The Wedding and a Special Newspaper Article...

Here she is in front of those doors again... with that cute little Lace Leafed Maple they used for the
Tree Ceremony...

I'm not getting lazy today. I just wanted you to see the Beautiful Newspaper Article that was in the paper after the wedding...

They wanted to hear about local Hero's that helped during the storm...

Well we had lots...
And this story really lets you know how much we love this great group friends and family!!!
Hope you Enjoy!!!


Click on this link, than when the picture comes up click on it and it will enlarge. Do the same on both links...
http://timeswv.wv.ussrv07v.newsmemory.com/loadPage.php?token=473SyOHY7JiTcHOTopmXoJafi5eVn5PmmsdvdJGflJKinKaBnpemkKY

Ok now this is page 2

http://timeswv.wv.ussrv07v.newsmemory.com/loadPage.php?token=473SyOHY7JiTcHOTopmXoJafi5eVn5PmnMdvc5Oflp2jlKKFm5Cil6iYkQ%253D%253D

To Be Continued...

Lynn

The Wedding Day!

Can you find us??? Back in the left hand corner watching as our youngest daughter

dances her first dance with her new husband...

They were so happy and so were we!!!

OK so Colleen, Amanda and I all left in 3 different cars

to get our hair done.

Colleen's appointment was first

and as I sit here I can't even remember if we were even there

at the same time...

I know I had talked to her several times on the phone,

than she was off to make a couple more stops before going back to the Venue...

Amanda's appointment was next

she was almost done by the time I arrived!

When I got there I was a wreck, still crying at any little thing.

But Bill tried to calm my nerves

and did my hair beautifully..

(As I sit here writing It just hit me we took pictures that day at the beauty shop, they are on the camera that is lost or thrown away somewhere... that makes me so sad to have all those personal shots gone)

So off I went to go back home and get dressed...

So glad now that I had steamed all the girl dresses and mine on

Wednesday and Thursday nights..

Especially Amanda's that took probably an hour...

But they were done...

I jumped in the shower for maybe 2 minutes...

Girls all over my house running around

doing make up and jumping into dresses...

I grab Amanda's Dress and away we go...

I get there and I am amazed

things look beautiful

Everything back together

Sparkling Clean

And The Sun Is Shinning!!!

GOD IS GOOD!!!

To my amazement there is electric and the DJ is  going to have power!!!

How is this possible?

As friends come back I get bits and pieces of stories of the afternoon!

Two of the guys earlier in the day are going out to get

 Ice and more bottled water.

Going down the hill they pass someone they recognize!

He has a generator in the back of his truck...

They get out to talk to him and explain that there is a wedding at Heston's today...

He ask Who's Wedding?

They say It's Tommy Usary's youngest daughter Amanda...

that's getting married and we have no power for anything!!!

He has known our family his entire life, in fact I used to babysit him and his brothers and sister..

He said let me make a few calls and see what I can do!!!

Before we knew it...

There it was a Giant Generator with A Light Pole

You know like they use on the interstate when they are working at night!!!

He just brought it and said there you are!!!

Of course I cried again..

One of the bridesmaids made a call to one of Amanda's friends and he had another

generator there in no time flat!!!

So now we have power in the kitchen.

Our Food had been transferred at 1am Sat morning to our local Fire Dept.

we put everything in their refrigerator's.

Than that morning our great Cooks went to the Fire Dept and put everything on to heat up

and had to transport everything up the the Venue...

So much extra work was done that day to pull this off...

There are those cooks look really close you can see them smiling and having a great time...

Here we go everyone in line getting their food talking and enjoying

their evening. As if nothing from the day before had ever happened.

Of course there are ceiling fans everywhere there...

BUT!!!

not a one running...

Thank goodness the only thing the storm did bring was a little cooler

temperature and a breeze every once in a while...

To Be Continued...

Lynn

The Wedding Day!

At probably 9:00pm Friday night I was still trying to get service on my phone

Being all the way down on that property away from everything and everyone!

We had no idea what all was going on around us!

I finally got to make a call.

First I called my parents to check on them.

I ask my dad is everything OK there?

He said yea WHY???

LOL

So I thought they must have power and they have no idea what is going on!!!

