Goodbye Miss......Hello Mrs!

Ok ok, the wedding is finally over. All of my preparations and planning are done. What am I supposed to do now?!?!

Let's start with talking about the very best day of my entire life.

For the months leading up to the wedding I figured I would be a crazy person on the day of my wedding. I was so worried that I would forget something, lose something, my niece would have to be drug up the aisle by my ringbearer, I would fall on my face walking down the aisle yada yada yada. I'm so happy to report that none of those things happened.


The morning of the wedding I woke up at 715. Not by alarm either. Excitement and anxiousness was running through my veins. I hopped in the shower and started my morning routine, careful not to wash my hair because my hairdresser forbid me not to do so the two days leading up to the big day. 1/2 way through my shower my sister Courtney comes into the bathroom yapping about the big day. I get out of the shower and I kind of want to punch her in the face. She looks beautiful! And the lucky bitch had just rolled out of bed. Seriously, who's hair looks that amazing when they just get out of bed? Certainly not mine!


Anywho I finish my little routine, put on my white "bride" sweatpants, tank top and matching Mrs. Cecil hoodie and head downstairs to wake up the rest of the house. I guess I should have mentioned that a bunch of us stayed at my dads that night to hang out and get ready together. Upon getting to the kitchen my awesome stepmom has already started baking muffins and all kinds of other yummy goodies. I'm not one of those girls that won't eat before they put on their dress. I was flippin' hungry! And kids, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. :-)

So me and Jeannine wake up the rest of the house. Dad is already up (watching sports or something along those lines) and then we all congregate and hang out in the kitchen while we eat. We take lots of pictures and then before you know it it's time for me to go get my hair done!

Ashlee and I got to JC Penny right before my 10am appointment. Melissa looks at me like I'm crazy. I think she expected me to be flipping out or a nervous wreck or something but I was completely calm and happy. Around this time my mom, cousin Lia and Courtney all got there.We all yapped and talked while the girls got their hair done and while Melissa put in my super long extensions.  My hair had never been that long in my entire LIFE! When Melissa was done working her magic and she put my veil on I started to get choked up. I laughed while I was crying and told them all I had to get it out before my makeup was put on! I refused to cry once my makeup was on! Ha!

Ashlee drove us back to my dads where all the girls had arrived. So had my makeup artist Tressa. I went in, sat down and she got to work. Once my makeup was done it was almost time to go! We had a bus picking up all the girls at 245 to be at the church by 315. I hustled everyone up, ate some pinwheels and cheese and then we boarded the bus! Eek! I couldn't believe it was almost time.

When we got to the church we had to hang out in the bus for a little bit because the doors weren't open. I serenaded the girls when Prince came on the radio. I'm sure it was terrible and there is a video floating around somewhere. Hopefully it never surfaces. Once Bill (the organist) got the doors open and we went in I uncovered my dress and waited on my photographer to get there so I could put it on. I was so excited to wear this dress. I worked hard to fit into it. I ordered it a size too small and had some minor alterations done but this dress was the dress of my dreams.

 When Missy got there I put on my dress with the help of Loren (my sister-in-law) and Courtney. Once the jewelry, shoes and garter were on it was time to take some pictures. When we all lined up outside to take pictures I finally got to see all the girls together in their dresses for the first time. I had decided early on (thanks to a suggestion from my stepmom) to let the girls wear their own little black dresses because they know what works for them and they would all be comfortable. And wow, did they look amazing! The fall flowers, their shoes, jewelry and different dresses all looked stunning together. I couldn't be more proud to have these 7 women by my side on this day. My cousin Hayley was my jr. Bridesmaid and she looked adorable in her black dress that I picked out for her. My cousin is such a tomboy (I guess that happens when you grow up with 3 brothers) so it was so so special to have her spend this day with me and the girls. And don't even get me started on my little princess Molly. She was so cute in her white dress with her bracelets and hair band! I had a beautiful bridal party! Anywho, we took some pictures and I had fun being sassy with the camera. I really can't wait to see the pictures. Before I knew it, the boys had arrived!

