Tips to Find The Perfect Wedding Photographer

March 1, 2016 9 Comments

Another Wedding Talk Tuesday is here again, and I’ll tell you my five tips to find the best wedding photographer. Check out the past couple weeks Our wedding shower and Gifts for the father of the bride. One thing I took very serious for my wedding was finding the right photographer for my wedding. Pictures are something that you can not get back, so it is important to find the right wedding photographer.

Tips On Finding The Perfect Wedding Photographer

Decide One or Two

I knew from the beginning that I wanted two photographers on my wedding day. I just felt more comfortable knowing that there were
going to be two people taking pictures! I am so glad that I went with my thoughts! With having two photographers one was able to be with the men while getting ready and one was with me! It made everything seamlessly.

@theknightsplace is giving 5 tips to find the best wedding photographer on the blog today!

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Know Your Style

What kind of photos do you want? Elaborate, simple, clean? I knew that I wanted simple photos that didn’t look edited. It took a lot of Simple Rustic Wedding Theme looking through wedding photographers portfolios to find exactly what I was looking for. If you don’t like the style of photos in their portfolio, most likely you will not like your wedding photos.

Do you want a wedding video too?

I knew that I wanted a wedding video. But I also knew how expensive they were. It just wasn’t something that was in my budget. So, I asked my photographer if they knew any videographers. That was the best thing I did, they replied that they just started doing wedding videos! I was in luck, it was in my budget since I would be doing both photography & videography with them. So if you know that you want a wedding video, you might want to try a photographer who does both. I just might save you money in the long run!

Want to see my wedding video- Check it out here.

Prices + Packages

Set a round about price. Make sure you look into everything. What does the package include? 8 Hours of photography? Or only 6 hours? Does it include 100 edits, or only 5? Do you get the digital release to all the prints, or do you have to buy all the prints from your wedding photographer? A couples weeks after our wedding we had a five-minute wedding video and over 900 amazing wedding photos! I was able to print any and all of the photos where ever I wanted to, and that I believe is the way to go! Simple Wedding Photos

Time Frame + Overtime

My wedding photographer helped me make a timeline, and that was so helpful! I knew exactly what was happening when! I knew that I wanted two photographers for 8 hours. That meant that we had to take pictures of hair and makeup because I had to figure out the right time that I needed my photographers. But, check with your wedding photographer to see if they will work over time? If you want them to stay an hour late, will they? The last thing you want is more pictures and no wedding photographer.

Simple Wedding photo

Wedding

The Best Gift For The Father Of The Bride

February 23, 2016 2 Comments

Welcome to Wedding Talk Tuesday! Did you miss last week’s post? Well, check it out here. I talked about the best rustic couple shower that you have ever seen! Now, I am talking about the best Father of the Bride Gift!

I was given this product for review, all opinions are my own.

The Best Wedding Gift For The Father of The Bride

If you know me at all you know that I am a daddy’s girl! I am so blessed to have such a good relationship with my Dad! He is always there for me and always supporting me! I knew that I had to get my dad a good gift for my wedding. He has a running joke that he is getting a raise since I am getting married! Of course, that is after the wedding when I am paying for my car insurance, health insurance and everything in between!

@theknightsplace is showing off the best gift for the father of the bride!

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The best gift forthe father of thebride.

I was so excited to find a wonderful shop that would help me create such a fun gift to give to my father! You have to check out Sweet Melodee, she did an amazing job! Sweet Melodee specializes in custom hand stamped findings! You all know that stamped metal is the in thing right now, so why not give it as a gift?

I gave this gift to my dad at my wedding shower! It was nice to take time and thank him for everything he as done in my life. I felt like it was a better idea to give it on the day of our wedding shower and not the day of the wedding. Looking back, I am so glad that I gave it to him then. The day of the wedding goes by so fast, I feel as if I would have forgotten to give it to him! Yes, my parents helped in the financial part of my wedding, & I could never thank them enough for helping us. Not only did they give so much of their time, but their financial aid was a huge stress reliever. I know this isn’t a huge gift, but I know my father loved the gift! It was just a small way for me to say thank you to him!

