We couldn't be any happier with Spoon Photo and Design. Michelle is amazingly talented,…read moreprofessional, thorough, and patient. She did a phenomenal job with both our engagement pictures and our wedding pictures. She listened to what we wanted and took everything into account. She knew exactly how to position us and the best places for amazing shots. Wedding guests commented on how she worked so hard during the wedding day. Having two very large and loud families, she handled the family pictures with ease. I cannot recommend a better Chicago photographer (I am sure she also does incredible work anywhere). We are so pleased with the final result and received so many compliments on how beautiful all the pictures are. Shoutout also to her side shooter Jake, who did a fabulous job as well. The two of them worked beautifully together.

Michelle was a pleasure to work with!…read more My fiance and I used Spoon Photo & Design for our engagement photos and couldn't have been happier with the outcome! Our photos came out beautiful and were exactly what we wanted! It was our first time having a shoot done outside in a public park so we were a little nervous, but Michelle instantly made us feel so comfortable. The whole process was a breeze and so much fun! Thanks again Michelle!

I couldn't recommend Bride & Joy more highly. Kim is the consummate wedding person. She was so much…read morefun to talk with! She was always so quick to get back to me on any of my little questions and never made me feel anything but special. She's got great taste and really understands every aspect of the whole "Wedding Biz." We managed to stay on time, which is unheard of for a wedding! She was a pleasure to work with in the days leading up and totally crushed it the day of. We were free to just have the Time Of Our Lives and I can't imagine our special day without her!

I highly recommend Kim for month-of planning! We used Bride and Joy for our September 2018 wedding…read moreat Salvage One. Working with Kim was a dream-- she is so calm and professional-- Kim helped me organize the chaos and enjoy the process. Kim previously worked at Salvage One, so coordination was a breeze. I had many vendors and had a lot of DIY aspects to my wedding-- Kim was able and willing to help me coordinate all the vendors and went above and beyond, helping us organize and set up the whole room. I would work with Kim again in a heartbeat!

As many brides know, wedding planning is one of the most stressful parts of getting married. The…read morewhole "married to one man the rest of my life" was easy in comparison to the planning process of our whole wedding. We had met with other florists before meeting Kim and after about 10 minutes with her, I knew she was the person I could trust to handle our flower needs. I showed her some photos of what I was looking for and due to the time of year, there was one flower (don't ask me which one because I don't remember) that would be out of season and difficult to get, so she recommended a different flower in its place. I wanted minimal foliage and if you look at my photos, you will notice there is very little green showing in any of the flowers. I wanted the bouquets to be tight and I wanted to make everyone's a little different to ensure people knew we thought specifically about them when picking out their corsage, boutonnière or bouquet. My sister and I had been watching Four Weddings and other wedding shows and every time we saw a white bride's bouquet against her white dress, we would cringe. Our wedding colors were black, white and red. Simple and tasteful. We wanted the flowers to stand out in photos. Being that I was wearing a white wedding dress, we chose all red flowers for my bouquet. The bridesmaids were all wearing red, so we chose white flowers that would stand out against their beautiful red dresses. The guys were all going to be wearing black tuxedos and white undershirts, so we chose red flowers for their boutonnières. When we met with the bakery to discuss the design of our cake, we decided to leave off the fake sugar flowers and trust this to Kim! We debated a cake topper with our last name initial or even one of those funny statues to add a little humor but after much discussion, I decided that flowers would just be perfect and with flower pedals strewn all over the table, it would all tie together nicely and they did just that! Our reception was movie themed and each table was a different film. Each of our center pieces was made up of four 8.5" x 11" frames screwed together in a cube. Each side was the movie poster printed on velum paper and back lit using electric candles. After we talked about all our options, we chose to have each centerpiece topped off with a floral arrangement. My sister pretty much took care of correspondence with Kim but she got her everything we needed to for her to design her part of the centerpiece (the stand to elevate the flowers at the perfect height of the cube and the tray in which the flower arrangement sat). When we dropped off all of the centerpieces and wedding reception related items at the banquet hall earlier in the week, I had no idea what I was going to be in for on the day of our wedding. When we walked into our reception, I was truly speechless! The room was beautiful and every red flower JUMPED out at you as you gazed around the entire hall. I'm sorry it took me so long to write my review for you, Kim! But writing this has brought back all the emotions I had on my wedding day last November and the fact that you were like a floral ninja getting everything where it needed to be on schedule and perfectly placed, took a huge weight off my shoulders. You were, without a doubt, my absolute favorite vendor of all and your work made our day just beautiful. People in our family STILL talk about our beautiful flowers and I'm sure they will for years to come!