I had to hustle back to my holding cell.....errrr....I mean room and wait now. Waiting was the hardest part. The more I waited, the more I got nervous and thought about falling on my face. As the room started to empty and it was just me and my grandpa left I told him not to let me fall. He, in return, told me not to let him fall. Ha! So the music starts playing and the doors open and I see a church filled with my friends and family and I just capture it all in my memory. I remember walking out and pausing before continuing down the aisle, I was so happy at that moment. I started to choke up and then pushed the tears back. I saw my best friend Tiffiny first and then I started to choke up then too. Tiffiny and I had a couple of arguments and for some time I didn't even think she was coming to the wedding but when I saw her, I just loved her so much at that moment that every single thing we bickered about was gone and out of my mind.

My grandfather whispered for me to slow down and take it all in, apparently I'm a fast walker and I was really excited! That's when I finally looked up and saw Ryan. He was standing up at the alter with this huge smile on his face. That made me the happiest girl in the world. My grandfather passed me off to my dad 1/2 way down the aisle and he walked me up to my future husband. I didn't fall on my face. Whew.

The ceremony went on, it was beautiful and magical and everything a girl could ever dream of. I think I giggled several times when Fr. Chuck was talking about joining Ryan and Ryan in marriage. It's was so funny! Still is. Ryan Squared. Awesomeness.

When the ceremony was over and we made our exit all of the stress that we had went through the months leading up to the wedding just seemed to lift off of our shoulders. Now it was time to party!

We took pictures at the church and then boarded the bus to head to our beautiful reception hall.I had no idea what to expect. I had my vision that I had worked with and talked about with Mike at Llyod's Florist but I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Ryan assured me it was beautiful, but I just couldn't take his word for it. After forcing the bridal party to stay outside and take a few more pictures we all lined up to make our grand entrance. (Although I do regret rushing myself because I missed some of the key pictures I wanted to take at Mellwood). Oh well. Maybe I can convince Ryan to do them another day.


Our entrance was awesome. The bridal party walked in to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. I love that song. And Ryan and I walked in to Call Me The Breeze by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Guess who's choice that was?

When I saw how beautiful Mellwood looked I was so happy! Mike and the Lloyds team did such an amazing job. It was everything that I wanted and they executed it all perfectly. 


After the entrance we ate, drank and danced the night away. I don't think I left the dancefloor for more than a few minutes. We had this awesome photobooth from Snapshot Photo Booth Rentals that was a huge hit for everyone.

The wedding and reception was hands down the best day I've ever had. I wish that I could replay that entire day over and over because it was so much fun. It went by so fast but I'm glad I took the time to capture moments and remember things so they weren't just a blur.


I really want to thank our awesome wedding party and our parents, grandparents and friends that helped us make this day possible. And as for Amanda, Vivien, Kevin and Matt.....you guys are simply amazing and the greatest friends a girl could ask for. You guys drove over 15 hours to be here with us on this special day and that means the world to me. You guys are the best thing that came from the USS Iwo Jima. Hands down.


Thank you to our photographer Missy Brown. Your images are stunning and we can't wait to see the rest of them.


Thank you to my makeup artist Tressa. Your work on my mug was flawless and my makeup lasted throughout the day and night!


Thank you to Lloyd's Florist. We cannot express how happy we are with the way the flowers and decorations turned out.

Thanks to JuLi's Creations for the awesome food and delicious cake. I loved our cake! It was so pretty!


Thank you to Fr. Chuck for marrying us and being such a special part of our day.


Thanks to Jenny and Lauren for all your help with preparations, hair and makeup the morning of. You girls are amazing and awesome!


I'm sure I'm forgetting people....I always do. But thank EVERYONE that came and celebrated with us on this awesome day! I love you guys! xoxo

Mrs. Ryan Cecil

So it's finally Wedding Week!!

Ok so it's finally wedding week! 

Commence freakout! 