Now, on to Sweet Melodee, you guys have to go check her shop out! She honestly has some amazing things! Personalized gifts are in right now, and this is the perfect gift to give! Between money clips, guitar picks, fishing lures, and hand stamped key chains, you can find the perfect gift for anyone! (Maybe that’s why this is the best father’s gift). Make sure you go check her out on Facebook.

For The Little Bit Of Money My Daughter Hasn't Taken 1

Wedding

Our Rustic Couple Wedding Shower!

February 15, 2016 13 Comments

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Welcome to Wedding Talk Tuesday! I am so excited to finally be able to share my couple wedding shower with you all! It was amazing! My family did an amazing job throwing Justin & I the best couple wedding shower!

Come see why @theknightsplace had a couple shower, and why they are becoming so popular!

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Why We Had A Couple Wedding Shower?

My Answer? Why not? It was so much fun being able to have Justin be apart of all of the festivities! We were able to have all Justin’s friends there and all our groomsmen! Not only were we able to have Justin’s guy friends at the shower, we were able to have my Uncle’s and all my cousins! It was more of a gathering than a shower! It was so nice being able to have everyone there! Justin’s mom did throw me a traditional wedding shower, so lucky for me I was able to have the best of both worlds!

My Advice For A Couple’s Wedding Shower

Assembly Line- What does that mean? Have an area where people walk in & you greet them right away. Greet them, thank them for taking time out of their day to come to your shower & then open your gift from them. It is a great way to make it personal. You can open everyone’s gift in front of them. ( Everyone know’s that is the most boring part of any wedding shower- watching them open gifts.) Well, with this way the only people who have to watch you open a gift are the people who gave you the gift! Also, I highly dislike becing the center of attetion, so this made it way less stressful for me!

Hire A Photographer- It makes it so much easier on everyone! If I didn’t hire a photographer, my mom or sister would have been worried the whole time about getting pictures! It makes it so much easier on everyone! Also, remember the “assembly line” I talked about above. That is a perfect time to make sure you get a picture with everyone who comes to your shower! (These are great pictures to add to your thank you notes to make your thank you notes more personalized!)

Open House- Making your couples shower an open house is such a good idea! For our shower, we had a starting time and that was it. That it made is super easy! People started coming around 4 pm and I don’t think some left til midnight! I tell you it was one amazing party! Having an open house makes it so easy for everyone! They don’t have to spend their whole day there. If some guest had things to do that night they could stop by and say hi, and not feel bad about having to leave early.

Have plenty of food and drinks- Trust me, no one wants to go to a shower that doesn’t have food and drinks! My family had that covered! Of course, we had a make a beer run (Justin’s friends really know how to drink.) My mom made some amazing food & I know that everyone loved all the food! So, my uncles may not have been too happy that they had to go to a wedding shower, but I know the great food and drinks made up for that!

I just linked up with @theknightplace for Wedding Talk Wednesday!

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Wedding

Wedding Talk Tuesday

February 9, 2016 8 Comments

I am so excited that you all are able to join me for Wedding Talk Tuesday! Whether you’re planning your dream wedding, you just got married, or have been married for years I urge you to join this link up & share your wedding details!

Come Join @theknightsplace for Wedding Talk Tuesday!

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My Wedding

For the first week I want to give you a little information about my wedding… I am married to Justin (Deputy Sheriff). We got engaged October 7, 2014, & married on October 10, 2015. You can read our whole engagement story here. For my wedding, I knew exactly what I wanted! We had one year to make my dreams come true! My family helped me out so much, it would not have been the same wedding without them! The theam was “pretty rustic” everything turned out exactly as planned! Everyone was such a big help! I had such a wonderful time asking my bridesmaids, & Justin had a really neat way of asking his groomsmen! Here are some topics to come in the near feature for Wedding Talk Tuesday, planning, the reception, decorations, gifts, wedding showers, and so much more!

Wedding Talk Tuesday

I am excited to link up with you all every week & see everyone’s wedding ideas! Make sure you leave your link below! Feel free to share the button with all your followers as well, so they know to come back every week and read more about your wedding.

WEDDINGTALKTUESDAY

Here is also a chance to show off your wedding on Instagram use the #weddingtalktuesday so we can all mingle on Instagram. Can’t wait to see you all there!

