We booked Stems for our wedding, and we cannot rave enough. Allison is so fantastic to work with, and her and her team are excellent at what they do. They're able to adapt to fit your budget and make magic happen. I highly recommend Stems for any event you need fantastic florals for. She will work magic, and you and your guests will be very, very pleased! read more

Allison, of Stems, Inc (Chicago) and her team were a creative pleasure to work with for our daughter's wedding reception at RPM Chicago. She listened, was responsive and executed a stunning design for all to enjoy! Even my last-minute request for the addition of hundreds of candles lined up a long a very long hallway did not throw her. Our guests were treated to beautiful florals, including DJ station and sweetheart table installations. Thank you Allison and team, your creative work and ease of execution added so much to our day! read more

Stems - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My husband and I were married a couple weeks ago and Allison and the team at Stems to create the decor vision for the wedding. Allison came on board and when we started talking about the ceremony set up and the table top decor, she knew exactly what we were thinking right away. It was like she went right into our heads and took the vision out and wrote it out on paper. At the last minute, we had to change the set up of the ceremony slightly and she came up with a modified plan to change how the room was going to be set and it was absolutely​ incredible. Looking now at photos of the room, I am thrilled at how it all came together. Allison, you are a true artist and we were so lucky to have you help design the wedding!​ read more

Stems - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I should have posted my experience with Stems a long time ago after my wedding, but got so busy! I would highly recommend Stems and Allison. She was amazing and did EXACTLY what I wanted, within my budget. Our flowers were so beautiful and I wouldn't change a thing. We went to a couple of other florists before Stems and they were snoody and stuck up when I asked what they could do within my budget. Not Allison - she was so kind and understood my needs. Thanks again Stems! read more

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Unassuming store that does great, creative work at affordable prices. The florists are very friendly and super helpful. From bouquets to plants to vases arrangements, this will be my go-to for all professional floral needs! I went there to pick up a quick arrangement to take to a dinner party and got something funky, bright, cheerful, and creative, all for $30. Well worth it, and the conversation we had while the florist (Alli?) worked her magic was pleasant as well. It just strikes me as a happy place. read more

Stems - Lovely arrangement made by the fine folks at Stems. - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Really love every spur of the moment arrangement I have gotten here. If my floral friend doesn't come out of retirement for my wedding, I am definitely headed here first! read more

Stems - 30th bday bouquet - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Allison is amazing. I hired her after the ladies @ George-Jewell Events/Catering recommended her to me. All I wanted were peonies. I LOVE peonies. In fact, I moved my wedding date from September to June just so I could have these flowers. I made that very clear to Allison. I wanted a huge bouquet of all pink peonies for my bridal bouquet, mixed white/pink for the bridesmaids, and all white peonies for the reception in gold vases. She called me just 2 weeks before my wedding to tell me there was a huge shortage in peonies and she wasn't going to be able to fulfill my expectations. I was devastated, but I understood. In fact, this was the least of the "road bumps" that came up during my wedding planning (which I did myself). However, somehow, on the day of, she totally came through. I had a huge bouquet with absolutely breath-taking blush pink peonies. My girls bouquets were a mix of other flowers, which came out beautiful. And the flowers at the reception were amazing.....in fact, so amazing that after the reception, I took every last centerpiece home with me. The limo driver thought I was crazy, but I figured, hey, I paid for these beautiful flowers so I should get to keep them! So after the wedding I had a house full of peonies and wedding bliss. It was perfect. Thank you Allison for coming through in the end, and for helping with all of the other little details that kept coming up. I have never seen such a beautiful bouquet in my life. read more

Stems - My bridal bouquet, stunning peonies. - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Their flowers are seriously a work of art! This is not a "dozen roses" kind of shop - this is a place where design takes place in every arrangement. They use unique flowers and the price is reasonable for what you get as an end product. read more

Well, the wedding went off beautifully! Allison and her whole team pulled together a look and feel that the hubs and I loved. Cusp-of-spring ivories and greens, lots of candles, so so perfect in every way. My maids, mom, MIL, sisters and grandmother adored it all. Everything for both the ceremony and reception arrived in plenty of time and was put together gorgeously and efficiently. The best part: one of the three designs for centerpieces was a planter, a quad of greenery and cyclamen (and one or two others I'm not sure of), which we gave away to guests on their way out, and we saved a few for ourselves -- one is still going strong four months later above the sink in the kitchen, and the other is thriving in the front room. Lovely memories of a lovely day. We can't thank you enough for making our wedding so beautiful!! read more

