Krista Wilcox and ‘The Bouquet & Co.’

After teaching and coaching for 14 years, from 1997 to 2012 at two different schools, Wilcox came home to Breckenridge to teach and coach, until she decided to follow her dream and opened her own business.

Wilcox was a standout volleyball and softball player at Breckenridge High School and played volleyball at Hardin-Simmons all four years before going into coaching at Amarillo and then Abilene Cooper before returning home to Breckenridge to raise a family and coach and teach at BHS. At BHS, Wilcox coached softball and powerlifting, where she took them to the state for four years.

However, it was her tenure as faculty advisor for the Coronation, from 2008 to 2012, that lit-up her creative talents and gave her the incentive to leave teaching and open ‘The Bouquet’ in 2012. At ‘The Bouquet,’ Wilcox operates as a florist for all occasions, designs flowers for weddings and works as an event coordinator.

“I love to create and design and with the support of family and friends, I was able to pursue my dream,” said Wilcox. “As a small business owner, I make sure every product that leaves my door, is special and made with 100% effort. Every customer is special.”

Wilcox has a busy life with son Chad a junior at BHS, who plays football and baseball, and daughter Kaysi, who is a seventh-grader and plays all sports plus is in a Select Basketball league with the DFW Hawks, based in Fort Worth. Additionally, her oldest daughter Kelli is working on opening her own bouquet business.

“Watching my kids compete or practice is fun and relaxing for me,” said Wilcox. “Nothing brings me more joy than seeing them build their dreams.”

When asked about her future goals, Wilcox responded and said, “My main goal after COVID-19, is to rebuild my business and expand our little shop/venue to include some new events.” With that in mind, Wilcox has already bought out two local floral shops during her eight years in the business.

Due to a great deal of emphasis on women celebrating the 100th year of winning the right to vote, it was imperative to ask Wilcox about her own ideas on women voting. When asked, “Do you vote regularly?” Wilcox said, “Yes, I vote. I feel it is a duty to our country to vote. I think more and more women find a voice in their vote and it matters.”

In summing up her final thoughts, Wilcox had this to say, “My business is both challenging and exciting when planning for weddings and special events and to outsiders, it seems glamorous.” Wilcox went on to explain about the long hours of preparation, but also the not so glamorous aspects of the florist business “like cleaning up the mess, washing and disinfecting buckets, sweeping, cleaning and disinfecting the work areas, hauling and processing flowers and then designing is all a lot of work.”

Wilcox said, “She appreciates her staff with Teena Wickson and Shayla Speck and her mother Kay Smith, along with Deedra Boaz, for keeping ‘ Bouquet & Co.’ open, since she returned to teaching in 2019, at the junior high.”

Finally, when asked “What’s your ‘why?’” Wilcox said, “My family and business is my ‘Why?’ every day. I want to provide a quality business to a town I love and be able to provide a good life for my kids.”