Tuesday Wedding Talk

Blogging

Everything Is About To Change

February 4, 2016 8 Comments

I hate change. You can see here & here. How much I dislike change. But for once I am so excited about change! I switched to Self-hosted WordPress!

A Change For The Knight's Place

For awhile now I have thought about blogging. What I wanted to do, where did I want to take my blog? Did I want to quit blogging (the answer yes was thought about a lot.) It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of thought. Did I want to keep on with this “hobby?” The answer I came up with is yes!

Yes, I know I hate change, but this is an amazing change. A chance for me to grow my blog and make it into the blog I always wanted it to be. A decision that took a lot of thought. Justin supported me, and told me to do what makes me happy, and I am so thankful for that.

Also, thank you, everyone, for sticking with me through this. I know it is a process, but I am so excited to see where this will take me. Also, thank you all for your support! You all are amazing, and the blogging community is full of wonderful people!

Kara

Money Talk

Why You Don’t Need A No Spend Month

January 28, 2016 18 Comments

I’m sure you have all heard of this “no spend” month. Where you only spend money on the necessities, and nothing else! I sounds like a great idea! I was all for it, I told Justin how we were not going to spend any money in January. How we were going to save so much money & be happy that we were saving so much money! People talk so highly of it, but I don’t see many people talk about it during and after the process. After thinking about it, I came up with more reason’s you shouldn’t have a no spend month than should.

It does not save money- So you don’t shop for a month, or you don’t go out to each for a month. Is that going to stop you next month? No… It won’t. You’ll spend just the same amount or even more the next couple months, so the whole saving money is out the window.

The miserable and boring part. You can’t go out and do anything, you can’t go out to eat. You can’t even order pizza! Life is supposed to be fun! We are supposed to be able to go out with friends. Yes, I know you are saying it is only one month.. But what if you have friends getting married? Do you not spend any money on them? Or if a friend comes in from out of town, do you tell them you can’t go out with them? It just makes it hard. Things always come up in life.

What do you consider necessities? If you as my husband that question and myself that question you will get two totally different answers. For me it would the wine, candy, and anything I really want in the grocery store. For him it would be tea and frozen pizzas. During the no spend month, I bet your necessities list grows long. So that doesn’t really help you save money.

So there are my three main reasons why you should not participate in a “No Spend Month.”

What do you think? Do you like or dislike the method of having a “No Spend Month?”

Police Family

Goodbye Second Shift Blues

January 26, 2016 11 Comments

If you don’t know how much I hate Justin working second shift you can read here and here. Long story short, second shift sucked!

But, now Justin is on third shift! Which means he will work from 11 pm to 7 am. That means we will get to see each other every night! We have not seen each other for more than two nights a week since we got married ( and a year before that)! How crazy is that, actually we averaged seeing each other around 12 hours every week! Yes sad I know, but now it has completely changed! We will eat dinner every night together! How amazing is that! I don’t think I have ever gotten to spend every night with Justin since we started dating! It is almost like I am not married to a police officer anymore! Kind of amazing!

He has been with the sheriff department for almost two years! We have been waiting for him to get off second shift! And it happened! I couldn’t be more excited!

Of course there are always a downside to life. This downside is, we don’t get to go to bed together.. except for two nights a week. Justin will get ready for work at 9 pm, and I’ll be getting ready to wind down for the night. It will be really different for a while, but that’s something little that we can get used to. ( I mean I am used to going to bed by myself, but not being by myself all night long.)

If you know me at all, I am not a quite person.. at all. And Justin will be sleeping during the days, so on the weekends, I will have to be extremely quiet! So, we will see how that goes! I need to find a quiet hobby to do! I think this will be the hardest thing to adjust to.

But, I can get over the downside, because I actually get to see my husband. We get to be real husband and wife! I am so excited!

Do you and your significant other work different shifts?

Pets

5 Ways To Reduce Your Dogs Energy

January 21, 2016 11 Comments

Walks/Runs – Taking your dog regularly on walks/runs can do great deals, when it comes to getting your dog tired. ( We really need to work on that). I am thinking when Justin switches to third, I will try to talk Fenix a lot more. So he does’t keep Justin up during the day.

