Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Caroline and Darryl travelled several provinces over for their Waterton spring elopement. They love the beauty of the mountains and don’t get to take advantage of that from where they live!

They chose the best view in the national park for their ceremony, the hill behind the Prince of Wales overlooking the larger lakes. After their laid back ceremony, we drove around to some of our favourite places in Waterton. They got married at just the right time that the weather was great and Red Rock Canyon was open for the season. I love hearing clients say, “Wow!” when they see some of the views for the first time :)

Congratulations, Caroline & Darryl!

Margie and Daryl decided on a Waterton destination wedding in the late summer when planning their event. Their intimate Bayshore Inn wedding ceremony was held outdoors in the hotel’s yard overlooking the lake. They made the day special for their children by having them come along for all of their portraits and letting them have a full tour of the national park.

We were so excited that Red Rock Canyon reopened this year and we could finally go back there for photos! Margie and Daryl loved it from the samples I showed them and were ready for adventure at the end of their portraits. Margie was so excited to get down into the water that she asked about it before I suggested any rock climbing! It always give the tourists quite a show to see people in formal wear scaling the rocks and gingerly stepping over the wet pebbles in the stream.

This couple hardly needed any direction, which is especially impressive once you see their huge upside down dip!

Congratulations, Margie and Daryl!

Julia got to experience some very special Waterton Lakes summer family photos when both of her abuelas came from Brazil to visit Canada! Her family wanted to show them some of the best Southern Alberta had to offer during their stay and it’s hard to beat the beauty of Waterton.

We started our photos at the Prince of Wales Hotel where it was just as windy as usual! Julia thought the wind was fun and constantly made airplane arms into it. Julia had so much fun playing with her grandmothers. I’m not sure who made the other smile more! They were so joyful to spend time with their sweet little grand daughter, doing all kinds of singing and dancing together.

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Nicole and Derek planned for their beautiful day to take place in Waterton, a favourite travel destination for them, with a Bayshore Inn outdoor summer wedding. Their theme of “Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars” was gorgeously put together with star decorations, motifs of constellations, and a blue colour scheme to reflect the dusk sky.

They are both so easy going and able to laugh about things that go wrong. This came in handy with some of the memories they made that day! The mere 30 minutes it rained all fell on their outdoor ceremony, but with enough umbrellas and speedy vows, they didn’t have to compromise and move the wedding indoors. Just when they thought that was enough of a challenge, Nicole angered an entire colony of ants who got trapped in the lacy layers of her dress! She rolled with it and once we teamed up to clear them out, she was happy and ready to go for photos again :)

We spent the day with them and their fun wedding party visiting Red Rock Canyon and Cameron Lake. The free Canadian parks this year meant these beautiful locations were packed with tourists, but we used photography magic the best we could to make it look like Nicole and Derek were sharing private, intimate moments without a hundred eyes watching them!

Congratulations, Nicole and Derek!

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It’s already an honour to be asked to take part in such memorable days in people’s lives, but even more so when that day is exceptionally intimate. Becky and Ryan travelled to Waterton all the way from the Eastern US to have their Prince of Wales wedding elopement. Only the two of them, myself, and their officiant were present for the beautiful ceremony. (I won’t count the group of tourists yelling about a bear in the distance… they were far enough away!) They took their time to take in the scenery, sharing many quiet moments together most couples don’t have a chance to experience during their ceremonies.

It was such a still day behind the Prince of Wales Hotel, the first time this year I’ve been lucky enough to experience this! They could not have asked for more perfect weather. After their ceremony and a few photos around the hotel, we headed over to Red Rock Canyon. Not being from the area, they trusted me to choose our photo locations and I knew I made a good choice when they first approached the canyon and exclaimed, “Wow!”

As much as they have a quiet, nurturing presence around each other, they also have a silly side that I loved to see. Their hiking boots were a perfect touch to bring their interests into the photos AND make climbing into the canyon that much easier.

Congratulations, Ryan and Becky!

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Monika and Peter love the outdoors so it was no surprise that Waterton was the perfect fit for their wedding. Their Bayshore Inn outdoor yard ceremony took place in such gorgeous weather with their closest friends and family in attendance. All day they were surrounded by so much love!

They subtly worked a couple of their geeky interests into the wedding with superhero socks, cufflinks, and even underwear, plus a Star Wars wedding band. The rest of their theme had a romantic look with subdued colors and beautiful white wild flowers.

Videography that day was provided by their adorable dog Brian. I’m not sure they’ll be hiring him again after he missed part of their ceremony by rolling upside down ;)

I loved watching Monika and Peter interact with each other. They are so comfortable together and naturally melted into each other’s arms for every photo.

Congratulations, Peter and Monika!

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