Just kidding. I feel like I've been planning this moment for a lifetime! Pretty much everything is organized and done, luckily for me I've got some kick ass ladies that will be assisting me day of so I don't have to much to stress about.

This past weekend was my bachelorette party. It was so amazing. I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world because I have such awesome sisters and friends. They really made sure that my night was something that I will never forget. My day started out around 7 am. I played with my dog Rex and ran errands and cleaned the house since the festivities were starting there. I then dropped Rex off at his grandparent Cecil's house and went to find some fun jewelry to go with my little black dress I was wearing that evening. After jewelry shopping I went home to meet my friend Erika and she went with me to get my makeup done by a fabulous makeup artist named Tressa. Her link is below.

Who Does Your Makeup?

The look I was going for was drama! I started off with this picture....

And this was my final result.....

Obviously it's a little hard to see here but I couldn't find any pictures of me that really focused on my makeup. I'll be taking more Saturday for sure. But it definitely had the "drama" I was going for.

After getting my makeup done we went home to get dolled up and then everyone started to arrive! We ate some good food, I opened gifts (that were totally hilarious and naughty), drank, played games, told stories, took pictures and then our limo showed up. Now let me just tell you this....I had no flippin' clue this limo was yellow until I looked at my pictures the next day. I could have sworn it was white! I blame it on the al al al alcohol. 

We took the limo to Molly Malone's in St. Matthews. One of my favorite bars. My sister's awesome boyfriend got us some reserved tables up in the top section so when we weren't on the dance floor we could go up there and hang out. Guess who never went back up there once we hit the dance floor. Yep. That's right. We danced the night away. I don't think anyone realized we were at the bar for 6 hours until the next day!

It was totally worth it! When we took the limo home around 3am my awesome best guy friend who crashed the girls night out brought us all taco bell to my house. I swear I ate more soft tacos than I ever have in my life. Yum yum! Thanks so much biff!

The next day I needed some fat girl/ half hungover food so Erika and I drove up to Hubers to meet up with Jimmy, Kristy, Tyler, Max and Ryan. The food was sooo good and I was a happy girl. After returning home I was a vegetable and didn't move off the couch until I went to bed at 830. Yep...you heard right. I missed Dexter. I did watch it last night so all is good on the Dexter front. 

I really really want to say thank you to Courtney, Meagan, Halie, Lindsey, Ashlee, Tiffany G., Tiffany J., Kristy, Meredith, Loren, Erika, Jenny, Kristin, & Lindsay for making my bachelorette party so flippin' awesome. Also a special thanks to Brian for dropping the Kristin & Lindsey off and Geoff for crashing the party and bringing us tacos. You guys and ladies are the best!

You just can't make this stuff up

Have you ever woke up one day and just thought that today was going to be different than any other day you've ever had in your life? I have, and I'm going to tell you about it. 

In March of last year (I'm trying to remember the exact date but it isn't coming to me) I woke up with a weird feeling in my stomach. I brushed it off, brushed my hair and teeth and went to work. Later that morning my sister Courtney and I decided to go have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, P.F. Changs, so we met there around noon or so and were casually talking about life when our waitress showed up. She introduced herself as Halie and I instantly felt a wave of nausea, fear and love sweep over me. 

Now I'll backtrack so you understand why. Growing up I lived in a single parent household with my mom Kelly and my younger sister (who I was at lunch with) Courtney. I never knew my father. My mom was young (18) when she got pregnant with me and her and my father went their separate ways. My dad always paid child support and I was kept on his insurance until I was 18 but there was no contact with me, a decision made by the two of them. I didn't know why and honestly I never really cared. I was surrounded by people that loved me and my grandfather had pretty much taken on the "Dad" role. As I got older and more curious I can remember asking my mom about my dad, what he looked like, where he lived, was he married, did he have other kids and things along those lines. She told me I was the spitting image of my father, he lived somewhere by my grandparents, he was married and he had three other daughters. She even gave me a picture she had a long time ago but who knows what I did with it because I certainly don't have it now and if I did I would probably make fun of him because more than likely he was wearing "jorts" in the picture.