Puzzles and Toys– Fenix & Penny both loves toys! But my new favorite thing to get them are puzzle toys. Not only do they enjoy playing with them, but it works their mind at the same time! Thanks to Chewy for sending us this great puzzle! Fenix loves it & even carries it around the house!

Want the puzzle that Fenix has, click here!

I received this product in return for my opinion. Once again all thoughts are my own

Fenced In Yard Getting a fence was our saving grace! I know not everyone has the means, or the yard for a fence. But if you can get a fenced in yard, I would highly recommend it! Fenix will stay outside and run around like crazy!

Dog Park Fenix loves going to the dog park! And the best part for me? When we get home he sleeps for a couple hours straight! It is also great for him to be able to go out and play with other dogs, (other than the slobber part, I could do without that). When ever you ask Fenix if he wants to go to the dog park he goes crazy!

Standard Sleeping Schedule Keeping Fenix on a regular sleeping schedule is key for us! He knows when I go to bed, and then sleeps until Justin’s gets up. (I feel like his is like a human!) But, for us it works!

What do you do to get your dogs energy out?

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Police Family

7 Ways You Know You Love A Police officer

January 19, 2016 5 Comments

1. The Vest – That vest that stinks no matter how much febreeze you spray on it, or whatever you do. It takes up too much room in your closet, but when he’s working and wearing the vest, you wish it was back in its spot. The sound of them taking it off, and that velcro is the best sound that anyone can hear. It means that they are home safe.

2. You can never Schedule more than a week out in life – Planning holiday’s or really anything for that matter is never easy. You think they are getting off at a certain time, and its three hours later, and then they are exhausted when they get off. Their schedules are so difficult! But, you learn to work with it. You learn to hate to so much that you love it.

3. Working late nights and longs shifts – Hence the above statement, (you can’t schedule anything), but they put in so many hours. As soon as their shift is over, you wait by the phone. If minutes past and they don’t call you worry & call them praying that they are just stuck late with paperwork. You get happy when they get that single second to send you a text to tell you they love you. Any communication while they are on duty is rare but so amazing.

4. Being so proud when you see them in uniform Weather they have been in uniform once or ten thousand times. Nothing changes, you are so proud and want to show them off to the world. I love when I am able to see my officer in uniform. It makes me the proudest wife.

I Am A Police Wife (1)

5. The amount of white tee’s or undershirts that you have to wash The amount of white tee’s I have to wash is crazy! And washing the uniform, switching over the uniforms, all the buttons, everything! It takes time, and I feel like we are switching uniforms over all the time. But, then once again I would not trade it for anything!

6. Finding bullets in the washing machine I thought this was something wives just said, but no.. it happens. I was shocked when I was changing the laundry and there was a bullet in our washing machine. I thought yep, its official, I live with a police officer.

7. LOVING YOUR HERO Loving your police officer is the greatest thing in life. They go to work every day, putting their life on the line. But you support them, you support the hard lifestyle that you both agreed to. You love it & wouldn’t change it for the world.

Uncategorized

Stop Living For Life For Others

January 14, 2016 27 Comments

With so much on social media, people think that we need to be perfect. Well guess what everyone. We don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be yourself!

Here are four ways to stop living life for others and start living your life for yourself.

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Take Your Own Advice You know that voice in your head, listen to it! Do what makes you happy. Talk yourself into taking risks. Do what is best for yourself! Sometimes, you have to put yourself first. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion, you have a voice for a reason, so make sure you are heard.

Listen To Others With Caution Remember, you know what is best for you. Yes, some people may think they know what is best for you, but they don’t. Of course, you want to listen to everyone who wants to help you in life, but at the end of the day life has to be your choice.

Applaud yourself Be happy with yourself. Don’t wait for others to give you credit. Pat yourself on the back, and believe you did a good job. This can be so hard. With all the social media these days, people feel like they are never good enough. We need to stop feeling like that, feel like you are the best! Give yourself some confidence! Don’t wait for social media to accept you.

Love Yourself I mean at the end of the day, if you don’t love yourself who will? Remember to live your life for yourself. Do what makes YOU happy. Stop looking at others for the “okay” in life. Stop comparing yourself to others, it will only bring you down. Especially on social media… people have the tendency’s to show only the good in their life, so don’t compare your life to theirs.

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