Our Wedding: The Bridal Party

So it's been almost 6 months since the wedding and I'm just sharing more pictures...oops! My sister-in-law was our main photographer and she did such an amazing job! Today I'm going to share the bridal party pictures with you!

All the pictures and portraits were done right outside the Chateau Cargill, which is the building where the ceremony and reception were. I just loooove the ivy and the stone! If I remember correctly, the weather wasn't so nice leading up to our big day, but it turned out to be gorgeous! We only had a few sprinkles while were getting family portraits done. It wasn't too cold and it wasn't too hot. Obviously, we were meant to get married that day ;)

Everyone showed up early on the day of the wedding to help set up and they stayed to take everything down. We had such an amazing time and I'm grateful for each and every one of them!

For the bridesmaids, I let them pick out their own dresses. They just had some guidelines, like it had to be black, knee length, not the shiny fabric, and no jewels on it. Then I asked them to wear nude shoes. 3 of them got nude pumps, while my maid of honor wore nude flats. I gifted them each a clutch made by the super duper awesome Jesse from AnyKind and stuffed them with wedding day emergency supplies. They also got a long gold necklace and some bangles to wear with their dresses! Jesse also sent me one as a surprise gift! I posted about them here.

The groomsmen rented their tuxes from Moore's and Rob gifted them with a flask and a cigar (which were tied together with twine)! You can see me and the bridesmaids with the cigars above. I'm glad we got that photo, haha!

My sister-in-law did such an amazing job with our wedding photos. It was her first time being a lead photographer at a wedding, but it looks like she's been doing it for ages! If you want to check out more of her work, click here!

xo. Nicole

My Favorite Nail Polish || Julep

Note: This is NOT a sponsored post! I just want to share something awesome that I found :)

Since coming across Julep a couple months ago, I've been in love. It's a subscription where you receive roughly 3 three nail polishes in a box (Depends on your style maven pick! Some boxes give you two polishes and a beauty product) and they always add in a little extra something.

So far, I have had about 5 months of Julep and I accumulated enough Jules to redeem so that last month's box was free!

They have a lot of really cool colors and usually the ones they send you are the major colors, or variations of them, for the season. At first, I thought the polish chipped really easily, then I realized it wasn't the polish and it was just the crappy top coat I was putting on. Now I don't use a top coat (except on the sparkly ones like Missy above) and the polish lasts for almost a week! I also only have to do one or two coats and it looks awesome :)

Since subscribing to Julep, I've come across some people who complain about how expensive Julep is. I saw it that way at first, too. Only $20.06 would come out of my bank account on the 25th of each month, and that included shipping. I realized how inexpensive it was when I was ringing a lady through at work who was buying 2 O.P.I nail polishes at $10.99 each. There are cheaper polishes in the drug stores but I really like Julep and I don't think it's that bad of a price for what you're getting.

I don't remember how I came across Julep, but I'm sure it was browsing around some of my favorite blogs. I was not paid or compensated at all for this post, I simply want to share with you something awesome that I came across! I hope you try it out and love it just as much as I do! 

If you click the button below (my affiliate link), it will direct you to their website. I'm pretty sure your first box is free, too! :)

xo. Nicole

28 Days of Thankful || Week 3

Week three was hard. Our stress levels are through the roof right now with both of our vehicles working on and off, so I guess I could basically just say that this week I am extra thankful for family. They've let us use a vehicle while mine is in the shop, and are genuinely helping us through it all. 

While being extra super duper thankful for family, there were a few more things I could think of and take pictures of for the Instagram project. I'm trying to do all 7 days, but life gets in the way sometimes:

1 || Gunner is always watching us, and it makes me feel like he'll protect us through anything.

2 || Naps. Especially with this boy. His thing lately is to jump on our bed, get into a spooning position and snore, snore, snore!

3 || Cozy inside. My dad is out there right now in -12C weather towing people out of ditches and such, all so he can pay rent so that we can live here and save up for our own place.

