall outdoor wedding ceremony! The couple chose Waterton as their wedding destination after falling in love with the beauty of the national park. The fire damage hit the treeline after they had already set their date, and construction near their wedding venue in the weeks leading up to the date had them worried. It’s almost as though the town finished all the construction just for them! All worries melted away as they were met with a beautiful, sunny day. Even the wild flowers were still in bloom and matched their purple wedding colours.

Jessica and Jordan incorporated so many fun details into their wedding day! They had enough vintage cars to go around that no one in the wedding party had to go in a boring modern ride. Their two adorable dogs also joined in some of the festivities. They and their wedding party had so much fun cruising around the town. We had such a blast with them!

Congratulations, Jessica and Jordan!

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Bailey and Wes held their Lethbridge Pavan Park early spring wedding at the John Martin Recreation Area. They had a very intimate outdoor wedding ceremony with their immediate family and a handful of friends. They were so lucky with the weather, having a warm spring day with enough cloud cover to keep the temperature perfect while rain held off until much later in the evening.

Bailey wore a beautiful fitted lace dress. Their deep red accents really popped against the neutral warm tones in the river bottom. We managed to find a few spots where the leaves were starting to make their appearance in a subtle green glow.

It was hard to ever put our cameras down because this was probably the giggliest wedding we have ever done! Everyone included in their wedding was so positive and constantly making jokes. The wedding party had each other roaring with laughter non-stop. Any photo where everyone looks serious took intense concentration and usually ended with a smirk sneaking onto at least one person’s face. Surrounded by that much laughter, they are definitely going to have a happy marriage that is full of joy.

Congratulations, Bailey and Wes!

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What a fantastic way to finish off the wedding season, with a Lethbridge Norland Estate autumn wedding! We got to spend the day at our favorite venue with Raiven and Jonathan, who are some of the nicest people I have met. They planned a beautiful outdoor ceremony amongst the freshly changed fall colours. I asked the rain very nicely to wait until we were done photos and it totally listened to me ;)

Raiven and Jonathan had such a laid back wedding. Raiven finished getting ready with plenty of time to have a first look with Jonathan then visit with their parents in the social room before the ceremony, and later on their reception felt more like a dinner party with family than a super formal event. With everything taking place at one location, they were able to take little breaks to spend time with loved ones in between photos.

I loved how Raiven constantly burst into laughter throughout the day and how Jonathan fought back tears at all of his first looks at her (her coming down the aisle was even more powerful than their first look!). They are so sweet together and their families are already so close, you couldn’t even tell which half of the couple they belonged to.

Congratulations, Raiven and Jonathan!

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