My next call was to my BEST FRIEND!

The person I always call first when I need Prayers!!!

She is always there for me and this night I really needed her, she had no idea how much!!!

I called and told her everything was a mess!

It seemed like just minutes and there she and her husband were...

I fell into her arms and just sobbed..

Now if you know me you know I NEVER CRY!

At least not for anyone to see...

I was so glad she was there.

There was nothing anyone could do that night in the dark...

but she didn't waste any time and got on the phone and called all our friends...

We have 6 couples of us that have been friends since before kids...

that is a long time!!!

She ask what we needed and I just said bring leaf blowers,rakes and anything else you can think of

we will be back as soon as the sun comes up!

OMG!

The next morning we were there a little after 5am

and soon after here they came one by one!

I cried every time someone new came...

They just jumped right in doing everything!

Leaf blowers were cleaning the property..

All the gals were whipping off all the tables and anything else that need cleaning...

Chairs were being set back up...

The owners of the property came down and ran the lawn mowers to mulch up

the lawn after all the branches had been picked up...

My brother-in-law that had made that huge easel that got broken in the wind

came with his tools and put it back together..

It looked as good as new...

The men picked up those doors and bolted them back to the rebar

they had been ripped off.

And my amazing neighbor was there at 5:30 to basically

start all over decorating them again.

Than she started on the flowers that were all around the cabinet for the Mason Jars!

We worked so fast and furiously putting things back up one at a time.

My girlfriend getting candles ready!

All the men working to get the lights put up!

Yea they still put them up knowing we were probably not going to have power!

My sister-in-law filling globes with oil while tables were being set!

Time flew and at one point I said I would just stay and the kids could go

and get their hair done. It would be OK!

I still had to go put the flowers on the cake.

And I remembered OMG!

The wedding bouquet

I was suppose to finish that last night!

Jeanie she was my saving grace!

Along with everything else she finished it on time!

My girlfriends spent tireless hours primping over everything...

I had talked to Patty every morning all winter long. Describing everything in detail

that we had made and how and where I wanted to use it!

Boy did she listen...

Because after I left she and the rest of them made what they called

Executive Decisions!

And they were all Right On!

And my neighbor Jeanie everytime I was unsure about something and just needed someone to

check it out and give me an opinion she was right there to listen to my conserns.

What wonderful friends...

The  kids wouldn't let me stay they made me go get my hair done.

As I traveled up to get my hair done Patty would call and say is this OK or that OK???

Everyone of them had already been through this with almost all of their kids...

But this was my first...

I have never cried so much in my whole life..

They were good tears, I was just overwhelmed at all the kindness...

This could have never been done without them... all of them!

That day at 11am my oldest daughter came to me and ask

Mom do you know all the words to the songs they are playing during the ceremony?

I said yea right! Why?

Well mom we still have no POWER!

At that moment It just hit me like a ton of bricks...

Were we really going to have a Wedding?

To Be Continued...

Lynn

And Now For The Rest of The Story!

Less Than 24 hrs Before the Wedding!

For as many years as I can remember Amanda has loved Heston Farm

It was her dream to get married there someday.

She'd had friends get married there even in rain storms

and it was fine because even tough it is outside everything is under cover!

The weather was unusually hot this week

and Friday was really hot and they were calling for

a thunderstorm.

We started early putting up decorations

and if you have been reading this blog for the last week we had made most of them

in this last year.

Things were really starting to look nice

but it was time to go home and get ready for the Rehearsal Dinner

Than after the dinner that was at the other end of the property we would all

go back up to the pavilion to finish up what we could before calling it a night!

Remember my last post we talked about the beautiful weather we were having for the Rehearsal Dinner?

Everyone dressed for a luau!

Well things changed real quick that night!

We heard the first clap of thunder and a few of us thought we better run back up there and put

a few things a little more undercover...

Have you ever heard of a storm called a

DERECHO

http://earthsky.org/earth/videos-and-images-violent-us-storm-of-june-29-2012

This link will tell you a little more about it..

It is a lot like a tornado but instead of being vertical it comes in horizontal!

It went from being sunny and beautiful

to being

Yellow and Green/Gray

skies in just minutes.