What were you thankful for during week three? If you're participating, leave your Instagram username in the comments below and I'll be sure to follow along :) 

My Instagram: @nicloemax

The host of #28DaysofThankful and owner of Crafted Love: @allisonaffordit

xo. Nicole

28 Days of Thankful || Week 2

Ah, yes. It's a Tuesday and it's no longer week two of the Instagram project, but unfortunately, I got busy! Currently we both don't have our vehicles to get to and from work, and we both work half an hour to an hour away from home. It's a very stressful situation, so I am looking for a new job and still trying to focus on what I'm thankful for. Week two, I was not very active in taking pictures but I got four in! That's good, right?!

Not sure what #28DaysofThankful is all about? Click here! (hosted by Allison from Crafted Love)

Want a recap of my first week? Click here!

Day 1// Enjoying a night off for once. Not pictured: husband, Gunner, and popcorn.
Day 2// Thankful for pay it forward type ideas, like Craft it Forward!

Day 3// Love nights off together where we can drink wine and play board games.

Day 4// Thankful for kind people.

Are you participating? I would love to follow along! Use the hashtag #28DaysofThankful so everyone can see what you're thankful for! Comment with your Instagram username so I can follow you! Mine is @nicloemax and the host of the Instagram project is @allisonaffordit!

xo. Nicole

Craft It Forward || What I Received!

A while ago, Sam from My Latest Obsession put up a blog post about Crafting It Forward. The idea is that you send 5 people a homemade gift and from there, those 5 people send a homemade gift to 5 more people, and so on. Well, I commented on Sam's post and I received my package yesterday! I've been following Sam for a while and have been watching her shop get better and better! They're also in the process of building a Tiny Home! 

Sam sent me a pack of 3 bracelets, 2 lip balms, an upcycled magnet, and a bath soak! The soak and the balms smell heavenly and I looovvee that she is using essential oils!

Would you like to be a part of Craft It Forward? The first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something special from me with the hope that you will do the same! Please leave your email address so that I can contact you :)

In the meantime, please check out Sam's Etsy shop, Sam Wish! She upcycles and makes a lot of cool things that make great gifts for the holidays coming up.
xo. Nicole

28 Days of Thankful || Week 1

It's already been a week of the Instagram project, #28DaysofThankful! To recap, the goal is to take a picture for 28 days of something you're thankful for and post it to Instagram. Allison from Crafted Love is hosting and came up with the idea. She will be sharing her favorites from the hashtag every week on her blog! I'm going to share my week's worth of pictures every Friday with you here! :)

Day 1 || I'm thankful for our friends and family who support us in everything we do.

Day 2 || Thankful for coffee. It wakes me up and motivates me to get on with my day. Sounds stupid...but it's true..

Day 3 || Thankful for Rob and Gunner. Late night cuddles and wrestling after work.
Day 4 || Not sure where I'd be today if it wasn't for this woman. Thankful for my mom!

Day 5 || As much as I complain about it, I'm thankful to have a job.

Day 6 || Thankful for my dad. He's beaten cancer twice and is always there for me and my sisters.

Day 7 || My sisters. They're there to listen to me vent and I know they'll always be around.

Are you participating? Leave your Instagram username or your blog link in the comments and I'll check them out! :) If you'd like to follow along, you can follow me on Instagram here @nicloemax and the brilliant mind who thought of this, @allisonaffordit.

xo. Nicole

28 Days of Thankful

Okay okay, I know that the Canadian Thanksgiving was last month, but Allison is hosting an Instagram project and it can be done any month of the year! Throughout the month of November, post an Instagram picture every day with something that you're thankful for, and use the hashtag #28daysofthankful. She'll share her favorites every week on her blog, so check it out!

Image by Crafted Love

I've started the project and will share my pictures with you every Friday! To start off the month's pictures, here's Day #1!

1// I'm thankful for all the friends and family who support us through everything. This was our guest book at our wedding and I could read the notes over and over again!

xo. Nicole