Today’s visitor in the Bloggers {Unveiled} series is the most straight-up, real blogger I’ve met to-date, Alison of The Knotty Bride. Alison takes on real life challenges with a hilarious approach, a real girl who I can really appreciate! So please welcome Alison to the LLD blog today!

Blogger {Unveiled}:

How did you get started in the wedding world?
I’ve always been one of those girls who has a slightly different perspective from most brides, in that I never dreamed about my wedding and didn’t discover what an immense thrill it would be until I actually dug in and started exploring my options.  So, I’m the kind of person who truly starts from scratch, and I’ve discovered so much about who I am and what gets me revved.  That’s the whole point of TKB.  And it’s super fun for me, still, to this day… and I’ve been doing this for like years now.  I feel so lucky to be able to call it my full time job.

I’m also the daughter of two hopelessly empathic and deeply ‘present’ people, and so my desire to figure out a way both to be able to sprinkle muh learnins n things in growing up with parents like that and maybe be able to help people sort through and overcome that difficult life stuff, coupled with my superficial obsession with style and not-at-all superficial affection for all things related to love and celebrations made TKB an inevitability.  [← RUN-ON SENTENCE FAIL] That’s why TKB is so focused on the realities of life, love and relationships, and why I like to speak from the heart in each post.  OMG finally I’m done talking, right?  I’m so wordy.

What is your makeup staple?
I grew up under the guidance of a mom who didn’t (and still doesn’t) wear much if any makeup.  And, while I love the confidence she has to just fresh face it every day, I, uhh… I didn’t inherit that level of confidence.  Not even close.  However I didn’t learn how to apply makeup really until my college years.  And to this day, I don’t wear much.  But it’s not that I don’t want to doll it up sometimes, it’s simply that I am completely devoid of the skills required to make it happen.  It’s just the way it works, I think - people inherit their parents’ ways if they don’t fight against them.  :)  However, I do have a couple of absolute necessities that I slap on without fail whenever I’ve got an event or if it’s date night or I’m seeing girlfriends:

In other words, we just took the scenic route to me telling you that my makeups staples are blush and blotting paper.

What’s one thing that others don’t know about you?
I’m pretty sensitive.  Somehow I’ve managed to receive - I think - only one negative comment about myself/TKB in all this time, and it was from a dude who followed me on Twitter and complained that I was talking too much about weddings and he couldn’t take it anymore.  Which is actually not so much a negative comment as it is a confirmation that I’m doing my job properly, but still it was an odd moment for me.  So anyway, when I ultimately receive my second negative comment - which I have to expect will come one day, because that’s life and I write some controversial stuff sometimes - I imagine I’ll take it hard, because that’s just who I am.  Oh man I’m so sensitive!  It’s silly.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to others trying to get started with their own business?
I get asked this a lot.  My best piece of advice is to make sure you love what you’re about to throw your entire self and life into, and are comfortable committing yourself to it in a very serious way.  It’s really *the most awesome* feeling in the world to run a business.  And for me, the reason it’s awesome is because I absolutely love what I do with every fiber of my being.  My business makes perfect sense for my life, my strengths and my goals.  And honestly, once you’ve become successful at something you love, it’s pretty impossible to even consider doing anything else.

Equally as important, don’t just add the same ol’ same ol’.  A successful business is all about offering a new facet to something.  Be different.

What is your favorite part about weddings?
Jeez.  The END.  I can’t stand them.

What is your hobby outside of blogging {is there life outside blogging} :)?
Bedroom wrestling and sleep.  Precious, precious sleep.  I get to do that once in a while, when the NYC garbage trucks stop running oh RIGHT that never happens.

And yes, of course I believe there is life outside of blogging!  It’s called Attending Events Related to Topics I Will Cover When Blogging, and walking our dog. *giggle* :)

Happy Friday everyone!
~jacin