Get to Know: Shade Shifters

While decor and tent rental companies may not be the first wedding vendors you start looking for after getting engaged, they are absolutely critical to creating the environment and ambiance of your event. In particular, a tent can provide both the important function of shielding your guests from intense, high elevation sun and serve as a canvas for beautiful floral and lighting installations. South Lake Tahoe-based Shade Shifters meet that need with their beautiful, Bedouin-style stretch tents and we're focusing today on getting to know the three friends/entrepreneurs who launched this innovative company, Nick Palmer, Dana Olson, and Liz Cash.

What brings all of you the greatest joy in your life?

Music, food, and friends!

What brought you to Tahoe?

The adventure outdoor lifestyle.

Tahoe lifestyle: winter or summer?

Fall. We love the serenity.

If you weren't a wedding rental company, what would you do?

We'd probably be doing environmental work or opening a food truck.

What inspires your work?

We're inspired by festivals, music, and a love of life and nature.

How would you describe the perfect day in Lake Tahoe?

A brunch with friends followed by a walk on the beach.

What are you most proud of?

We're most proud of building this company and having a great partnership and team.

Who inspires you the most?

Maya Angelou, represented in her quote "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

What is your life motto?

Be kind.

Working in the wedding industry is not for the faint of heart. How do you rest and rejuvenate?

Hike, bike, ski, repeat!

What is something people might not know about you?

That we have lived all around the world - and returned to Tahoe.

Any four-legged friends on your team?

Yes, cats - Xuxa, Coco, and Marley!

Thank you team Shade Shifters! We always say that it's great to have wedding vendors that feel like friends and we can tell this entrepreneurial trio not only do great work but would be fun to hang out with on a crisp, Fall day in Lake Tahoe, too! To learn more about their tent and lighting installations, visit the Shade Shifters portfolio on our vendor guide.