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I cannot say enough wonderful things about my experience with Allison and the team at Stems for my July wedding! I was a bride that had a specific vision in my head but very little idea how to articulate it to a florist! I tried with another florist and was just disappointed with the experience thinking that I wouldn't be able to get what I wanted! I'm so glad that I went to Allison before resigning myself to a vision I didn't love! Allison got my vibe from the first meeting and showed me how she could exceed my expectations while staying in a realistic budget for what I wanted. She worked with me through multiple changes and potential scenarios to make sure I got the most impact for my money. One of the most valuable things about Allison was her willingness to tell me where to splurge, and where to cut. There were some things I just didn't think of (like skipping the boutonnieres and corsages and reallocating it toward the more impressive centerpieces) and there were some things I wasn't sure were worth the money - like lighting. Thankfully Allison suggested (very strongly, over several meetings) that we add extra uplighting and pin lighting for our tall centerpieces. We finally caved and were so happy that we did! Our venue (Cafe Brauer) is big and old and beautiful but did not have a ton of light on its own. On the night of, the lighting was beautiful and our centerpieces were a fantastic focal point. One other thing I absolutely loved was my humongous bridal bouquet. I wanted a semi-cascading vintage looking bouquet and I definitely got it! My petite maid of honor had to pass her own bouquet back to another bridesmaid so that she could use both hands to hold my bouquet during the ceremony - it was that big and that heavy! Allison delivered on every single thing I wanted and I couldn't be happier! read more

My experience was similar to Julie K's. I made an appointment to meet with someone at Stems to see what they could do for my wedding flowers. My budget is modest, but not inconsequential. This was probably the 4th florist I met with and I was excited because the work I had seen them do in magazines and online was beautiful/elegant/modern. Every other florist appointment I had lasted at least an hour. So when I was ushered out of Stems after about 10 minutes (shortly after going over my budget and what I was looking for) I knew that they were not looking to do business with me. I was told that someone would get back to me with a proposal of some sort, but here I am 3 weeks later and I never heard from Stems again. Most other florists got back to me within a week, none took more than two. Bottom line, this may be a nice florist if you live in the area, but unless you have a large budget for flowers, don't bother coming here for your wedding flowers. If you're curious about what I was looking for and my exact budget, you can message me and I'll go into more detail. read more

Again, I must say that I was very lucky with planning our wedding. I found Stems on a Chicago website and was drawn to the simplicity and fresh bold colors. My meeting with Alison was brief, yet she got my entire vision. I was extremely happy with all the floral arrangements... each center piece ( we had four different types) the buffet tables, the ceremony tables, my bouquet, and all the wedding party flowers. YAY. i was so happy with them. hassle free. stress free. easy breezy beautiful. read more

I am a long time user of Stems for floral arrangements. Unfortunately, I often experience downright unfriendly service, but the creative keeps me coming back. There is not another shop like it in Chicago - just beautiful, fresh, contemporary work. Several times I have called to order a $30 something or 'nother and get the audible sigh and comment that they'll see what they can put together for such a small amount. C'mon, sometimes it is what it is. I do knock them for having a $50 minimum for delivery (though there is an additional delivery charge). read more

Allison & her staff consistently create the most beautiful arrangements, I have seen. I love her creativity, quality & personal service. This is a ONE-OF-A-KIND in this large city of ours. The prices are reasonable. read more

There are no words for how beautiful every little detail and decor at our wedding was. From the flower bouquets to the table settings, to the lighting and candles, Allison and the stems team are geniuses. They created a space a Cafe Brauer that was magical and more than I could have imagined on my wedding day. It was exactly what I had envisioned and they made it all come true! Thank you so much Allison and the whole Stems team! read more

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Stems provided the floral decorations for our August 20, 2011 wedding ceremony and reception, and we could not be more thrilled with their work! Our first meeting with Allison was a pleasure - she immediately understood our desire for funky, colorful and contemporary arrangements, and created a proposal that was on target and within our established budget. Throughout the planning process, Allison was always accessible, friendly and professional. As for the wedding day, we were blown away by how hassle-free it was for the flowers to be delivered and arranged. Everything was on time and expertly arranged. And WOW - the arrangements and bouquets were stunning! Stems created a brilliant showing of unusual flowers in various shades of purple and yellow - exactly as we had hoped for. We're so happy to have chosen Stems for our day. I can't recommend their services enough! read more

