HMR Designs

My husband and I hired Jessica to design our rehearsal dinner and wedding décor/​floral. And she completely exceeded all of our expectations! We HIGHLY recommend her!
We started with the wedding décor, which we had a pretty solid vision for, and luckily Jessica’s and my style was very similar. She totally understood what we wanted to do. She was incredibly patient with us as we made changes and updates to the proposal before providing us with a sample of her work. My mother and my husband’s parents came into town for the sample and we were all brought to tears by her design for our wedding. It was exactly as we had envisioned it. And the day of, when everything was in its fullest form, it was absolutely spectacular! Our guests commented throughout the night and well after that it was the most gorgeous décor they’ve seen.
For our rehearsal dinner, we had more of a blank slate, but we knew we wanted it to be very different than the wedding day. We gave Jessica some pretty vague direction and she again did not disappoint. She created a colorful palette with bright floral and vintage seating that really created a welcoming atmosphere for our guests to begin our weekend celebrations.
Jessica, we seriously cannot thank you enough for bringing our events to life. You have such a talent and we are so glad we chose you to be a part of our most favorite and special day!

We worked with John from HMR and he made our wedding into the fairy tale I always hoped for. The décor was incredible and working with John was so easy and delightful! We could not be more happy that we chose HMR for our wedding day. The guests were blown away!

John Hensel and his team worked with us to create a wedding reception space that previously existed solely in my mind and perhaps in a fair tale as well. The colors, the flowers, the furnishings, the way it went together… seemless and elegant with teams of people working so quickly and quietly that not a single guest was aware of how such an elaborate setting came together (and since we used the same space for ceremony as well as reception, TWO settings of brilliance had to come together — and come together they did. Our friends and family can hardly stop talking about it or asking how we managed to pull that all off. Short answer: we didn’t pull it off, HMR pulled it off. Thanks John and thank to your team and all the many workers behind the scenes.

Ok so every bride knows that floral design makes the wedding. I knew that I needed to have the best. HMR provided the best for my wedding! They provided the most beautiful flowers for my bouquet and my bridesmaids as well. My floral arrangements were amazing!
I had the opportunity to work with Jessica and my mom and I loved her! She is very knowledgable about floral and has a great eye for design. I was very vague with my description of what I wanted and she made it come to life. It was like she was in my head and pulled it right out of my head!
She can make a brides dream come true no matter the budget they have. I’m not a millionaire at all, until they pay teachers more, my budget wasn’t huge, but she made my floral look like a million bucks. She gave me things that were priority and then found substitutes for things that I wanted that were maybe a little more expensive for my budget. She really made me happy.
If your looking for a great floral experience contact HMR and Jessica. They can make your dreams come true!
Thank you Jessica!

Our wedding was absolutely magical, thanks to HMR. We had the pleasure to work with Rishi. His ideas are amazing. Everyone is so wonderful to work with. I can’t thank the team enough for making our wedding into a live fairy tale.

I recieved information for this company from my venue site. I contacted them in regards to floral décor. I did not end up using them because they are above my price point, However, they were apt to respond to my contact request on-​line. Casey Cooper was the representative who assisted me. She was professional, realistic, and had a good grasp on what I was looking for. Very impressed with the service.

We hired Jessica to do the florals for our wedding, after a great meeting where we felt very confident that she had a great idea of what we wanted.
Months passed, and the time for the sample was coming up. We asked her if she needed any more information and she said no. She sent us one idea we didn’t like, which made us nervous, but she still seemed confident she could deliver.
On the day of the sample, it was readily apparent that she didn’t get what I was thinking, at all. It’s possible my vision had changed– but she should have taken me up on my offer to make it clearer as the sample date approached. What she presented seemed eminently unimaginative. She just slapped together a recreation of one particular photo I had shown as an example of something I liked… but not that I loved. The things I loved– and had shown photos of– were nowhere to be seen.
She then told us that for our budget we simply couldn’t do much better.
That made us quite upset. We are spending a great deal on flowers, and she had clearly spent no time or effort on this design. I wrote her a lengthy email expressing my desire to move forward, giving very clear, direct instructions for what I wanted to see– with updated photos. I opened and closed the email by saying that the reason all of this went wrong was because of her failure to communicate– her tendency to wait weeks to write an email response, her lack of desire to check in and confirm that our visions were the same.
She waited FIVE DAYS to respond, in any way, to an email requesting better communication. This was appalling.
We got our money back and headed to Kehoe, where Phil got our vision spot-​on, first try, without even having a meeting in person first. Let’s say Kehoe does designs, HMR does recreations… Kehoe has imagination, HMR needs you to have imagination for them… and oh yeah, Kehoe treats its customers like customers, HMR treats them like plebians worthy of their disdain.

I got married in June 2013 at Café Brauer and I can gush for days over what an incredible event designer Jessica (Griffin) Pfluegl was for our wedding day. It would not have been as breathtakingly beautiful as it was without her hard work and visions. From our very first meeting, Jessica stood out amongst the other florists and designers we met with. She was quick to understand my vision and run with it further than I could ever imagine. As a person who knows very little about flowers and design, I had very vague input to give Jessica but she knew exactly what I wanted and would immediately show me pictures and examples to guide me. And she was ALWAYS spot on with what I had in mind! When we had our trial run with the center pieces, I asked if we could make one change and before I knew it she was on a ladder making the change as we spoke. She went so above and beyond her role in our wedding too and I turned to her for recommendations on many details. Everything turned out so much better than I could have ever expected thanks to her. I am so thankful for her dedication as she made it seem as if our wedding was her most important task at hand and that service is hard to come by. And her personality just made her that much more enjoyable to work with! I highly recommend Jessica to every bride– you will not regret such a great experience working with a vendor you trust.

