We used to think that mood boards were just a way to capture general inspiration and vibes for an…read moreevent. Life in Bloom proved us wrong as they managed to bring our mood board pictures into reality. We don't just mean getting an approximation, we mean a fully accurate interpretation that honestly enhanced those stunning images. We used Life in Bloom for décor for our Indian wedding with four events across four separate venues all around Chicago. We are still receiving praise for how amazing each event looked, with guests specifically highlighting the attention to detail as well as the gorgeous floral arrangements. One guest told us that she had been taking pictures of every single floral arrangement because they all looked perfect. Another guest sent us a message that said, "the Wedding Mandap and the bridal walkway were the most beautiful I have ever seen. The floral arrangements at every event were mind blowing." From our very first meeting, Rachel, Tim, and Sara spent a lot of time understanding our wishes. They then crafted color palettes and mood boards for each event, giving each one a completely unique identity while making everything feel cohesive with consistent motifs throughout. One of our worries with so many events was that it might end up feeling repetitive, but every single event felt completely different to the one that came before. In this process, we loved seeing how excited the Life in Bloom team was, working off each other and continuously suggesting new ideas. They worked well together while never losing sight of what we wanted or what made sense logistically. When we arrived at our first décor sample, we knew we had made the right choice. Everything looked stunning, and their initial placements of linens, napkins, and tablescapes were already so well thought out. The actual events were no different, looking jaw-dropping at every single venue. We loved that we got to see each room first, and there are plenty of pictures of us literally on the floor in awe. We wish we got to see guests' reactions for the room reveals because we know every single one left people speechless. We also wanted to highlight how easy it was to work with the Life in Bloom team. We never felt any friction or resistance. We loved seeing them at every venue, watching our reactions from afar but never interrupting us. We later learned that one of the installers from one of our venues never showed up, and apparently Tim himself jumped in for an emergency complex installation of the large centerpiece item. On our wedding ceremony day, there was a lot of unpredictable weather. Instead of forcing us into the much easier rain plan, Life in Bloom worked with us through a lot of fluid decisions and installation that let us have our dream wedding outdoors, something we appreciate so much. We really hope people look through the Life in Bloom portfolio and see their impressive work, especially their florals. They did so many custom things for us that were all very intricate, and they had to work on a ton of different line items in many different locations, day after day. We can't recommend them enough.

You will not regret working with Rachel and the Life in Bloom team! I started the design process…read morewith a color scheme and a few ideas, but LIB was able to elevate those ideas in ways I could not have never come up with. My husband and I worked with LIB for our November 2021 wedding at The Langham. I wanted to fully embrace the season and all of the colors, but make it modern and something that guests would talk about long after the wedding day. We had our ceremony set up in a round with a suspended floral statement piece over it. When I walked into the ceremony space I started tearing up! It was everything I had envisioned and more. We then had a room flip for the reception with the dance floor under the statement piece and a mix of long and round guest tables. They were instrumental in piecing together all of the rental items as well like flatware, chargers, linen etc. Their professionalism is outstanding and they go above and beyond to make your wedding feel like the most important event they have ever worked on. From the initial renderings and proposal to the sample and the wedding day, there is no one I would have rather worked with to make my perfect day come to life! Thank you to everyone on the Life in Bloom team for your exceptional work!

I got married last year but we're back in the city for our one year anniversary and I thought it…read morefitting to leave a review. First of all this space was everything I could have dreamed of, the greenery with the courtyard and industrial vibe inside is perfect. We did the elopement package so we only had a small group of people and they give you the option to add on hours as they have available. We did a 3 hour time block and it was perfect for us to do the ceremony, dances, pictures and cocktail hour. Robyn and Michelle are also incredibly professional and so easy to work with. Robyn got the brunt of my random late night emails about details and questions leading up to the day, she was quick to respond, kind and very accommodating. I interacted with Michelle more on the day of and she was just as helpful and friendly. She helped our family set things up, controlled the music on my phone and was there for any questions we had. She also helped my family clean up after the ceremony. 10/10 would recommend this place to anyone who is dreaming of an intimate and relaxing wedding day!

The Lytle House was the perfect venue for our summer wedding…read more The owners, Michelle and Robyn, stood out from the rest from day one. They got to know us and helped guide us through the entire process. Our goal was to keep things fairly simple, but high-quality. They took our general ideas and helped craft the perfect atmosphere for our wedding reception. The day of the wedding reception, Michelle knocked it out of the park getting the flowers, photos, sound system, and other decorations all set up. We also hired Michelle to handle our photography and she did a phenomenal job with that, as well. It was a blast watching our guests walk in and say, "Wow... this place is incredible! I had no idea this was here!" The Lytle House really is a special hideaway in the city, and we'll be recommending it to friends and family every chance we get. - Vanessa and Matt

If I could award more than 5 stars, I would! I worked with Ana Valle to plan a Celebration of Life…read morefor my mother--all from over 800 miles away. Ana located several appropriate venues to revue, helped me select the perfect site, and then attended to many of numerous details (set-up, linens, audio-visual requirements, etc.). In addition, Ana recommended a wonderful local florist, who honored my Mother's memory with arrangements that featured Mom's favorite flowers and colors. Not only was her assistance indispensable, but the The Caterist's food was amazing. Ana's recommendations for our luncheon buffet were thoughtful and well-balanced. She seamlessly worked within special dietary requirements. All of the food was great (salad bar, grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, sweets table), but especially notable were the beef tenderloin and the sorbets. Guests were still talking about the luncheon weeks later! Finally, Anabel (event captain) and Cristina (event supervisor) ensured our event's success through their conscientious commitment to every detail, as well as their warmth and kindness. I owe so much to the Caterist! Through the dedication of the staff of this company, Our Mother's Celebration of Life was more than I hoped it would be.