Stems - A camera phone pic of the bride and maid of honor bouquets. - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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They must have some magical formula for booking weddings as I waited more than five weeks, after meeting with Alison and discussing my ideas, budget ($4,000) and date, and never even got a proposal. Stems did the flowers for my future sister-in-law's wedding. They won't be doing the flowers for mine. read more

I've had two experiences here. 1) I walked in on a random Friday and told the lady to put something together for $40. She did a great job putting together a small flower arrangement. The flowers lasted a respectable amount of time. 2) For v-day, I called and placed a $100 order with the instructions "a few roses and some creativity" for deliver downtown a few days before v-day. What I got was a very small flower arrangement (3 roses and 2 other flowers) that was put to shame by the $40 arrangement I got earlier in the year. I was really embarrassed of it when I saw it. The flowers didn't last more than 2 days. read more

Always love working with Allison & Stems. I use Stems for flower arrangements at work (as gifts). I usually receive a picture of the arrangement from the recipient and it's absolutely beautiful, and the recipient always raves about it. Allison is so great and easy to work. read more

I stopped in one day after work needing flowers on short notice. They were in the midst of preparing for a wedding. A very pretty arrangement was made up for me. read more

Creativity gets 5 Stars! If you want something different then the standard flower arrangement - this is the shop for you! When my friend's mother passed away, I went online to look at flower shops in Chicago. As I was clicking on website after website, I noticed that all the arrangements were very similar and extremely traditional from the previous site. Then I stumbled upon Stems. Their arangements are gorgeous, modern and sophisticated! When I called the shop I told them how much I wanted to spend ($100 which seemed appropriate to what I saw online for funeral arrangements) and that I needed the flowers delivered to the funeral home the next day. They were very helpful and did exactly as they said they would. My only complaint was that I was never able to see the arrangement! The person who took my order said that due to it being custom and last minute, they would not be able to send me a picture. I was extremely nervous about this, but when my friend called and said that the flower arrangement was incredible and that everyone was commenting on how pretty they were, I felt a little bit better about having payed quite a bit for something that I was not able to see. read more

My husband and I really didn't know where to begin with the whole floral aspect of our wedding. Enter Allison, and she pretty much took it from there! She suggested centerpiece and bouquet ideas all within our budget. I had a piece of my mother's veil and asked Allison if she could somehow incorporate it into the bouquet which she did. When the bouquets arrived (right on time, I might add!), I was in absolute awe! The flowers were stunning and she had perfectly wrapped my mother's veil around the base of the flowers - it was beautiful! After our ceremony ended and we returned from taking photos, my planner led my husband and I into the reception ballroom before the doors opened for guests. We were amazed!! Each centerpiece was more beautiful than we could have imagined! Allison really knows how to transform a room, and we are so happy we went with Stems for our wedding! read more

To say Allison Denny and team were superb to work with for my wedding day--would be the understatement of the year! Her arrangements for our bridal party and our venue were a testament to her incredible vision and her keen ability to channel our vision in the softest and most breath-taking light! Allison was easy to schedule and work with, her team was timely and acute to detail, and her price point was exceptional. Her arrangements were able to bring our big day to light--and, her professionalism was second to none. I will use Allison again for all events big & small--and would encourage all brides to do the same! read more

Stems - Our Beautiful Bouquets for our Memorial Weekend Wedding! - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ordered flowers to be delivered to a local restaurant for my daughter's 30th birthday! Delivered in spite of being past their usual delivery times! The arrangement was perfect; asked for something whimsical! My daughter was thrilled. So worth the $$ spent! read more

Arrangements, 5 stars. Service, 1 star. Creativity is excellent, but they really need to hire people (service wise) that actually want to be there (or at least act like it). read more

Stems helped us realize a romantic vision for my daughter's wedding reception and post wedding Sunday brunch. They were wonderful to work with and collaborated on keeping us within our budget. parameters. We would highly recommend.The totalityof their floral deliverables were completely beautiful !! Thank you ! read more

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i walked in and was offerred help immediately. I told the florist i wanted to spend around $40, it was for an anniversary and she put together something very pretty in no time at all. i was actually very happy with what they did. it wasn't super fancy (it was only $40) but it was very creative and unique. thanks Stems! read more

Allison at Stems was such a pleasure to work with! Stems designed the flower arrangements and décor for our Café Brauer wedding, and the finished product was better than we ever could have imagined. Allison was great at listening to our vision, and making it into a reality! She helped transform the venue into a whimsical and enchanted garden; it was absolutely stunning. Our wedding guests still tell us that our wedding had the most beautiful flowers and décor they had ever seen. Thank you Allison and Stems! read more

