It all started in 2007 when the CEO and Head Floral Designer, Milene “Millie” Vega Van Dyk, was engaged to CFO Derek S. VanDyk. On a limited budget Millie scoured the city and bridal magazines attempting to find an affordable florist to bring to life the sketches that she had drawn for her centerpieces. She found some florists that fit her budget, but none of them could achieve the unique and chic aspect that Millie was not willing to compromise on. The local florists only provided her with what she termed “flores de muertos” or dead-people-flowers, arrangements with tons of cheap green filler and barely any flowers.

To no avail, she asked her mom, a teacher and now a Floral Designer herself, if the floral design teachers at the vocational school in which her mother taught at could teach her how to do her own flower arrangements. One of the teachers (under the impression that Millie and the clan were normal people who would do a simple floral arrangement) was more than willing to oblige and simply gave Millie and Leticia a crash course on how many flowers to order per arrangements given the size of the arrangements and told them she would meet them at their house the day before the wedding.

On the day before the wedding the teacher arrived and practically had a heart attack when she saw the thousands of flowers Millie had bought through local wholesalers along with her sketch of the envisioned centerpieces. She taught the room full of 20+ helpful friends and family the basics on floral arrangements and insisted that what Millie wanted to do was not possible with the materials they had. She met her match in Millie and her engineer dad who insisted that it was possible and started cutting floral foam and wiring it together to create the centerpieces. Twenty centerpieces and tons of bouquets and corsages later along with one floral-card-holding-arch, the arrangements were made and the bride was finally happy.

Once back from her honeymoon she began to slowly study the art of floral designing through formal college courses and independently reading, drawing and testing ideas. A few years later she, along with the help of the most talented people she knows, her family, began to work on structuring together the company that is today known as Millie V's, Inc.

Millie V's, Inc., is a family owned and run business in Miami, Florida. They provide floral designs for events of any size in the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and West Palm Beach. Their motto is “affordable, chic and unique.” Flustered by the lack of ingenuity and uniqueness in the industry, they strive to create the most innovative designs they can even if it means cutting wood, plastic and floral foam to build their own containers.

They value the belief that marriage is an eternal commitment and that a wedding day is the beginning of a new life between a couple united as one. Thus, they believe that every bride no matter her budget is entitled to unique and chic floral arrangements to decorate her special day. Flowers, can instantly make a person smile and that is what everyone at a wedding or any other celebration should be doing.

Millie V's, Inc., also design floral arrangements for other types of events such as baby showers and anniversary parties. They stand against “flores de muertos” or dead-people-flowers and strive to make every arrangement that they deliver a unique and chic one.

 

Milene “Millie” Vega Van Dyk

CEO and Head Floral Designer

Millie is the quirky creative mastermind behind the operations. She literally dreams up floral arrangements and documents them in her sketchbook only to convince the rest of the team to build it with her. She loves traveling, writing, sketching, photography and any way to artistically and creatively express herself. With a diverse background in art, laws, construction and medicine, she loves to learn new things and believes you never know when you are going to be able to incorporate knowledge from another field into the world of floral designs. She is inspired by everything around her-from buildings to fabric and music. Her motto: “Everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and apply yourself.”

 

Derek S. Van Dyk

CFO

Derek is “the brains of the joint.” After dabbling in the stock market since he was a teenager and later formally studying business administration and finance, he helped and encouraged his wife in opening Millie V's, Inc. With a knack for economics he manages the day-to-day finance and business side of the company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leticia Vega

Floral Designer

Having also taken formal courses in floral design, Leticia is always involved in the creation of our designs. She is never one to give up in the face of adversity and has been seen building boxes and gift-wrapping them as part of a centerpiece design till the wee hours of the morning. Having been a teacher for over a decade, Leticia is a people person and takes an active role in marketing and client consultations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rafael S. Vega

Engineer

With a degree in electrical engineering and a love for science, mechanics and building, Rafael is the go-to-guy for structural issues. He is a natural problem fixer and always comes up with a solution to seemingly impossible structures. With him at their side, Millie V's, Inc., is literally able to bring to life anything that you dream up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M. Teresa Yanes

Floral Designer

With a natural talent for floral art, Teresa is always a part of the design team. Her ideas are always elegant and beautiful and her eye for design never disappoints. She has been known to make something beautiful out of seemingly nothing. Her attention to detail is impecible and Millie V's, Inc., makes sure to always have her inspect the arrangements before delivery.