Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

When Emily and Cody’s plans for a destination wedding in 2020 didn’t pan out, they kept the idea of a destination but made it a little more local! Their families joined them for an outdoor Waterton autumn wedding at the Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort. With perfect weather, they were able to have their ceremony outside on the resort’s green space. Emily’s dad performed the ceremony, making it extra special. It was such a joyful day for everyone involved. The couple weren’t the only ones smiling and laughing non-stop!

Their wedding was incredibly timed with the fall colours this year! Waterton was covered in rich yellows, reds, and oranges with still a bit of green left, and all of the new growth is so vibrant as it bounces back from the Kenow Fire. We took them to the entrance of the Bertha Lake hike to take full advantage of the colour. Emily and Cody were totally down for a small hike! They even received a few bonus congratulations from the last hikers of the season.

Congratulations, Emily and Cody!

Natasha and Jeremy are perfect examples of patience as they planned their intimate Waterton Lakes Lodge wedding through the pandemic. The couple had to save dress and suit shopping until the last month while they waited for stores to allow customers and it was only a couple weeks before their wedding date that select national parks were allowed to open, meaning we could actually get into Waterton!

Through all this, Natasha had the added challenge of secretly transforming their vows from an elopement to a small wedding as a surprise for Jeremy. Although their guest list had to shrink to accommodate the gathering rules, they were still able to have their immediate families in attendance. Jeremy had no idea until he walked to the ceremony site and saw everyone (which started a cascade of everyone happy crying)!

It was strange seeing Waterton so quiet during its peak season but it gave us so much more space to get around for photos. And best of all, it didn’t rain on us one bit even though it threatened to. Natasha, Jeremy, and their families were so kind and great to work with. This sweet couple really made our first wedding of the season easy!

Congratulations, Natasha & Jeremy!

Ella and Mike held an intimate Waterton cottage end of season wedding celebration for their friends and family. Their friend generously offered her cottage for the ceremony. When the rain showers that day decided to arrive around ceremony time, everyone squished into the home to watch the couple say their vows. For the rest of the day we had wonderful weather and it stopped raining every time we went outside for photos! We had to take the umbrella photo they wanted in the sun. ;)

Ella and I have crossed paths many times over my years in Lethbridge because of our mutual interest in dance (she was the second dance teacher I ever had!). It’s amazing to see her so at home with Mike. In Mike she has found a shared love of nature and animals. Mike rescues and rehabilitates bears for a living. All day he expressed how amazed he is to have found a woman who loves bears as much as he does!

Their love and kindness towards animals is obvious in their interactions with Ella’s “baby” Coco. Coco goes on every nature adventure with them and can keep up on 30km hikes even with her tiny legs! She was an important part of the wedding day and had her own little white dress to match her mom.

Congratulations, Ella and Mike!

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Kayla and Lucas chose their wedding date because of its historical importance to them. With it being a couple weeks into the official start of spring, they had hoped this would mean a spring wedding. Our weather this year had other plans! We instead spent the day taking snowy Waterton elopement photography.

Waterton has received so much snow this year that there is an entire residential street that is closed due to avalanche warnings. Within the town, you can walk up to the rooftops of many buildings thanks to the drifted snow banks. We were a little limited for locations unless we were to snowshoe, try bouldering the 10 foot banks from the snow plows, or chisel away a new tunnel. Instead, we went for the easy choices of Cameron Falls and the Prince of Wales Hotel (which were still a lot harder to navigate than normal!).

We first met Kayla and Lucas, their baby boy, and their friends at the Waterton Lakes Lodge to get a few indoor photos before faces became flushed from the cold. Once outside, Kayla and Lucas had no trouble snuggling in close to stay warm! Honestly, I think they would have snuggled just as hard had it been warm out, judging by the adoring looks they gave each other all day.

They held their elopement ceremony on the front stone steps of the Waterton Community Center. Their baby was a champ in the cold and made it through all the photos at Cameron Falls as well as half the ceremony before he had had enough! Kayla and Lucas were so lost in their vows that they didn’t know how cold their fingers and toes were getting until after their first kiss.

Congratulations, Kayla and Lucas!

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Terri and Craig got away from the city for the weekend for their Waterton winter elopement. It was a beautiful private event with just them, myself, and the marriage commissioner… very few guests were even in the park that day! It was so romantic to keep things so intimate. Their day will be so memorable not just for the intimacy, but for the weather. I think that was the craziest wind any of us have ever experienced! We managed to find enough shelter for photos and Terri’s shawl kept her mostly warm :) There was also the memorable fact of Terri having some wardrobe malfunctions with her dress, but luckily her shawl was there to save the day!

To get a break from the wind, they booked a room at the Waterton Lakes Lodge to have their wedding ceremony. They still got to have their mountain views through the window even if they couldn’t have an outdoor ceremony!

Congratulations, Terry and Craig!

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I’m not sure I have ever seen two people as excited to get married as Hannah and Jeremiah! Their relationship was love at first sight and it shows in how passionate they are around each other. It was hard to spot them without giant smiles while in each other’s company all day.

They planned their big day as a mini-destination trip with a Waterton Lakes Lodge winter wedding, and man did they ever get winter! Waterton was covered in several feet of snow with a fresh snowfall just in time for their wedding. For once, it wasn’t windy there! Their wedding party were great sports to go out in that much snow and we all lasted pretty long out there considering the temperature.

Both their ceremony and reception were held indoors at the Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort and they had beautiful lights set up behind the head table stage that made a perfect backdrop for both portions of the day.

Congratulations, Jeremiah and Hannah!

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