We were lucky to catch up with Makenzie Burrows recently and have shared our conversation below.

Makenzie , appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

When I first started out in 2017, I was getting requests for corsages and boutonnières from my old high school’s proms, micro weddings from friends’ older siblings, and the occasional Trader Joe’s bouquet. Then I went to college, set on becoming an event planner and coordinator, and even started interning as one with a now dear friend, Krista, with Paper Jewels Events. And as much as I absolutely loved the rush of running around a wedding and putting out fires, there was just something about the design and passion behind florals. Especially for weddings, flowers are what makes a wedding beautiful and just that extra special. (I may, perhaps, be a little biased…)
But I was young, and started out very small- I learned a lot from a sweet mentor at a little flower shop, and took those skills to grow and stretch and try new things. My first big break was my own brother’s wedding in North Carolina. My family and I did all the mason jar centerpieces, hand tied bouquets, and incredibly small arch piece in the kitchen of a church nearby. Those flowers cost $1k, and at the time, I was blown away with the cost of flowers and the amount of work and expertise that was needed to accomplish a wedding!
From there, I started getting more and more inquiries- mainly still friends and acquaintances, but that started to expand as well. By 2020, I had at least 20 weddings booked- all which were postponed or cancelled. So I took that time to start a website; it was the perfect opportunity with all the extra time I had on my hands.
I was booking weddings, lots of them! But I was not charging properly- I was tired, overworked, and felt like I could get burnt out. This was because I was receiving, processing, and designing in all one day, then delivering the next.
I then started freelancing for a couple local florists, which greatly helped the design side of my business. I was efficient, but needed to start focusing on the artistry of the florals.
That is what gave me the confidence to begin charging according to industry standards, and funny enough, I began to enjoy my job again! When I had the budget to do amazing things, I felt more fulfilled to complete the tasks and really go out of my way to make the day beautiful.
Then my cooler was finished in the summer of 2024- just in time for my biggest wedding yet- Now I could receive the florals days in advance, and take my time on my designs to make them perfect. With the right team, anything is possible.
I now do weddings of $8k+ budgets, with fun ideas and trusting brides- and it is exactly perfect- I just can’t wait to see what God has in store with more opportunities!
Art is such a subjective part of our world, and I am just so tickled that I get to contribute a tiny bit of it!

Makenzie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Flower Bee Floristry is led by me, a very passionate, get it done kinda gal. I work really well with other wedding vendors- it is thrilling to have a new team every time I work a new wedding- and that is what we are- a team with all the same goal; to make your wedding day absolutely beautiful and everything you wanted.
I have always been creative and “scrappy.” A problem solver would be the better word- but the point is I find the best way to do something very quickly. I started working at a flower shop in high school, where I bugged the lead designer til she let me try some designing, and the rest is history. I am not afraid to ask questions to figure out how something was done, or poke around to see the mechanics behind a giant installation.
7 years in, and I am still constantly learning!
I love the slightly funky, garden romantic, flowing designs and have been working for years to perfect my designs. Overhead installations, large standing arches, and floral lined aisles have been huge accomplishments that I would love to continue to do.
I care about cohesiveness- I want your wedding day to look polished and all the vendors you brought together to work well together.
I thrive with deadlines, large dramatic installs, bridal bouquets, and all things weddings. I love it when my brides trust me with their color scheme and aesthetic and simply want nothing more than a floral representation of who they are as a person.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I believe a good team is the make it or break it part of accomplishing any great task. And a wedding or corporate event is such a task. Finding the right people is not always an easy thing to do- and especially in a very female dominated area, sometimes tension and the feeling of competitiveness is high.
Once I found my hard working, willing team, it was then my job to ensure two things: that they stayed, and that they wanted to stay. To do that, I found it was important to be generous, and to think of how I would want to be treated. On long days, I feed my people lunch or dinner. I give them options on how long they would like to stay. I provide gas money for long commutes. And most importantly, I treat each person with dignity and respect. I have to give clear instructions for what task I would like completed, and be conscious of the tone in which I give it. Another way I set my team up for success is being organized myself. I know what needs to be accomplished on each design and delivery day, and I have the jobs assigned ahead of time. Flowers are organized for each installation, mechanics prepped, and a second lead established if need be.
At the end of the day, I want to be friends with my team. I want them to respect my work and my direction, but I want them coming back because it is so fulfilling to work together to accomplish such a beautiful goal.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I found out I was pregnant in September of 2023. Overjoyed by the news with my husband, I still couldn’t shake the slight feeling of dread- I had a wedding booked 4 days before my due date that was the biggest wedding I had ever booked. I contemplated what to do- I really wanted to work this wedding, but I had no idea what I would do if something went wrong with the pregnancy. I decided to keep the booking- and pray!
At 6 months pregnant I had a check in with the bride- at this point, we made some really amazing design choices for her wedding day and it was also then that I told her I would be 40 weeks pregnant on her wedding day. To my complete relief, she wasn’t phased by the news- she told me she trusted me and my team completely.
So now the pressure was on- I formulated a team I knew I could trust and organized everything for this wedding well in advance- as well as made a back up plan if I could not be there.
I had a few weddings in the weeks leading up to that wedding, and it was difficult being big pregnant and working a wedding, but we got it done.
Two weeks before the wedding, and before my due date, my little Hank was born. I had a 10 day old baby at the biggest wedding I had ever done. The morning of the wedding, I was so tired. I cried and asked myself what am I doing?? But honestly, it was one of the best weddings I ever did. I had such an amazing time with my team and my husband and our new little baby boy. I had to let go of some control and allow others to show their abilities. And we got it done- perfectly.
I slept hard that night, the night that I proved to myself that I could not only just get it done, but get it done beautifully; with the right team on my side.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flowerbeefloristry.com
• Instagram: @flower_bee__

Image Credits

Frankie Rose Photo
Nicole Reyes Photography
Zach Ryan Photography