Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

When I found out where Michelle and Pieter were getting married, I was so excited to return to one of my favorite venues! They planned a Gladstone Mountain Ranch summer wedding as a bit of a destination wedding while still staying in the province. The ranch, tucked between Pincher Creek and Castle Mountain Resort, is such a hidden gem in Southern Alberta!

Michelle and Pieter combined classy with low key, mixing elegant gowns and sweeping ceremony vistas with accents of wild flowers, a BBQ dinner, and a s’mores roast at the end of the evening. Their ceremony was followed by a cookie bar and lawn games to keep their guests busy while they explored the ranch with me for photos.

The couple are such naturals in front of the camera, despite telling me otherwise. I had forgotten they warned me they aren’t used to having their photo taken until, at the end of portraits, they brought up how comfortable they ended up feeling! (Hopefully this experience will convince them photos can be fun, haha.) Their wedding party and family definitely added to the fun too. When the groomsmen weren’t lifting Pieter in the air, the girls could usually be found striking poses for each other.

We had an amazing time with them, and it’s not often we can say the bride was hunted by a house cat! (You’ll have to check out the photos below!)

Congratulations, Michelle and Pieter!

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!

Vanessa and Robbie planned an elegant Galt Museum ceremony and wedding reception on the cusp of autumn. With glimmering rose gold and soft pink accents and well tailored suits, their wedding party looked so sharp!

They started their day with a first look at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden and had their family join them there for photos. After their romantic and joyfully emotional ceremony at the Galt, we headed to the University of Lethbridge, which is where their journey together began.

The couple placed so much importance on family, including all of their siblings in the wedding party and making sure everyone close to them felt as important as they are. They were so ecstatically happy all day! Even as the pre-dinner sleepiness started to set in, they were still elated to be in each other’s presence and couldn’t stop grinning.

Congratulations, Vanessa and Robbie!

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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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After photographing many of their family member’s weddings, I was excited to hear Makayla and Cornell were the next in line to wed! We started off their Picture Butte late summer wedding photos at the family’s beautiful property that backs onto the coulees. Just like a few years ago at a sibling’s wedding, the view was very smoky! Luckily the smoke looks amazing in the coulees :)

Their nieces and nephews were (mostly) excited to have a photographer come visit and gave us all kinds of adorable poses! We had quite a few family members tasked with removing photobombing children from photos, and later the dogs and barn kittens started crashing the shoot too!

The Picture Butte Golf Club was very generous with letting us run around the course for photos and explore the grounds with a whole fleet of golf carts.

Makayla and Cornell have such a great group of people they call friends. Like the other weddings, we spent the day in laughter and never knew what silliness to expect when we turned around. They have such great senses of humour and will have an amazing lifetime together making each other laugh.

Congratulations, Makayla and Cornell!

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Kathleen and Mike planned a gorgeous Historic Norland Estate summer wedding over the August long weekend. Their wedding embodied summer with bright colours and lemonade!

When Kathleen enlisted her sister for help planning the wedding, any indecisiveness eventually led to her sister Googling “grandma wedding” for the perfect inspiration. Kathleen did all of the cross-stitching that was on display at the wedding. This included table cloths, table numbers, artwork, special charms for each bridesmaid, and even a rocking chair! Family members helped out with other details, including their beloved lemonade stand which was created by Kathleen’s brother in law.

Family played a very important role in their wedding day. Both of their mothers witnessed the marriage certificate, and their daughter had the most important role as maid of honour. On the way to the Norland, Kathleen and her sisters made a detour to the cemetery to visit their father. They kept their eyes mostly dry by bringing a dance party to dad as they delivered his boutonnière!

Between all the silly faces, the constant dance parties that would break out, and Kathleen and Mike’s amazing love for each other, we had such a fun day with them and their friends and family.

Congratulations, Kathleen & Mike!

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