Kim is, hands down, the most amazing florist! From day one she made our wedding a priority and was…read morealways quick to all communication. At our first meeting she asked me to bring photos of what I like and some inspiration pictures. She goes into every detail and then gives you get an estimate and from there it is all up to you. What we had done would've cost us so much more anywhere else; her work is completely flawless and we couldn't have asked for better! I had an idea of what I liked and she took it to the next level. Never in a million years did I think I was going to be holding the most beautiful bouquet! The best thing about Kim's work is that she only books one wedding a day -- this was a huge selling point for me. She was literally by our side until we said "I Do." It was really hot the day we got married and after every photo session she was there spritzing flowers to keep them fresh. That aspect alone is somebody who truly cares about their work. We also had a ceremony outside and our flowers were not put up until the very last minute so they looked perfect. Kim was a delight and one of the most caring women I have ever met, I really hope I can work with her again!!

My husband and I highly recommend LK Events. Carolyn F. was our wedding planner and she is…read morephenomenal. She was perfect for our wedding at Chicago Illuminating Company. Carolyn is detail-oriented, patient and smart. Our wedding had a lot of customization and details that required a planner that was highly organized. Wedding planning for an engaged couple is practically a second job in itself, but Carolyn made sure that planning was seamless and stress-free. Every single phone call, email, and meeting was managed efficiently and with ease. She is also very mindful of your stylistic needs while remaining within your budget. There will be no surprises when it comes down to your final numbers, as Carolyn clearly lists out your costs, using excel sheets comparing different vendor quotes, for you to consider. Furthermore, she even highlights these differences in a quick summary email to make the price analysis more efficient for you. One very important factor of our wedding was the food and stylistic presentation. I wanted mini beverage pairings with mini lobster rolls, mini gyros, etc. Carolyn handled our requests seamlessly with our caterer and every single idea was executed flawlessly, and deliciously. To show you even further, how Carolyn doesn't miss ANY detail, the day before the wedding, I asked Carolyn to place custom blankets on my seat and my husband's seat as a surprise to my husband. The blankets had quotes we say to each other. Low and behold, they were sitting nicely on both of our chairs. There are many planners, but not every planner can catch every single detail. Carolyn truly does not miss a thing and you will have nothing to worry about! I cannot recommend her enough!

Worst experience we have ever had. No attention to anything. Sloppy and takes no responsibility for…read moreeverything that goes wrong. Do not use.

Wedding planning is not for everyone... and when I was planning my wedding in 2017, I discovered…read morethat everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. My (now) husband and I had a whole destination wedding planned that ended up falling through last minute and instead, we ended up getting married in our home town, Chicago. Faced with last minute scrambling to get a ceremony venue, reception venue, officiant, invitations, and everything else I think it goes without saying that I was in full panic mode. This full 180 of our wedding plans included a need for a new floral designer which brings me to this review! Firstly, Ryan Turner (the owner / designer) is SO nice and extremely helpful. I went into the process with next to no idea of what I wanted except that I wanted white and pink flowers with next to no greenery. We met him at his office which is a bit hard to find but well worth the trip. It's in an unassuming building on the west side but as soon as you enter his studio you are overwhelmed with the gorgeous floral displays and enormous coy fish pond. Very zen and appreciated by this stressed out bride-to-be! After our first consultation, we were able to nail down the flowers, bouquet sizes, boutonnieres, and center pieces. Since we were trying to operate on a budget I wanted to use our bouquets as the center pieces. I caught a lot of grief from other florists on this who wanted to make more money on extra arrangements, but Ryan didn't bat an eye and instead showed us really pretty vase options for our bouquets. A week before my wedding, one of my bridesmaids who originally wasn't going to be able to make it, changed plans and was able to come. I was shocked to find out that Ryan was more than willing to add another bridesmaid bouquet to our order last minute. He couldn't have been easier or better to work with! The big day came and the flowers were delivered on time and they looked beautiful! Naturally, since we had an outdoor wedding with no cover, it poured with rain literally all day long. But no matter, the flowers stayed beautiful! In fact, we got married in the morning and they lasted all the way through the night on our reception table. Major thank you to Ryan for all his hard work and help! Definitely recommend using him if you want quality flowers at a fair price!

My wedding was called off over a year ago and I still did not receive my promised refund. Horrible…read morecommunication and customer service. Would not recommend at all.

