Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

What happens when geeks get married but they are also drama kids? You get an event that’s a fun combination of light sabers, dancing wedding parties, and reception events driven by game winners. This wasn’t Janna and Sam’s real wedding; that happened a couple years ago in an intimate way. This wedding was to have a party for their friends and family! Their Norland Estate spring wedding was everything they hoped their dream wedding would be. Once they found the Norland online, they knew it was the perfect place and they travelled to Lethbridge for everything to come together.

With the legal part well out of the way, they were able to have a fun, casual day without the stress of a tight schedule. One of the groomsmen officiated the ceremony and Janna and Sam’s daughter played a central role throughout the day (and somehow powered through the whole thing without a nap). We’re so glad we could steal them away at the end of the day for a fun light saber battle.

Congratulations, Janna and Sam!

Michaela and Jason are just the sweetest people so I was not surprised by the amount of happy tears throughout their Galt Museum spring wedding. Michaela started off the day by making everyone cry with their first looks. After her bridesmaids tried not to ruin their fresh makeup, Michaela and her mom met with her dad for an emotional first look in the atrium at the Sandman Signature. Next it was on to Jason seeing her walk down the aisle, but they managed to hold it together a little better and trade the tears for big laughter :)

I’m always amazed at how you can reconnect with people after so many years (which is especially easy in Lethbridge where everyone knows each other!). Back at the beginning of my photography journey, Jason was one of the local musicians I met when I was photographing live shows. I was so excited when after all these years he reached out to me to photograph his wedding to Michaela! And since Lethbridge is like this, Cam was surprised to find he knew one of the groomsmen from high school!

Congratulations, Michaela and Jason!

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!

Emily and Ben started our wedding season with their Galt Museum early spring wedding. Despite the leaves not being out yet, it was practically a summer day for their wedding! They decided to have a first look to start off photos, which resulted in lots of tight embraces, huge smiles, and some happy tears.

It made the day so laid back to start with photos. We got to take our time making our way to the Galt Museum, and even after family photos we had enough time for a few more portraits. Their ceremony in the Galt viewing gallery overlooked the coulees and I’m pretty impressed they managed to keep it together during their personal vows (the tears were close!).

Right after the ceremony they took their wedding party outside for a parking lot celebration.

Congratulations, Emily & Benjamin!

Some weddings just work so well as album designs, and Rebecca and Aaron’s Countryside Barn Venue wedding album was definitely one of those. The earthy tones of the brown aviator leather spine and oatmeal linen bag perfectly complemented the rustic vibe of their barn wedding. They went with a 20 page Modern+ album featuring highlights from throughout the wedding day at the Countryside Barn Venue. They let me choose the photos for their design, which always gives me a good feel of the challenge couples go through making those decisions. It’s very hard to narrow photos down!

Jillian and Keith held a Galt Museum evening wedding on what turned out to be an almost spring-like winter day. Jillian rocked a vintage movie star look while Keith let his personality out with a plaid suit and red shoes. The marriage represented the official joining of their families, so it was only fitting that their kids were the wedding party!

After a first look at their home and a couple portraits with their dogs, we took everyone to the coulees near their home to make use of the view in golden hour. Next we headed to The Galt Museum to get portraits around the museum’s architecture before their ceremony.

Their night time ceremony and reception was a beautiful tribute to the life they are building together and they were surrounded by the people who are most special to them.

Congratulations, Jillian and Keith!