I have used Stems for years. Their flowers are gorgeous! The service is exceptional. The price is fair, not cheap. You definitely get what you pay for. Look no further for fine flowers. read more

If I could give more stars, I would. Stems is fantastic! Stems did the flowers for my August wedding, and I could not have asked for more. I worked with Allison. The best part about her designs is that they have serious style. I don't know much about flowers, but I could definitely tell a difference between her designs and the tired floral arrangements you might see at a typical wedding. When I went to see samples of my centerpieces a week before the wedding, I was blown away. Somehow she was able to know what I wanted even more than I did. I gave her a pretty vague idea of what I was looking for, and Stems really delivered. My centerpieces only used red roses, and the roses that were chosen were the most beautiful I had ever seen -- huge, super open, super lush, red roses. They were seriously incredible. In addition to doing fantastic work, Stems is awesome because they treat you like a star client even if your floral budget is smaller than most Chicago weddings. I was on a serious budget, and Allison totally worked with me (unlike some other popular flower places who won't even talk to you unless you meet their minimum). After our initial meeting, she gave me a break down of how much everything was going to cost so that I could move things around to keep my budget where I wanted it to be. Stems rocks. I would hire them for my wedding again in a second. I give them my highest recommendation! read more

Simply the best. Allison exceeded my expectations and helped make my wedding dreams come true. I can't thank her enough. Just amazing!!!

We walked in there with my mother to speak with Allison (owner) about my upcoming wedding. Described in detail what kind of flowers we were interested in and gave her a budget (under 10K) and never heard back. Super weird -- not sure how she runs her business. The arrangements that she showed us were cool though, so she could have been a viable choice. read more

Allison and Stems did an incredible job with our wedding floral design and I would (and have) recommend them to anyone! I had a general aesthetic in mind - classic, elegant, all white, and I love candles, roses and hydrangeas. Allison and her team took that minimal input and really brought it to life with no hand holding from me. Such a relief for brides who have a million other things to worry about! It was like they read my mind with what I wanted, and more importantly executed it perfectly with no issues on the wedding day (which is more than I can say for my caterer - see Kenmare Catering reviews.) I got SO many compliments on the floral design, it truly gave our wedding the look and feel that I wanted. I cannot say enough good things about Stems! read more

We worked with Allison at Stems for our wedding at Cafe Brauer and she totally knocked it out of the park beginning to end. The end product was just beautiful, but working with Allison was particularly great. She was flexible and offered very helpful insight based on her years of experience that I wouldn't have otherwise considered. Can't recommend Stems enough. She also helped us execute a gorgeous lighting arrangement from the ceiling based on a single Instagram picture I found... Allison nailed it! read more

Stems - Florists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Stems did our wedding last year and created the most stunning arrangements we've ever seen. Though florals were not originally our main focus when planning, but they certainly became the focus of many, many compliments! Allison was knowledgeable and friendly, laid-back yet attentive when required. She took our vision and developed an accurate but better version at an affordable price! We've since started using Stems for other floral needs and they have been equally beautiful and unique. We'd recommend them without hesitation! read more

If Stems is available to do floral design for your wedding day, I strongly recommend that you book them. Our wedding flowers were THE most beautiful flowers I have ever seen - and I'm not just saying that. Allison Denny is a floral genius and I am beyond happy with the way everything turned out. We received proposal from two floral companies and Allison's knocked it out of the park. My mom and I had met with Allison for about 20-30 minutes for an initial consultation. Her proposal was right on target for price (we had a somewhat tight floral budget) and her descriptions gave me such a clear and beautiful picture of what our wedding day would look like. She seriously had me at hello. Not only is Stems reasonably priced but they are completely flexible with design ideas that you may have too. I found these cream colored vases from Anthropologie that I wanted to use for our wedding, as well as other navy vases from a greenery in South Carolina, and Allison was more than happy to use them for our guest tables. In addition, I was very particular that I wanted my bouquet to be substantial and the bridesmaid's bouquets to be pretty large too - without breaking the bank. Allison was able to do it for us. Our bouquets were even bigger than I had anticipated! I swear my wedding bouquet weighed 8 lbs which was great for the arms in pictures. We had so many of our guests tell us that our flowers were the most beautiful they'd ever seen. Their floral design is modern, clean, and unique. You will not be disappointed if you book Stems for your wedding day. They are smart, flexible, completely professional, and very responsive. We meet with Allison once for an initial consultation and only once more for our floral sample before our wedding day. The flowers were more beautiful than I could've possibly imagined. They seriously made so much of the wedding. I could not have been happier with how they turned out. If I could give 10 stars, I would. BOOK STEMS - I'm telling you. read more

