Her mother, Dianne Craig, insisted she meet a customer.

"I haven't got time," Ms Craig-Lee, then aged in her mid-20s, said.

But her mother persisted.

"She said, 'this is Renate.'"

"'Hello Renate, nice to meet you,' I replied," the Brisbane fashion designer told Fairfax Media, recounting the fortuitous meeting.

"She said, 'Renate is getting married on Tuesday'.

"I said: 'That's exciting, congratulations.' Being a bit, you know, whatever."

Her mother then dropped the bombshell: "Renate is marrying Elton John on Tuesday."

"I never got to the hairdresser."

Ms Craig-Lee said preparing for the wedding of Sir Elton and Renate Blauel only three days later was "such an experience".

She designed the wedding dress, bridesmaids' dresses, Sir Elton's bow tie and organised the flowers, which had to be flown in from overseas because the wedding was on Valentine's Day.

"We had to close the store, the paparazzi. It was a glass shop - three walls of glass - if you left the shop they followed you," she said.

Ms Craig-Lee had to fly back to Brisbane, received bridesmaid measurements via fax and worked around the clock during a "whirlwind" three days.

On the day of the wedding, she was on a plane in Brisbane with friend Jacki MacDonald, who was co-hosting Hey, Hey It's Saturday, trying to get to Sydney during an Ansett Australia strike.

"I had all the dresses for the wedding and she had Hey, Hey," Ms Craig-Lee said.

"In those days, you could go up to the cockpit and we went up to the captain and said, you just have to get us down there on time."

And they did, the superstar wedding making international headlines.

Growing up, Ms Craig-Lee's parents were in the industry, and she used to spend afternoons after school at the factory doing her homework.

"My parents had a store so I'd go buying with them, so I think it was definitely always in my blood," she said.

"I decided I'd try one little range and see what happened - I was 19.

"It got quite a good reaction so I continued on with doing that and I thought I'll give it a year, and see if it works and it grew from there, really."

It's still a family affair, with her parents Dianne and Peter and brother Jason helping run her business, well known in Queensland for her store in the Brisbane Arcade.

After meeting her future husband Trevor Lee and falling "instantly in love", the couple married in 1986.

She has two stepsons, Anthony and Michael, 25-year-old son Harrisson and 20-year-old daughter Cartier.

Cartier is studying at Tisch School of the Arts in New York, acts and sings under the name DJ Pebbles, and is working with music industry mogul Randy Jackson.

Mr Lee and the family run Australian Country Choice, the fifth largest private agricultural business in Queensland, employing about 1200 people.

"The two families - we're very family-oriented," she said.

Ms Craig-Lee has been awarded a medal in the general division of the Order of Australia for service to the clothing manufacturing sector, to business and the community.

The 59-year-old said it was a great honour.

"I'm very excited, and very honoured, and absolutely delighted and proud," she said.

"The Queen is the most wonderful woman in the world to me.

"I've had lunch with Prince Philip, I sat next to him at a really small luncheon at City Hall when he was here - he was charming.

"And I've danced with Prince Charles."

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recognised Ms Craig-Lee's achievements.

"It is tremendous that one of Brisbane's most iconic business women and talented designers has been recognised with an honour," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk praised the 108 Queenslanders recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list.

Vice-chancellor and president of Griffith University Professor Ian O'Connor was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Former member for South Brisbane Anne Warner and Micah Projects chief executive officer Karyn Walsh were appointed as Member of the Order of Australia (AM).