My friends bought me a beautiful bracelet and ring for my birthday a few months ago. I receive…read morecompliments on them whenever I wear them! Tonight I finally got to meet the stylish jewelry designer (Laila Korn) behind the bracelet and ring because my friend invited her over to showcase her jewels! As expected the jewelry was a big hit and we all went crazy buying necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings! You all may not be so lucky to have Laila sell her designs in the home of your friends, but fortunately for all of us (because I know I'll be buying some more jewelry from Laila soon) she sells some of her stuff at Dilly Lily and Mint Boutique. I highly recommend checking out Laila''s jewelry for some trendy, unique, and AFFORDABLE new jewels!

Laila was at the Yelp Elite Squad party at Exhale Spa tonight and I loved her designs! My friends…read moreare big fans so I've admired her stuff on them for the last few months, but it was great to see all her designs in person. I didn't end up buying anything because I have more jewelry than I know what to do with right now, but I would love to get a pair of her earrings down the road.

Anice was recommended to me by the wedding coordinator at the country club where we had our…read moreceremony and reception. She's super nice and friendly and really knowledgeable. I didn't even meet with any other florists. She knows how to make flowers understandable and relateable to someone like me who completely lacks artistic or creative ability. She was flexible and didn't mind meeting with us on evenings or weekends in locations that were convenient for us. She listened well and worked with us to make sure we were getting the best results for our budget. I didn't have to worry, and the flowers looked great the entire day.

I worked with Anice on my wedding this past August. Anice was more than a pleasure to work with…read more She met me downtown and was very flexible with a meeting time since I am from out of town and was only in Chicago over one weekend to do planning. She talked through her portfolio, and then we talked about my wedding, the feel I wanted to create, my colors, and then I showed her a few pictures of things that I liked that I found in magazines. She asked me what my budget was, and then she talked through some of her ideas that all fit within my budget. Fantastic! She even recommended a place where she knew we could buy the cheapest votive candles for the reception tables. She saved us a lot of money, and she did an amazing job. The bouquets, boutonierres, and centerpieces she created were beautiful and far surpassed my expectations. She did a great job and for a great price. She was also very professional, and returned emails promptly and always answered each of my questions. I can't say enough good things. For others that might be looking for a great florist for an event that is budget-minded, here is Fiddlehead's email: fiddleheadfloral@comcast.net. I'm not sure if Anice has a website or not :-)

Hiring Dean was the smartest decision we made during our wedding. We weren't sure if we would need…read morea planner/coordinator, because I was an event planner myself, but we really did! She coached us through the entire process, bringing up all kinds of details that we just hadn't thought of. She was so thorough, making sure every little thing was the way it should be. She allowed us to relax at our wedding, and the week before and after, which was invaluable. The thing that is a lot different about Dean than other wedding planners I've experienced is that even though she is meticulous and totally on top of everything, she is ALSO laid back! She is fun to be around, and ends up being a charming asset at your event, all the while ensuring that absolutely everything is exactly on schedule. She is really good with all kinds of people, so if you have difficult guests, she will handle it all like magic. She's open to all types of events and weddings and is very creative and fun. Dean has skills in a lot of areas (she's incredible with interior design as well as fashion) so you get a lot more than just a coordinator--you get a creative helper/advisor. I just can't say enough good things about her. If you think wedding coordinators are too much effort or stuffy or weird, Dean's going to blow your mind and probably become your new best friend. She will coach you through the whole thing and take so much of the pressure off. Hiring her is a really great investment!

I cannot say enough good things about Dean. She was our wedding planner last fall. It was an…read moreincredible, special, and beautiful day. I can honestly say that I was able to relax and not feel stressed out on our wedding day, and I owe that mostly to Dean. She is organized, reliable, super creative, and extremely talented. Did I feel stressed out at all during the wedding planning? Of course. Did Dean feel like a life saver at various points during the process? Absolutely. She is very calm and collected, and constantly provided me with the reassurance necessary; every time after I talked with her (which was often), I immediately felt at ease and my stress levels lowered. Knowing that she was on top of everything alleviated a lot of pressure for me, allowing me to enjoy the engagement more. She is also really crafty and able to work within a budget. She has great ideas for how to get things done on a dime - and she makes everything look really amazing. She truly knows style and fashion, which proved to be extremely helpful. I felt like our wedding was us; she took the time to learn what we were looking for, and then created an event that matched our personalities perfectly, in a BEAUTIFUL way. If you're in the market for someone to plan your wedding or any other event, I would strongly recommend Dean. Trust me - you will be so glad you went with her.