One day my mom and I were at the Chow Wagon (a Derby Festivity in Louisville) and she saw my dad. She made the mistake of telling me she saw him and then I spent the rest of the time we were there looking for someone who looked like me. Of course I didn't see him. There were times that I went to St. Pius for mass and my grandmother would tell me if my dad, stepmom and sisters were there. I was always looking for them just to see what they looked like. I do believe I saw them maybe once or twice but of course I never said anything. 

Fast forward a few years, I graduate high school and join the Navy where I serve onboard the USS Iwo Jima LHD-7 for 4 1/2 years. I completed two tours in the Middle East before I decided not to re-enlist. On December 15, 2006 I left Naval Station Norfolk with a U-Haul truck and headed back home to KY where I started working almost immediately and enrolled in school and started my photography business. One day while sitting at home bored I decided to look up my dad on Facebook. I really didn't expect him to have a Facebook so you can only imagine how surprised I was when his face popped up. His picture was of him and his wife Jeannine on the beach. Instantly I started looking through all his friends and his pictures that were available and that's when I saw my sisters for the first time. Meagan, Halie and Lindsey. I looked over their profiles, examined the pictures that I could see that weren't private and debated on befriending them. I decided not to but I did call my mom and sister and tell them about my discovery. Now that I sit back and think about it, my mom may have been the one to tell me my dad was on Facebook and that could have been what triggered my search. Anyway all that matters was that I found them. 

So back to my story. My waitress Halie introduces herself and takes our drink orders. As soon as she walks away I freak out. Courtney knows what's going on and she calms me down and asks me what I'm going to do. I told her I didn't know and asked her what I should do. She simply said, "If it were me, I would want to know." Welp that settled it. I guess Halie was going to find out that she had another sister that day. We ordered our food and ate, all the while I was thinking how I was going to tell her. I think I even called my mom and asked what I should do. She said it was my decision and to call her later and let her know what happened. So after we asked Halie for to-go boxes and she was boxing up our food I casually asked her if her dad was Jeff Wise. She smiled and said yes, assuming that I was one of the girls he coached in volleyball or something. This is where things kind of get fuzzy for me. I really think I blacked out while talking. Don't know if that's possible but I can hardly remember what I said to her. Courtney could probably tell it better than I can. I basically blurted out that her dad Jeff was my dad too, and that my mom had gotten pregnant when she was 18 and they went their separate ways. Halie's smile slowly faded as she absorbed all this information and from what Courtney has told me she did say "Yeah we do look alike". Haha. Anyway I was such a mess and so was Halie that we left without even paying our bill. After realizing this I went back in and paid the bill and left Halie a $20 tip. I figured it was the least I could do for making her cry at work! I also left my name and phone number on a piece of paper for her to call me so we could talk. 

I left P.F. Changs and went back to work. She friend requested me on facebook, or maybe I friend requested her, I really can't remember but anyway it happened. Then a little while later I got a phone call from one of Halie's friends. She asked me if Jeff (Halie's dad) knew about me. I told her yes and Jeannine (Halie's mom) did too. So that was that. From what the girls tell me, Halie called Meagan (her older sister) and then they got together and then confronted Dad about the situation. Lindsey (the youngest) was in Florida for spring break so they didn't break the news to her until she got home. 

I was a little lost for a few days following these events. I didn't know what was going to happen. I assumed that I would have a relationship with my sisters and that would be it. One afternoon I was sitting at home babysitting my niece Molly (Courtney's daughter) when I got a text from an unknown number. It was Jeff, my dad. He asked if I wanted to meet somewhere and talk. I was really nervous but of course I said yes, I was running the 10k that Saturday so we decided to meet down at the waterfront in the afternoon after the race. I told Ryan (My boyfriend) what was going on and he made sure I took my cell phone and told him exactly where we were going just in case something happened and I was supposed to call him right after. I laugh thinking about it now. Seriously, did I really think my dad was going to kidnap or kill me? Haha!