The wind started picking up

they said upwards of 70+ mile an hour winds..

We were grabbing decorations and stuff and literally throwing them in the kitchen

which was the only completely covered area.

Those beautifully decorated doors at one point I saw two men trying

hold them up. At that time I looked up and all those beautiful trees were just

twisting off and exploding right in front of us.

At That Point...

I screamed for everyone to drop everything and run to the kitchen...

Those doors dropped to the floor and we ran.

The sky was black at that moment and it was only 8:00

and the roar was so loud as it passed over us.

I had never seen or heard anything like it!

All the power was out and we were tripping over things in the kitchen,

trying to get around with our lights on our cell phones.

We came out of the kitchen...

only to see all the destruction this had left in it's path.

I grabbed Amanda in my arms 

both of us in shock at this point to what had just happened...

We just stood and cried!

Looking around to see if anyone was hurt and wondering how everyone was that we had just

left at the other end of the property. Because they had no real cover down there. Just an open pavilion.

It seemed forever before anyone came up from down there.

Everyone was OK...

except for Amber who fell and really scrapped up her leg.

We waited for power to come back on, and made phone calls to see if we could get any help down there.

Tried to check out the property..

for any damage...

The cabinet that was to have all those mason jars had blown down and was full of water.

There were Hydrangea's all over the place.

Chairs set up for the service were blown here and there.

Limbs and leaves scattered the beautifully manicured property.

Benches and chairs around the fire pit were all down.

It seemed that the storm came right up the rivers path!

The doors they stood in front of just a couple of hours earlier at the Rehersal were a mess...

These doors were held up with rebar driven in the ground and bolted to the back of the doors..

Chairs blown and leaves everywhere...

furniture around the fire pit

This tree was right behind our pavilion

just twisted and wripped apart.

That evening the sound of chain saws rang out into the we hours of the night.

The fire alarms kept ringing.

Trees on homes and roads and in the river all around us.

This tree behind us looked liked it had been pealed like a banana..

Up rooted trees just laid in the river and almost 4 weeks later it is still there.

For a week there was no power on that hill and as you can see power was off in a huge area of the East...

But it was hit and miss... we live less than a mile from where the wedding took place and we never lost power. But that whole hill was without for a week.

West Virginia had almost 500 electrical poles down...

and twisted towers...

stuff like this doesn't get fixed overnight! 

To Be Continued...

Lynn

The Wedding...

The Night Before the Wedding...

Well after a very HOT day it was time to practice this ceremony!!!

All decked out in their Hawaiian attire,

these crazy guys were ready to see

the bride to come down the isle!

I have no idea what they are looking at

but it must have been interesting!!! LOL

Remember these aren't the photographers pictures,

just pictures we all took.

I just loved this one because you

can really see how pretty those hydrangea's and lambs ear

dried flowers looked on those doors!

Here they stood holding hands practicing

for what would be the biggest

day of their lives!

It was a beautiful day

but it was way to hot...

almost 100 degrees and the humidity

well just let us say we were

all dripping wet and miserable...

Thank goodness for lots of ceiling fans in that place!!

Down the isle they went...

and off to the other end of the property...

The Rehearsal Dinner was to be all the

way across the property, down by the pond!

West Virginia is a beautiful State

as you could see we were surrounded by trees

big beautiful Green trees.

And to the right, right behind those trees

is a beautiful river!

If you look really close

far in the background about 300 yards down

Is the pavilion the wedding would be held the next day!

By this time mostly decorated

and shortly after this dinner we would be adding the

finishing touches on everything.

That way the next morning all we should have to do is set

the tables and add those little touches that would make everything perfect!

It was such a beautiful evening and everyone was having such a wonderful time!

It was a luau and everyone was dressed the part!

All the bridesmaids were looking great!!!

Signs were hung...

This one was designed by Mary

The Flower girl.

She always called

Amanda/Anda

and well she never knew her Pap

So she always called

JR/Pap

and that is what the sign should read...

and that it did!

Here we are

The Usary Girls!

Me,Amanda & Colleen

we had worked hard

and it was time to party!

