We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristina Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristina below.

Kristina, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

After doing flowers for a family friend’s wedding and completely falling in love with the process, I knew I wanted to keep going. At the time, I was still working full time at a t-shirt printing company, and there were a lot of newly engaged people working there too.

I started telling my coworkers that I had just started a floral business and that I’d love to do their wedding flowers. I offered really fair pricing since I was new and wanted the hands-on experience, and they said yes. That’s how I got my first paying clients who weren’t connected to me personally.

I learned so much from those weddings. How to process flowers properly, how to price things (and underprice things), and how to actually pull off a wedding day. Those couples trusted me when I was just getting started, and that first dollar of real revenue meant everything. It was the beginning of what would become Haven Florals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Sure. I’m Kristina, the owner and lead designer at Haven Florals. We’re based in Sparks, Nevada, and we design flowers for weddings and events throughout Reno, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, and the Lost Sierra. I specialize in full-service floral design for weddings, and my style is best described as wildly romantic with an old world and timeless charm.

I got into this business kind of unexpectedly. A family friend asked me to do their wedding flowers because I was creative, and I said yes. At first I thought we’d use faux flowers, but when she said she wanted real ones, I dove into learning everything I could to make sure they’d stay fresh and beautiful for her day. After doing the full setup, I walked away knowing this was what I wanted to do.

At the time, I was working full-time at a t-shirt printing company. A lot of my coworkers were newly engaged, so I started sharing that I had just started a floral business and would love to do their wedding flowers. I offered really fair pricing while I got hands-on experience, and they trusted me with their weddings. That’s how it all began.

Today, Haven Florals offers full design planning, digital mock-ups, and a curated collection of rentals including arches, pedestals, candles, and signage. We take care of delivery, setup, and breakdown so our clients don’t have to worry about a thing. Most of our couples are busy professionals planning destination weddings in Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas. They don’t have a ton of time to plan, and they want someone who can take their ideas and bring them to life with care and intention.

What sets us apart is how collaborative and thoughtful our process is. We don’t just design pretty flowers, we help create an atmosphere. We take a couple’s vision and build something custom and meaningful, and we only take on a limited number of weddings each year so we can give each one the attention it deserves.

I’m most proud of how far the business has come. I started with no formal training, no connections, just a lot of heart and determination. Now I get to design for couples who value artistry and trust us with one of the most important days of their lives. That still means everything to me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely. One story that really reflects my resilience is how I built Haven Florals while working full-time and becoming a mom. For about seven years, I was balancing a day job, raising babies, and growing this business in the early mornings, late nights, and weekends. I didn’t have a team. It was just me figuring it all out and what made it possible was the support of my family, especially my in-laws, who helped with childcare so I could pour into both my work and my dream.

But I’ll be honest, there was a point where I almost gave up. The learning curve around pricing nearly broke me. I was designing full weddings, pouring so much time and creativity into my work, and barely making anything in return. It felt like an expensive hobby, and that realization hit hard. I remember thinking, if this is what running a business looks like, I can’t do this.

Instead of walking away, I decided to learn. I started asking better questions. I dug into what it actually takes to run a profitable floral business and restructured how I priced my work. That shift from hustling just to book weddings to building a business that could support my life and family was a turning point.

Looking back, I’m proud I didn’t quit. That season taught me that resilience doesn’t always look loud. Sometimes it looks like quietly staying committed, showing up even when you’re exhausted, and choosing to keep learning when things feel impossible. That mindset is what got me here.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Yes, it does. In addition to running Haven Florals, I also created a second brand called Petal Profits, which is focused on helping newer wedding florists grow profitable and sustainable businesses. After years of learning how to price, recipe, and design in a way that actually supports my business goals, I realized I wanted to share that knowledge with others who were in the same place I had once been.

One of my first digital products is a floral recipe writing guide that walks florists through my exact system for creating balanced, intentional flower recipes. It’s designed to help them stop over-ordering, feel more confident in their numbers, and start seeing real profit from their designs. It’s the kind of resource I wish I had when I was just starting out.

This educational side of my business has become a really meaningful outlet for me. It allows me to support the floral community while also creating a new stream of revenue that isn’t tied to events or physical labor. I’m continuing to build on it with plans to launch a membership and additional resources through Petal Profits, and it’s been so rewarding to see the impact it’s already having.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.havenflorals.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/havenflorals
• Other: https://stan.store/PetalProfits

Image Credits

Red Poppy Photography- the porftfolio images where I am in them.
Corey Fox Photography- the White Wedding images
Firestep Weddings-The ceremony and aisle designs that are pink/yellow