The morning of the race that's all I could think about. I think it's what pushed me to run those 6.2 miles in the time that I did, not stopping once. I went home and got changed and then made my way down to the waterfront to meet Jeff. The walk to the fountains was probably one of the longest walks I've ever had in my life. My heart was racing and I was a nervous wreck. I saw him walking up and I knew immediately that I was his daughter. We introduced ourselves and went on to have the most awkward conversation every. We stood face to face about 5 feet away from each other and didn't move. Talk about weird. We talked about life, what I was doing, what he was doing and things along those lines. I must have had another blackout moment during this time because I can really only remember us talking about being UofL fans. At the end of our conversation we both agreed that we wanted to be in each others lives and we were going to take it from there. And then for the first time in 26 years, I hugged my dad.

After meeting Jeff (I was still calling him Jeff early on) we arranged for the meeting of the sisters. We decided to have dinner at Cafe Lou Lou on Thursday (I think) evening. I was really nervous about meeting all the girls and then I found out later that Jeannine (their mom) was coming too. Talk about being out numbered. I really didn't know what to expect from Jeannine. She could have hated me for all I knew. I was early when I got to Cafe Lou Lou so I was sitting in my car when I noticed everyone and got out of the car. The first person to hug me was Jeannine. I was amazed at how kind and accepting she was of me. After we all hugged in the parking lot and went inside, I was still kind of shaky. Thank goodness Cafe Lou Lou had Coors Light. We all ate and talked about life and started getting to know each other. And like Jeff, we decided to be a part of each others lives from here on out. 

After meeting the immediate family, including my mamaw Ann everything just started falling into place. Everyone accepts me and loves me and I love all them too.

 I'll never forget the first time I called Jeff,  "Dad". That word has always been foreign to me and I certainly never thought I would say it to anyone. We had tailgated the UofL Spring Game in 2010, it was raining, cold and just plain stupid outside. While leaving the stadium Jeff dropped his koozie and I said "Dad you dropped your koozie." It was weird, but hey, it happened and I never called him Jeff again. He is "Dad" now.

We now have cookouts, parties, tailgate, hang with each others families,and we have integrated our lives to where it seemed like we'd never been apart. Their home became my home and pictures of me and Ryan started popping up on the mantle and on the fridge. We have family days where we all lounge around in the fuff chairs or go canoeing. Life is certainly good.

When Ryan proposed to me last August I was faced with the question of who was going to walk me down the aisle. Ever since I was little I imagined it would be my grandfather. But now I had my dad too so what was I going to do? I asked both of them to walk me down the aisle on my big day. And of course they both accepted. The beautiful church I'm getting married in couldn't be more perfect. The aisle splits between a set of pews which enables my grandfather to walk me down the first part of the aisle (as he walked me down the first part of my life) and then my dad will walk me the rest of the way to Ryan.

                          (Sisters)Lindsey, Courtney, Halie, Me & Meagan

                       Me, Ryan, Halie, Jeannine, Dad, LuLu, Meagan & Steve

                   Jeannine, Mom, Me & Jan (Ryan's Mom) at my Bridal Shower

My life has certainly been interesting over the last two years and I know there is a lot more fun ahead. I hope you enjoyed my story and continue reading because there is a lot more fun ahead!!

Well, here we are.

I've tried numerous times to start a blog. Most of the time I just forget about them and my writing goes off into internet space and I never see it again because I can't seem to find the password to my accounts. Hopefully this time will be different. I'm approaching a very new chapter in my life, next weekend I will be marrying the man of my dreams and I couldn't be happier. I'm not really sure what I'm trying to accomplish with this blog, the truth is, I always feel like I have something to say, something that matters, but I just can never express it the way I want to. Maybe this blog will help? Maybe it won't and my words will just float out into internet space again. Regardless, here I am again, starting a blog. I'm not sure what it's going to contain or what I'm going to write about but I hope you'll join me for the ride!