Here is our wonderful Photographer,

JR's cousin Sandra and her husband Rocco

and I can't forget the Crazy Groom

in the background!

Yea that's JR

There is Marsha on the right

watching as they cut the great Grooms Cake

her and his sister BJ had bought for him!!!

It was special all right!!!

Topped with a replica of his dog Cabella

a 170 lb. Mastiff

and of course him laying under the tap on that Keg..

It was such a cute cake!!!

This is such a great family photo

of

JR,Mom & his sister BJ

They had no idea until that night

they had bought the same outfit

for this occasion..

JR & my nephew Austin

really did dress alike that night and they looked so cute!

They look like they just got caught taking a sneak taste of that cake!!!

And these life long friends always look this rotten...

They look so happy and ready to start a new chapter in their lives!

To Be Continued...

Lynn

The Wedding...

Let the Painting Begin!

You know when my girls were growing up

I always told them

with

a name like Usary

you are always going to be at the end of the line

since you are at the end of the alphabet!!! LOL

So I always told them to marry someone

with a name at the beginning of the alphabet.

Do you think she paid attention???

I ordered 100 yards of burlap that was just the perfect width for table runners.

Now all I had to do was paint the edges and the "W"

The tables were being decorated and they were starting to look like we had planned...

The W's only got painted for the head tables

and one of the tables with the quilt as you walked in..

On all of the round tables we just painted the edges...

This was one of the things she picked out

back in Jan. when I was trying to get all the painted stuff done.

It hung on the wall when you first walked in...

I am hoping the photographer got a picture of it!

The glasses (or should I say Mason Jars) had to have a sign

so everyone would know to

Tag their cups...

So the end of January Amanda said no more painting!

There were so many cute ideas we could have done...

But we had to stop somewhere.

I painted a really cute board that one of Amanda's

best friends little boy was going to carry.

But at the last minute he got sick an couldn't come...

It would have hung around his neck and it said

Here Comes The Bride!

This was Friday night and he felt so bad..

There is nothing worse than a summer cold.

Especially in all that heat, at almost 100 degrees that night...

To Be Continued...

Lynn

The Wedding...

Look at that look on her face!!!LOL

Is she going to smash that cake

all over his face???

Nope she was really good!

But I would have bet you it was going all over him...

Instead that crazy husband of hers...

Smashed it in his own face.

They did have fun...

"THE CAKE"

The cake was my biggest fear...

She wanted me to make the cake.

It just had to be small she said...

Only her and him would be eating it...

Remember everyone else would be eating the Cupcakes!!!

Than she would take one section to freeze and save

for their first anniversary...

But I don't decorate cakes I told her!!!

So fondant was my choice of frosting!

But I hate fondant!

That was until I found PINTEREST!!!

There was a new recipe for Fondant

It was marshmallow fondant!

I had never heard of it but it was worth a try...

Only Mini Marshmallows,Powdered Sugar and Water...

How hard could it be?

Actually really easy!

I looked it up on You Tube.

I love You Tube you can learn how to do anything there.

I always say I am a visual learner and watching the tutorials makes

it much easier for me!!!

This was my first try at this and I would do this one again

in two months.

Yea I made two of them...lol

No icing decorations

Just Hydrangeas and Raffia with a few Lemon Leaves

Topped with a birds nest.

Can you believe she picked the Hydrangeas last September

We did nothing to them but hang them

and they kept this much color.

I was amazed...

Oh I almost forgot the most important part of this cake...

The Cake Plate!

Last October I had just gotten home from school

and I heard a chain saw...

It was next door.

I looked out just in time to see the big pine tree come down.

It wasn't just any pine tree...

It was Amanda's Great Grandparents

Christmas tree from the 50's

It was huge!

I ran next door and ask the guy cutting it down

If he could cut me a couple of slices for us to save...

I knew at that moment it would be going under that cake!!!

Yea I not only married the boy next door,

we ended up buying the house next to his parents

and next to that was the house his grandparents built years ago...

Not a great picture but they are lit so you can see them.

A little closer look on this one..

Of course they had burlap and roses...

In the picture with them at the top...

If you look in the background on both sides of them

are the big arrangements

that had big branches that lit up

really beautifully.

To Be Continued...

Lynn