My husband and I chose The Caterist as the caterer for our wedding reception and we couldn't be…read moremore pleased. From the very beginning with our tasting, Erin from their team was incredibly responsive to our questions and concerns and so easy to work with. On the day of the wedding, the servers and bartenders were all friendly and helpful. Now the important part: the food was amazing. So many guests at our wedding came up to us raving about the food. Entrees were well seasoned and the portions were generous, and the desserts on our dessert table were also very tasty, with a lot of variety. Overall, would definitely recommend working with the Caterist for your wedding!

DO NOT consider a winter wedding here, and absolutely DO NOT expect transparency or flexibility…read morewith any hiccups in their formula. Also, they apparently blocked my account on Zola -- I can't find them in a search when I'm logged in anymore. Thankfully I was able to leave a review without being logged in, and am also sharing here. TLDR: they can't accommodate winter weddings, despite including those months as available on their website, and they aren't transparent about their inability to do so. They can only provide half a venue, with 40% decreased capacity, but still expect you to pay full price. I was appalled by their poor communication and business practices throughout our experience trying to book them for our January wedding. -- -- The issues started when booking a tour -- their availability is challenging if you work a day job, and we were also limited with my partner's 24/48 shifts for the city. But I rearranged my work to accommodate their schedule. The day of the tour we received a vague cancellation with 3 hours notice, saying they would work with our schedules to get a new tour on the calendar. They very much did NOT work with our schedules, declined several options I requested that would work without us making major concessions on our end, and only offered a small window later than their once-a-week evening slots. We were once again rearranging our schedule to work for theirs after their cancellation. When we finally had the tour, I'll admit it's a gorgeous venue. We were excited about booking there, but concerned about how they'd handle January events. Since their website includes Jan in their off-peak season rates, I figured they had a plan for accommodating cold weather (they have a tent for the yard, but it's insufficient for temps under 30 degrees and that's a heavy gamble for evenings in January). They didn't seem to have any ideas outside using that tent. They do have an upstairs to the venue that reflects the ground floor footprint, so I asked if they would include these in the base rate (they're usually an add-on expense) because we were losing space in the yard. They said they would "compromise" by including just one of the rooms, but would reduce capacity to only 70. We had been straightforward that our guest list was 80-90, and their website advertises up to 120 guests for a buffet or cocktail reception, which was our plan. I understand they don't do a ton of events in the winter, so I thought maybe they just didn't have a well-designed plan for colder months and we could find a way to work one out. But they refused to work with us to expand capacity beyond 70 guests AND made no concessions on price. I have no idea what they would have done had we moved forward and temperatures were too cold for a tent (leave our guests shivering? cut our guest list week-of? at the door?) -- I asked and and they couldn't answer. On top of it all, they made me feel like I was a problem for having these concerns. At the end of the day, I can't believe that a venue would expect clients to pay full price for half a venue and 40% decreased capacity, especially in a season they admit having little to no bookings. They clearly do not want business in their winter months, but will jerk you around for a month pretending they do.

Exceeded our (extremely high) expectations at every step, turn, and touchpoint!…read more We worked with the AMAZING Teddy and Sarah and from the start knew we were in the right place, space and best of hands. First of all, Firehouse is charming as all HECK. This isn't your drab hotel ballroom where partition walls, lighting rigs and bunches and bunches of flowers can barely start to cover the lack of character. This space has personality and soul, every last inch. Classic Chicago neighborhood setting, we didn't want to leave the beautiful courtyard space. Everything about the venue is built to make your guests feel at home, comfortable and intimate to the party. Did we mention the firepole?! Best entry ever for a groom to make. We can't recommend enough - Teddy and Sarah listened to all our thoughts/concerns/ideas and custom built a space and flow that complimented the night in every possible way.

Candlelight quartet for Taylor Swift was such an amazing surprise for my anniversary. It was so…read morelovely and the staff were awesome and accommodating. The drinks were good and the venue was stunning and right out of evermore.

We attended the Adele cover of the candlelight show. Pricey but enjoyable. The dim lighting added a…read moredifferent element to the concert. Twas more intimate, made your sense of hearing appreciate & concentrate on the music better. Show was about an hour. A complaint I would make is don't allow aluminum can beverages because they were noisy throughout the performance. Slightly interested in the other venues.

