Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Marija and Cooper chose a special spot for their river bottom winter maternity photos. The location was right next to Marija’s parents’ home with no public access and opened to a beautiful calm area of the Oldman River. While she had been hoping for a winter wonderland, Marija’s long green dress and red shoes still looked amazing with the muted warm colours – and maternity photos aren’t really something you can schedule to wait for the right weather ;)

They brought their very high energy dog Ellie along for the photoshoot. She spent most of the time excitedly zooming from stick to stick, pausing occasionally to pose for a photo. She definitely “enhanced” a few photos when she accidentally popped in!

Cody contacted me all the way from the US to plan out his Waterton winter surprise proposal to his girlfriend Makenzie, and this was a situation where she wouldn’t even know they were getting photos taken!

We lucked out with their anniversary trip falling right after the cold snap so he could justify taking her on a scenic walk. We did, however, run into a few snags with our plan! I arrived to find the location I gave him closed to vehicle traffic, requiring a bit of a hike through very deep snow up the Prince of Wales road. Once I was ready, I received word from Cody that they had gotten “stuck” at a restaurant and he was trying to rush them out without raising any suspicions. He gave me regular updates when he went to “wash his hands” in the restroom!

Not having met them, I had to guess who they were without staring. It didn’t help that two other couples came by around when I expected Cody and Makenzie to arrive! I didn’t expect it to be so busy there with the road being closed! One of the couples was even stopping to take cell phone photos like Cody and I had worked out in our plan.

Finally the right people arrived. I did such a good job pretending to be a landscape photographer that Makenzie was worried they would get in my way and wreck the photo I was taking! Once he proposed and pointed me out, I didn’t have to be so awkward ;)

They were both so happy after the big question that it made the rest of the photos a breeze! They followed me around the town of Waterton to the best locations, and had a truly memorable engagement story :)

Most people go for newborn photos of their babies, but babies get so fun when they can sit up on their own! Maskeen had just hit that age when his parents scheduled his indoor winter baby photos at their house.

Maskeen took a little while to warm up to having a stranger in his house but once he did, his big smiles that he’s known for came out! We cycled through all of his cute outfits before getting him toasty in his blue tracksuit and going for a quick visit to snowy Henderson Lake.

Micah & Steven had a very chilly Lethbridge winter engagement session in November. With enough warm car breaks we were able to take full advantage of the winter wonderland that was the coulees that day! The snow around the river bottom looked so beautiful, and especially magical in the golden hour we lucked out with on this sunny day.

Their dog Korra came dressed in the finest formal wear a dog can have, and lasted for a little bit before the cold tippy taps started. (The couple wisely brought a dog wrangler along so Korra could hide out in the car earlier.)

The three of them make such a cute family and I’m glad the snow couldn’t stop us from having a fun outdoor photoshoot.

Congratulations, Micah & Steven!

They finally got snow! For two years in a row, Braxton’s family had tried to do Christmas photos in November and it always ended up being a beautiful fall day. This year they were finally able to send out appropriately themed wintery family photography for the holidays!

We went through photos quickly so they could be without coats in the snow for as little time as possible. Braxton is always so good in front of the camera, so it’s no surprise he was able to pull out his acting skills and not show how cold he was. Snuggling Mom and Dad definitely helped!

I always love when a couple will do what it takes to get the shot, even when we can see our breath! Tracey and Mark fell in love with the architecture of the Norland as soon as they saw it, so it was an important focus point for their photos. After their private ceremony, I met their family at the venue to start their Norland Estate evening wedding portraits.

Their union was a celebration of their families coming together, so they had all of their children stand in as the wedding party and focused on the kids as much as themselves when it came time for photos.

Congratulations, Tracey & Mark!