location: Garwoods / North Lake Tahoe
flowers: Sierra Floral Designs
hair & make-up: m Studio / Incline Village 


As luck would have it for Monica and Matt, the sky was blue and the sun melted the snow which only the day and night before their wedding came down plentiful – at one point on Friday we had 5 inches on the deck! If you look closely, you can spot some in the shady corners on the deck. They were sooo happy to be able to have the ceremony on the deck at Garwoods rather than inside! The wedding turned out perfect, the ring bearers – girls in this case – were adorable, the ceremony beautiful, and the flowers and decor absolutely gorgeous. Seldom have I seen a happier groom! No wonder:

I’m getting hooked on this detail stuff…

Speaking of the North Tahoe Event Center – the opening shot on their website is mine, as is the one under ceremonies, and these in the photo gallery (not the main one up top):

I need to hang out with Katina more – I seem to always end up with a gorgeous arrangement for my house! Love that. This one was “left over” from the Chamber Mixer at the North Tahoe Event Center.

On an amazingly perfect spring day (after it snowed big fat flakes the day before!) Kathleen, her mom Karen and I headed to Sand Harbor. Kathleen, Truckee’s premier podiatrist, is in my book club, and when she told us a few weeks back that her mom had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, all the ladies immediately offered help in any which way needed – well, mine of course is to take photos. At first both their husbands were supposed to come with, but then they decided to go for just mother and daughter.


You would have never guessed that Karen is undergoing radiation! She was up for anything, sitting on rocks and logs, in the sand, walk around, and in the end, we decided to head back to Truckee to finish up with some coffee. It was so much fun to shoot these two, and look at how much they enjoyed the outing:

Katina with Sierra Floral Designs called and asked me to get some shots of bouquets and table top pieces she was putting together for a bridal show:

An avid flyer of Cessnas, huge fan of anything with wings and a motor, and a regular at Truckee Airport, Frank wanted lots of portraits with planes. From there we moved on to Truckee side streets, the lake and my studio – can’t wait to hear what his girlfriend has to say about these!

… is using one of my portraits on their girls’ pages in an interview with my very close friend Judith, which I took when she was out visiting last fall! She is founder of an online portal for girls who ride mountain bikes, girlsridetoo.de (sorry – all German!). It encourages women of all ages to get out there and ride, focuses on female-friendly gear and training camps, features interviews with female icons in the industry, and just offers everything the female biker heart could desire. Over 270 women exchange themselves in the forum.


Congratulations Judith for making it into BIKE magazine!! Woohoooo!


My shot is the one on the top:

I only met Katina a little under two years ago at an open house. We instantly got along and liked each others’ work. Not only that, Katina is a wonderful person who gives her time to volunteer medical missions abroad, such as in India in 2006; she is a trained intensive care and recovery nurse.


Katina moved to Tahoe in 2002, after backpacking through Asia with her now-husband, and started Sierra Floral Designs a year later, craving something more creative and “happy” than hospital work. Naturally, she turned to floral design, which is in her blood, having grown up with a florist-mother mentored by Liezet Arnold, a dutch master designer with a store in Sacramento, who then also took Katina under her wings.


Katina spoke very passionately and put the way she feels perfectly:
“I am inspired every day by beautiful things. I am always checking out top designers in N.Y., London, L.A. and San Francisco to keep up on the trends and bring them to Lake Tahoe and Reno. On trips I visit markets and floral shops to look for different flowers and ideas! I have a distinct style which is influenced by my European mentor and all of my world travel. I love glassware and build a lot of my arrangements down inside dramatic vases. Organic elements as well as crystals, beads, colored wire and feathers are elements I use for added interest, and to create something truly unique.


I love texture… fall is my favorite time… seed pods, pine cones, grasses, intense colors! All about a visual “POP” and contrasts of colors! I truly believe that flowers set the whole mood and feeling of an event and are one of the most important elements.


I meet with my clients for a couple of hours to get to know them and find out their style, likes, dislikes and then I can design something that is “theirs”. The flowers make such a statement about the couple that this is a very important aspect.


When it comes to my flowers, I’m a control freak… not trusting them in the hands of anyone else. I am always on hand for all set-ups and often involved with other aspects such as coordinating linen and referring vendors; a good team of vendors is very important.”


Sierra Floral Designs has grown tremendously and is now referred by top event planners, venues, and photographers in the area.


Katina somehow manages to have time for her adorable daughter Reilly, for snowboarding, hiking and camping – and, the latest project she is working on is another admirable one bound to bring joy to someone: she is planning to reuse the flowers after an event to make arrangements for hospitals and assisted living facilities. “It will be great to brighten up someone’s day who is not expecting it”, she says. 


Her style and personality are so wonderful, see for yourself and give her a call!