Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Isabelle and Andrew love the serene beauty of Waterton Lakes National Park and knew there was no other place they could have their wedding. They chose to have their Waterton Catholic wedding ceremony at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and then explore the park for portraits until their reception.

This time of year means lots of rain, but the rain didn’t slow us down at all! Their siblings tagged along during portraits and very graciously chased the couple with umbrellas in between photos. Isabelle chose a perfect hairstyle with a pretty fishtail braid which completely hid any effects of the rain on her hair. Luckily for us, the Prince of Wales Hotel had opened for the season the day before, so we were able to hide inside for portraits while the worst of the rain came down. And best of all, Isabelle and Andrew were carried through the day with so much intense joy that they hardly noticed the weather!

The most memorable part of their wedding day was how contagious their happiness was. Andrew’s nervous anticipation grins quickly turned to genuine smiles once he saw Isabelle walk into the church. I tried to get Isabelle to be straight-faced for a few photos and it was a struggle for her. She was just too happy! Even through their ceremony, they could not stop looking at each other and breaking out into giggles.

Congratulations, Isabelle and Andrew!

Kord contacted me to do surprise Waterton winter anniversary photos for himself and his girlfriend Jenny on their third anniversary. What a fun gift idea! Jenny was so happy with this perfect gift that she had a lot of trouble putting away her smile. Whenever I’d ask her to be serious for a photo, she would try then exclaim, “I can’t, I’m having too much fun!” (Good thing I’m fast… I got a few serious ones in there!).

This was a rare year that Waterton hasn’t yet experienced its snowpocalypse. We were very flexible in where we could do photos and even had trouble finding snow in a few places! The usual Waterton wind made things a little difficult on the cliffs and shoreline (as in I could barely stand up). On the plus side, we missed the hurricane force winds a few days later and the ridiculousness of the wind made Kord and Jenny laugh even harder as they tried to casually pose in it!

They are such a cute couple and I had a blast exploring Waterton with them. I wish them many more anniversaries!

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Part 2 of the year in review features the portrait side of things! This year marked a few firsts, including my first bunny session and my first family dressed in Batman costumes. I had so much fun with every group I worked with. Thank you for letting me bring your personalities out in your photo sessions!

This year for portraits I stayed pretty local in Lethbridge, but also took a few special trips to the Crowsnest Pass, Waterton, Claresholm, and Magrath. The yearend marks a very special occasion – the 10th anniversary of when I started my business! So many of the people in these photos have been with me for years and I couldn’t have made it this far without their love and support.

I hope you enjoy looking through our best portraits of 2018 as much as I liked choosing them!

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2018 was a great year! Cam and I spent so much of the year with people totally in love and the joy was contagious. These probably aren’t truly our best wedding photos from the last year, but they definitely made me smile going back through the memories!

This year we saw a bride ride a horse for the first time ever in her wedding dress, photographed through smoky skies, and laughed at far more hilarious kids than any past year. Like, so many kids let loose this year that there must have been some memo passed around at the beginning of the wedding season.

Even though I picked most of these out of my blog edits, I made it a goal to choose photos that have never been on social media! There’s a good chance you’ve never seen most of these. Unless you’re my mom – she reads and likes pretty much everything I post. (Hi, Mom!)

I hope you enjoy looking through our best wedding photos of 2018 as much as I liked choosing them!

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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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Local model Cheri happened to be camping in Waterton during one of my many visits there this year. I met up with her for some colorful Waterton summer portraits before I made the drive home. Our timing worked out perfectly as that day happened to be her dog Jax’s first birthday! We brought him along for photos and this was a huge win for him because it meant playing in one of the lakes at the end of the session. Despite knowing Cheri through the photography community for many years, this was my first time working with her and she was amazing! I was so glad she happened to have pink hair that month so the photos could be extra colorful.

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