Words cannot express how thankful I am for finding Patty at Fairy Godmothers Inc! Patty is…read moreabsolutely wonderful and so incredibly talented. I didn't have much of a floral vision, so I needed all the help I could get. After meeting with Patty and discussing different ideas, she asked if we had a theme for our wedding. At the time, we also didn't have much of a theme, other than wanting to highlight the city of Chicago through the skyline. So, I showed Patty our wedding invitation and she immediately had an idea for our centerpieces. She showed me a large clear vase (and floating candle) with a cut-out of the skyline that wrapped around the vase and I immediately fell in love with the idea! She then added flowers and greenery around the vase to complete the look. It was the perfect look for our big day, and the centerpieces looked so amazing at our venue! On the day of the wedding, Patty arrived on time with the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. All the flowers looked so fresh and elegant. I could not have asked for a more perfect look! She also added a small charm to my bouquet in memory of my grandmother and it was beautiful. Patty even stopped by our church to ensure everything was perfect, even though this was not a part of our contract. She truly went above and beyond and I am forever thankful for talent and kindness. Patty also offers other services such as day of coordination, and other wedding details. Although I didn't need to use those services, I am sure she is as exceptional with those services as she is with the florals. Patty is a true gem. She is kind, knowledgeable, creative, and passionate about helping to make your wedding day truly the best day of your life. Thank you Patty!!!

Patty truly is a fairy godmother. She just handled my wedding this past weekend and of all of the…read moreelements of my wedding, the flowers and decor was the star of the show. I was having a smaller wedding and honestly, my goal was to spend as little money as possible on flowers because I didn't feel like they would make much of a difference in a wedding as small as mine. Patty set me straight and showed me how much these things can make a difference especially in a wedding like mine. I spent more than I had originally intended, but I will tell you that the end result was worth every penny. Patty had some great ideas and is extremely creative. I met with her to plan everything and gave her some basic ideas such as colors and themes and she turned that into the most beautiful wedding I could ever imagine. So many of our guests complimented us on the decor and flowers and we gave away the centerpieces because we hated to see them go to waste. Everything was just perfect the day of too. I had to worry about nothing and all of the other vendors commented on how great she was to work with. I would definitely recommend Patty and use her again. She was a pleasure to work with and she is not only florist, but really an event designer who will make yours shine. One note is that they do not take credit cards, but they were very flexible with payment scheduling.

I hosted a baby shower at the DL loft in 2018 and then hosted a 30th birthday party/dinner this…read moreyear (2020) and both events were unbelievable! Debi and her team are available, responsive and creative. In both instances I shared a theme and they ran with it, far surpassing our expectations. We had another 30th birthday planned and unfortunately the plans were ruined due to COVID. With 6 days notice I reached out to Debi and asked if she was available and could help me pull together a "Vanderpump Garden" theme dinner. She was emailing me late into the evening on the weekend making arrangements, and when we walked in we could not believe what she had accomplished in such a quick timeframe. The decor was stunning, the food was amazing and the overall atmosphere was exactly what we needed to be able to relax and spend time with our closest friends. Thank you so much to Debi and team for a truly special night. We will be back!

I was hired by DebILilly to provide ice cream sandwiches for a wedding that she was planning. I…read moreexplained that the outset the challenges, but I went ahead and followed through with what I promised, which was with that I delivered to her Uber that she had hired to drive them to Grand Rapids met in Ann Arbor. It was clearly explained that once she received the ice cream sandwiches, they would need to go into the freezer as they would not be served until the next day evening. Apparently, she did not put them in the freezer as discussed, so when she went to serve them, they were melted. That only has she refused to pay me. She refuses to communicate at all and acknowledge of the situation and acknowledge her responsibility I would be more than happy to find a resolution that works for both parties. However, I do that if she's not willing to communicate. I would not recommend working with her at all. Completely unprofessional.

I found Pistil & Vine by accident but thank god I did! I had ordered a cake from next door and…read morewalked into P&V to pick up flowers for my girlfriend's birthday. The boutique is beautiful inside and smells incredible. I let them know I wanted a bouquet and what my budget was and they were very helpful about colors, types, any favorites. I watched the young lady put together an absolutely gorgeous bunch of flowers and could tell she was very invested in making sure everything was perfect. The end result was amazing and the flowers didn't die right away like some other places. My girlfriend is very picky when it comes to flowers but she loved them. I highly recommend at least stepping in and taking a look around. I'm sure you'll want to keep going back like I do.

Megan Miezio did the flowers for my wedding & they were the most beautiful bouquets & arrangements…read moreI have ever seen. That's not just my opinion, but the opinion of many of the guests at my wedding. I received an email from one of my guest who said, " I LOVED the flowers. I would say they were the best I've seen." We were fortunate to have met Megan while shopping for wedding venues, she was at one of the locations setting up the flowers for a wedding that night. She incorporated some of the most unique flowers in the bouquets. There were olive cymbidium orchids, white hydrangea, scabiosa pods, fern curls, stephanotis, mango mini callas, buffalo mokara orchids, arabicum and privet berry in my bouquet. Please take a look at the pictures of the beautiful bouquets Megan created! You can email Megan at artgalleo5@hotmail.com