UPDATE: 7/12/2009, the day after my wedding Just a quick note to say that the flowers that Allison of Stems did for my wedding last night were PERFECT. Exactly the mood I asked for! Summery, romantic, airy, but elegant. Different colors and textures that all worked together. (And all in the color palette I had requested -- I wanted feminine without any pinks!) My mom is a big time gardener so I was holding my breath to see her reaction to the floral arrangements. And she LOVED all of them! (Whew!) I would HIGHLY recommend Allison of Stems. I also feel like I really got my money's worth. The bouquet and centerpieces were substantial! I found this florist on Yelp, so thanks Yelpers. Like I said below too, out of the 5 florists I got estimates from, she was the only reasonably priced one! Even though my floral budget was around 3K and I only had a small wedding of 80 guests, I always felt like she respected me... she made me feel like my wedding was just as important as any other wedding. ------ UPDATE: 7/7/2009 It is a few days before the wedding and all of my final last minute floral changes have been handled magnificently by Allison. She has been really straight forward, really relaxed, JUST GREAT! I don't really get the complaint of other people that she isn't reachable. I have not experienced that and I have emailed and called her many times. Maybe these people expect an instant response? She gets back to me in a completely reasonable time - by end of day if not sooner. Especially as the "big day" approaches, she is even faster at responding! UPDATE: 11/18/2008 After a long search (5? 6? florists) I picked Stems & Allison to do the flowers for my July 11th 2009 wedding. After the honeymoon I promise to post photos of the flowers and tell you about my experience working with Allison (which I'm sure will be great!). ----- I met with Allison last night to talk about possibly doing flowers for my wedding. 1. She was professional and organized. She even called earlier in the day to confirm our appointment that evening. 2. She had Halloween Candy! 3. She had portfolios for me to look at. 4. Her work looks very creative and high-end. 5. She understood that I'm on a budget and I'm a relatively small-to-medium sized wedding. She didn't scoff at my $3k flower budget. Some places don't even want to talk to you if you are less than their minimum (AHEM - shame on you Botanicals!) 6. She gave me a ballpark figure on the spot for everything I asked for to see if that would be around my budget so that we could pull levers if necessary to make it work. (She was the only florist willing to give me a ballpark on the spot.) 7. She emailed me the estimate the very next morning. (Some florists take forever to get back to you.) It had everything we discussed in sufficient detail. A few estimates I have received have been rather vague and I never know if I'm really going to get what I asked for. read more

My review is based on an arrangement that was sent to me by my husband for our anniversary. The flowers were so fresh and beautiful and lasted nearly 2 weeks. The arrangement was incredibly unique and I was so happy with it. I actually emailed Stems to say I loved their work, and I got a very nice response thanking me for the compliment. See, I am not always a total bitch. read more

I went to stems looking for a bouquet to bring to a birthday dinner. I told the woman working there that I wanted to spend about $20 and no roses. She was very accommodating and non judgmental despite my budget. I also think she added some really pretty green filler bc she wanted the bouquet to look nice. It turned out great and really made it clear why getting flowers from a florist opposed to a pre made bouquet really stands out. They also wrap it in white paper which is a nice classic touch. My only disappointment was the peony according to my mom began to wilt immediately. When I am paying that much for flowers I would appreciate some shelf life. Despite the lovely ladies working there I could only give three stars bc of the wilting flower and the high prices. read more

While planning our September 2009 wedding, I met with four of the top florists in Chicago. Allison gave us a realistic budget (flowers are expensive no matter where you go) and unbelievable results. Allison is unbelievable. If you haven't chosen a florist yet, I highly suggest you set up a meeting with her - I hope she's available because that woman created two of the most incredible ambiances in the ballroom - the ceremony was fresh & romantic, and the reception was sultry, lively, and full of romance. I cannot stress enough how gorgeous our reception was. My husband was NOT convinced that the floral budget was necessary... Thanks to Allison, he's a changed man;) If you're looking for fresh, modern designs (but not so modern that you look like you're trying too hard), then schedule an appointment with Allison - you will not be wasting your time. read more