Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

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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Earlier this year I had another opportunity to second shoot for the lovely Photography by Andrea Hulst when she invited me to Henk and Melinda’s wedding. We started the morning in Picture Butte while the couple got ready at their family homes and then joined them at the Netherlands Reformed Congregation for their ceremony. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing their early spring Lethbridge wedding photography around the river bottom parks, hunting for the first signs of spring that were starting to appear.

Congratulations, Melinda and Henk!

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Ashley and Brett took a break from studying to travel down to the river bottom and take some Alexander Wilderness Park couples photos. The crisp weather that afternoon gave them all the more reason to snuggle in every photo. Brett and Ashley are that perfect combination of being best friends and totally in love, and they were so cute interacting with each other.

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We had a bit of trouble getting things going for Lucas and Shayna’s Pavan Park summer family photos with their parents. The first day we were ready to go in the parking lot when a thunder storm hit! A few weeks later we tried again and had a beautiful evening in the river bottom that wasn’t too hot. :)

I last saw Lucas when he was a couple years old. He’s pretty happy to have a little sister to play with now! He’s well on his way to teaching her important life skills like blowing raspberry sounds. They both had a great time chasing their big dog Bear around Pavan Park. He is so patient with them and loves exploring with his family. At our last session, he ended up going for a swim halfway through the photos. This time we managed to keep him dry ;)

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I’ve been following Cyndy and Austin photographically through all their milestones together. I first met them when I photographed them as a couple dating, then met with them again for their engagement photos and their wedding. Now it is baby bump time! They planned a weekend trip back in Lethbridge for their Pavan Park maternity photos and even with doing the session at night we couldn’t escape the crazy heat that day. It gave everything such a fantastic summer glow, which reflected how happy they are with their first baby on the way. I’m always impressed by how incredibly comfortable the two of them are together. They still have the magic :)

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Cayley and Kyle put so much thought and hard work into planning a Pavan Park carnival wedding, and they really went all out! John Martin Recreation Area in Pavan Park was the perfect location for their carnival when it was already equipped with a playground, horseshoe pits, and a volleyball court. All they had to do was bring a few more games to complete the fair grounds. In addition to the games, they had face painting, fun props for photos, and carnival themed food like popcorn, cotton candy, and hot dogs.

They included so many other personal details throughout the day. The cake and cupcakes were made by family members, while Cayley and her friends made all of the flowers themselves out of paper, some of which came from books belonging to Cayley’s grandmother.

After all that hard work, they were able to let loose and have so much fun! Despite the on-again, off-again rain, everyone was so happy and full of excitement throughout the day. The wedding party loved being in front of the camera. Cayley and Kyle have really found kindred spirits in each other with their playful, youthful personalities. It was so much fun to finish off the day with their wedding mosh pit!

Congratulations, Cayley and Kyle!

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