Meet Valerie Rudd and Ashley Le | Florists

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valerie Rudd and Ashley Le and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valerie and Ashley, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We both started in floral departments of local grocery stores, and quickly fell in love with it. Over the first few years we noticed that the vast majority of vendors tend to take advantage of the word “wedding” to add a few extra zeros to their price tag. After hearing the struggles of couples trying to find a florist in their price range, we decided that we could be that florist. Our goal is to make real flowers affordable for any couple, with any budget. We listen to their vision and make a plan that will fit within that budget and still match their wishes. After seeing the first few brides cry tears of joy that they could afford the flowers of their dreams, our decision was made. Since then we’ve been on a mission to make wedding dreams come true.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Every single wedding we do is fully customized. There is no set packages or prices. We listen to the couples visions and dreams and create a quote based on that. We ever go as far as offering extra customizations, to make each couple’s flowers as unique as they are. These range from adding lights to bouquets and boutonnières, to rhinestones, pearls, shotgun shells and even fishing lures. There’s not many things we haven’t been asked for, and even if we’ve never done it before we always find a way to make it happen. Le&Bee was first started in late 2019. After a few short months of working hard to build our business, Covid hit and we were at a standstill. Even though it was hard, we never stopped promoting ourselves and trying to build our clientele. We did a few micro weddings in 2020 2021. Luckily this year, business picked up in a big way. We have made so many industry connections that have helped us in a big way, and we are so thankful for them!
Obviously the overall goal is to grow our business, but our main motivation will always be helping people. It’s not about making thousands on each wedding we create, it’s about making sure the couple has the most magical day of their lives without breaking the bank.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First thing on the itinerary is going to an Avalanche game. Even when we’re working, and creating beautiful flowers for couples, if there’s a hockey game on we’ll be watching while we work. Another must see in Colorado is always Red Rocks. If you’re lucky enough to catch your favorite artist there, you’ll never forget it. Time to grab a drink and a bite to eat? It’s got to be at The Rock Wood-fired Pizza in Belmar. Don’t forget to get a Bucket cocktail!
The next day would definitely be dedicated to the Denver Zoo. We love any and all animals, and could spend all day there. Except maybe spiders!
If we’re really feeling adventurous, we’d head down to Meow Wolf for a full immersive art experience! After that you can head over to LoDo for some night life.
That’s just a start if what Colorado has to offer, and we know that you’ll always find more along the way!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We really wouldn’t be anything without either of our moms. Which after 15 years of friendship, we both view the other’s mom as our own. Valerie’s mom has been a florist for over 30 years, and personally taught both of us everything we know about flowers. Ashley’s mom accompanies us on any delivery that we need her for, and is always asking to see what we’ve been creating. They have both been our biggest supporters along this journey, constantly showing us love and guidance every step of the way!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/le_bee_llc?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lebeeevents/

Other: Email: lebeeevents@gmail.com

Image Credits
Lauren Finch Photography Abbey Rice Photo Carole Rudd Photography LiLo Photography and Branding Le&Bee LLC