“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way” Booker T. Washington

It is not an accident that I chose this quote to represent my mindset. It runs my life.

But let me tell you why I am seeing stars all over again!

Let me tell you why I decided to advocate for Brides who are on “working people’s budgets” and why I wrote 2 books, created an inspirational website and why I am starting this wedding ideas blog.

Have you ever found yourself fuming over something you read that you knew was wrong but didn’t know what to do about it ? This is exactly what happened to me and is how I ended up writing the first book.

For the past 25 years I have been merchandising disposable catering supplies and wedding product in Coconut Grove, Florida. I know what all the major as well as smaller factories produce. In the last few years, through my websites, I have been helping 1000’s of Brides and Caterers, nationally and internationally, to succeed in making their dreams come true. And let me tell you, after helping thousands of Brides, and their Moms, I’ve never had a single person tell me she wanted her wedding reception to be just ordinary. So part of my job has been to assuage their anxieties about using disposables for their receptions by exposing them to a fabulous array of products and to show them how they can use disposables to have an extraordinary wedding reception that will make their dreams come true.

So let me tell you what happened.

To help me stay abreast of any new trends that I might need to translate into affordable options for Brides on a budget I read practically all the Bridal magazines from cover to cover.

Anyway, a few years ago, in an editorial question & answer type etiquette column in one of the magazines, I read an answer to a question from a Bride (in obvious pain) that made my blood boil! What I read made me so upset, so hurt for the Bride who wrote the question as well as for all the Brides who I knew would be devastated by the answer….I searched for some way to make all those Brides feel better.

The Bride’s question: My family and fiancé have very little money but I want to have a beautiful reception. We need to use disposables. Do you have any ideas that will help us? Answer: Using disposables is the worst idea. Disposables are tacky and you (the Bride) would be better off asking friends to borrow their assorted china and glassware for your reception rather than use flimsy picnic plates. My reaction, in addition to seeing stars, and my anger at the writer’s insensitivity, was to wonder how was it possible that someone in the wedding ideas industry could be unaware of the fact that hundreds of thousands of brides use disposables each year and have been for at least the 25 years I have been in the business. In other words, it is not a new concept and I was amazed that the magazine writer did not seem to recognize or care that she was disenfranchising a whole segment of her own customer base. I was also shocked to realize that this writer apparently had no idea there existed a whole array of products that could not be considered to be anything like your grandmother’s picnic plates. This was a revelation to me and offered me a challenge and I hoped, an opportunity to ease some of the hurt feelings caused by that writer.

That was 5 years, 2 books and a wedding site ago, and I have to tell you things have not improved. Brides on a “working persons” budget are still being ignored.

Now 5 years later when researching the need for a blog, for the average wedding reception budget, I googled wedding blogs and I found thousands of gorgeous blogs devoted to couples who have at least $25,000 to spend. So as I said “I’m seeing stars all over again” and decided to start this blog.

So now you’re up to date. You will be getting to know me better as time goes by. I promise you, you will also get to know why Booker T. Washington’s quote represents my basic values. But if you want to get some additional history read the About Us section of my site www.divinedisposasables.com.