My Studio is closed :(

After receiving numerous requests to shoot weddings all over the place, I must say officially that I cannot. ….sad face…. sad face.  I’m sad to report to all of you that I had decided to close my studio after more than a decade of being a wedding photographer. It was an extremely difficult decision to make and wasn’t made lightly. I have been dealing with a very unpredictable decline in my health after having had by little girl, Charlie. I closed my doors to my studio back in 09 after she was born. MS is a tricky disease and that some days I feel like a normal person, and then other days I feel like I may never walk again. I take the good with the bad and always pray for the best. I’m thankful to have a wonderful support system at home.

For clients who came before 09 who still had not ordered your album….I’m sad to say that I’m no longer taking new work orders for albums. I am only tendering final transactions from clients in 09 and beyond. There’s that little clause in the details that says complete them in one years’s time….under normal circumstances, I’ve always continued to design albums past their one year due dates assessed with new album pricing fees, but now I have to focus on my health and staying stress free to be as healthy a mamma as I can be.

It’s been a pleasure working with so many amazing people over the years. Who knows what the future holds for me and my creative endeavors, but when something new happens, I’ll be sure to post back and let you know.

Best to you all…

Christa

 

Paige Snyder & Michael Crist

• Venue: Chambers Landing, Homewood in Lake Tahoe
• Coordinator Extraordinaire: Stephanie Anderson, at One Fine Day Events
• Florist Extraordinaire: Sara Spurlock, Bellissima Floral Creations

I don’t even know how I could possibly put into words what an amazing couple the two of you are. It’s so powerfully clear how perfectly matched the two of you are. What a privilege for me to be there to document such an extraordinary day. I’m blessed to have opportunities like this. I never want to take it for granted the incredible people that I get to meet, have the pleasure of working with and the friendships that are formed. You two are special. Your families, your friends, all, a reflection of the wonderful people that you two are. Thank you for having me be a part of your special day. I wish you both nothing but happiness always. Enjoy this sneak peak at your beautiful day.

xoxo Christa

 

 

 

 

 

fashion editorial

My idea log and inspiration book grows as the ideas pop into my head. I keep a list of shoots I would love to do at some point and when the moment strikes I can check it off my list. Monday was just such a day. Perfect weather this time meant there was rain at least 3 days prior to the shoot giving me wonderful claylike mud on the outskirts of El Dorado Hills. Mallory was up for it, so I saved the fun part of the shoot for last, MUD.  I had to be careful to draw the line between mud and cowpie, but I’m pretty sure it was mud I was putting on her face, really organic smelling mud. Sorry Mal!!! But the photos were worth it. Mallory Snyder was the subject for the day. The goal to have at least 2 photos to update her portfolio with her agency. I’m pretty sure we have at least 2 great photos in the bunch worth presenting to her future clients. Here’s to the next True Religion or Louis Vuitton campaign. Natalie Cusson was the makeup artist and did an amazing job on Mallory’s makeup.

jacque+robert edgewood

what a wonderful way to conclude this years amazing wedding season. jacque & robert are from my birth state of alaska. they made the journey to gorgeous south lake tahoe for their wedding at the edgewood. i cannot say enough about this couple and their families, it truly makes me realize how blessed i am to be able to do what i do for a living. you all were simply amazing people. i miss you all of you already!!! c’mon  you guys, move to tahoe, pretty please!!

kristin + aaron engaged!

oh boy oh boy!!! always love to get beautiful light with beautiful people. kristin and aaron, i so loved working with you guys. i am even more amped about your wedding than ever. it’s going to be quite the party i can already tell )

 

taunya+clint tied the knot!

After playing in the fields by the lake for their engagement pictures, I knew that when it came to Clint & Taunya’s wedding, we were going to have some fun stuff to do. Taunya’s the kind of girl that makes my job so crazy easy. She loves the camera. I could do anything with her and it was going to be fun. Towards the end of their reception we headed outside into the dark of night to do some fun pictures under the stars. Clint has a really rad old car that I really want to do something with. So we went outside, and I put my headlights on them with the tripod and did some funky stuff with them. )

melanie mosebrook’s christening

I had the extreme pleasure of photographing Stephanie and Matthew’s wedding a few years ago at the Thunderbird Lodge. They had such an amazing wedding. I was very humbled when Stephanie called me to tell me they had recently had a baby and they wanted me to photograph their family and their babie’s christening. I jumped at the chance to do something so special. It was held at the Hyatt at Incline Village, in their water garden. Melanie wore the christening gown that Matthew wore when he was a baby, and it was just beautiful. Melanie looked like an angel. A few days before the christening they came to my studio and we did some fun stuff outside on the pier down the street from my studio as well as some shots taken inside my studio. It was such a pleasure seeing their new family and taking their photos once again. They are a beautiful family.

jessica + brian edgewood

Jessica & Brian were married at the Edgewood in Lake Tahoe on September 4th, 2009. What an amazing day it was. From the second I arrived at the house to see Jessica as she was getting ready, I didn’t even recognize her! She blew me away how gorgeous she looked. Her sister did her hair and make up and let me just say what a fantastic job she did (she is also a stylist, so it made sense how fabulous she would look of course) After we arrived at the Edgewood, Jessica was the epitome of the most chilled bride ever. Her dress was supposed to be delivered that morning, but it didn’t make it, and nobody knew where it was. She never had a single bridezilla, freak out moment. I was more freaked out for her. I was racking my brain to come up with plan b if her dress didn’t show up, run to a boutique I knew of around the corner that would surely have something appropriate in her size….you name  it and I was thinking of running out to do it for her, but thankfully the dress arrived, and all was well again. She has serious nerves of steel and admire her completely for that. The rest of the day was smooth sailing and as beautiful as could be. Capturing every one of those moments for the two of them was simply precious. Congratulations you guys. Much love to you both!

more fun details

So I tried to get quite a bit in my last post as far as images go. I realized I forgot to include some of the pictures I was describing. D’oh! I got a little excited, but let me get a little more carried away. Come with me to Haley & Kenny’s wedding Definitely worthy of an editorial feature ala Grace Ormonde.

I would really like to know how many pedals were needed to carpet this aisle. It was so beautiful! Below that, the picture with the crystals hanging, that is a chandelier hung inside the tent with orchids hanging from each strand. So beautiful! Below that is the cocktail area, they had a martini ice luge and fabulous lounge furniture. The peacock feathers adorned everything, and accented the color theme beautifully especially the modern wrapped white chairs with the rhinestones, love how that looked. Those chair covers were stunning.

hayley + kenny montreaux

So much went into the making of this fabulous wedding, and I want to make sure to mention everyone that was involved in creating such a spectacular event. I was inspired by so many things I almost didn’t know when to stop! That’s always a good thing. I had a blast doing Hayley & Kenny’s engagement pictures last winter and I had just as much fun playing with them at their wedding day too. We went to the Stremmel Gallery for some pictures before the ceremony, oh how I love color, the red and yellow walls over there were fantastic scenes to shoot with. So lucky to have been able to shoot there beforehand. This was the 2nd time I had the chance to work with Katina Issacson of Sierra Floral Design, man, this woman is talented she created a masterful display of flowers for the church and the reception.  The wedding coordinator was Kerry from Blu Sky Events, they always do a fabulous job as well, everything went off without a hitch! Their ceremony was at the Trinity Episcopal church in downtown Reno and the reception followed at the exclusive, Montreaux Country Club. I have to say the aisle was nothing short of amazing. I have never seen an aisle decorated so exquisitely before. A carpet of roses with an s pattern interlaced throughout. The perfect combination of modern and elegance.