While Ronsley is known for their special events, note that you can call them simply to delivery flowers.
I have used them countless times over the past few years with much happiness. Once (maybe twice?) the flowers arrived a bit wilted after being in their truck for a few hours in the summer. We called and they immediately sent out a second order at no charge.
Classy outfit.

Carli was the event designer for our wedding, and we loved her! After our first meeting, she understood my style and preferences perfectly. Although we went a bit over budget on flowers and décor, Carli was able to advise me on what we could change in order to save money, but not take away from the atmosphere I wanted to have. Leading up to the wedding, I would’ve liked her to be more responsive to our emails, but I had complete confidence in her work and judgment. Needless to say, everything was perfect and beautiful on the night of our wedding. I’d highly recommend her.

I recently got married last August and was clueless when it came to flowers. My entire experience working with Botanicals was painless. There was not one issue, not one headache. And they did the most amazing job!
Why I would reccommend Botanicals:
1. Highly Knowledgeable: Carli (Botanicals consultant) provided impecable service during our initial consultation by guiding me through flower types and design options. Her knowledge and passion for floral/​event design elevated the end result to be more than I could have ever imagined.
2. Budget Conscious: Carli understood budget was my biggest concern. The floral arrangements and labor were all under budget. (I was shocked and very impressed as other florist quotes were $ 1000’s over.) She was even able to get upgraded linens for a cheaper price than my wedding coordinator.
3. Detail Orientated: The flowers were gorgeous, absolutely stunning. The Botanicals team ensured every arrangement, bouquet, etc. was flawless.

I’m editing my review up to 4 stars after getting decoration photos back from friends and hearing a lot of positive feedback on the flowers & decoration from the wedding. Yes, Botanicals is expensive. I’m not sure if I think my wedding’s decoration was worth close to 20K, but I’m not in the industry and I honestly don’t know what 10K on flowers would look like versus 20K or 30K. All in, my feelings are a little mixed. My wedding was objectively beautiful, but spending 20K on flowers is a tough nut to swallow when you’re paying for your wedding yourself at age 28. Message me if you want to see pictures or get additional feedback. Happy to help!

We worked with Carli at Botanicals for our June 2011 wedding at Café Brauer in the Lincoln Park Zoo. Working with her was a dream, it was like working with a friend because she understood us so well. We envisioned a whimsical garden theme as it was summer and our venue was located on a pond surrounded by trees. We were blown away by the design she created, it was like she was inside our head. My bridesmaids had beautiful pink peony bouquets, and the groomsmen had little matching pink boutonnieres. My bridal bouquet was a gigantic assortment of pink peonies, white and pink garden roses. It was truly lovely.
Our reception hall carried that same theme with three different table centerpieces: pink peonies in vintage glass vases, mason jars with candles sitting atop tree stands and surrounded with green ferns. We had a lovebird theme on our invite (more on that at my PaperDoll review), so Carli thought up birdcages with candles inside for some tables. Genius! Even our cake stand was a slice of birch which Botanicals provided. It was awesome! It was beautiful and cohesive theme. Definitely got the garden escape we wanted and it was all done within our very tight flower/​décor budget. I do suggest that you hold firm to your budget — they will accommodate you as best they can. I was very impressed with the flexibility. I had handwritten my placecards at the last minute to save a few bucks and it was no problem, Carli grabbed them on the wedding day and got them set up for us.
The BIGGEST compliment we received about our wedding was the following: Guests discussing our wedding after it was over tried to describe what it was like. The response was unanimous — «I can’t really describe it, it was just so THEM.» This is largely due to the décor and flowers that were arranged by Carli, she totally got us! My only regret is that I was not in the hotel room when she personally delivered the flowers. I probably would have hugged her and not let go.

I highly recommend Botanicals, and more specifically Carli! They were absolutely AMAZING and I cannot say enough great things about them. So here are some details to pay it forward to all the other brides out there who are considering a wedding florist…
I moved to Boston a year before my wedding so had to plan from another state which was not easy, despite a wedding planner and a few trips back and forth while being a full-​time MBA student. To say the least, I had a full plate so it was important for me to hire amazing vendors that I knew would be able to execute my wedding seamlessly, and I could trust to make things work in case I forgot something last minute. I was probably one of the most difficult brides unfortunately, not by choice! So if Carli and Botanicals was so great with me, I can only imagine they would be perfect for everyone.
They were able to accomodate our schedule for a preview during a weekend I was in town, were flexible on sizing/​pricing/​etc, and were able to modify things as we went getting closer to our big date. After a simple phone conversation with Erin McDonald, a friend of a friend who used to be at Botanicals, who passed along the information to Carli who I had a call to follow-​up with, I was AMAZED at how well they pegged my style!
I read through some of the previous posts and I would tell anyone reading this that they are super flexible. They can do lighting, chairs, linens, and the whole nine yards, or they can just do your floral. We used them for linens and floral and hired the lighting and other services from other vendors, but I think that is one of the great things about Botanicals — they can do whatever you want them to do and they are not pushy on the sales.
If you want nothing but the best for your wedding, in my mind, there is no other place to go in Chicago! Thanks again Carli and everyone!

Botanicals did the floral and décor for my summer 2010 wedding. I have no words to describe how gorgeous and absolutely fantastic all the décor and floral were! They designed the boutonnières for my husband and his groomsmen as well as my large beautiful bouquet! I had twenty tables at my wedding to be decorated which included ten tall centerpieces with curly willows and orchids as well as ten short centerpieces with roses, orchids and ti leaves. They also created a gorgeous cascading arrangement for the sweetheart table. Every flower was perfect! Botanicals also created a large amazing piece of manzanita branches with lanters and candle holders which was suspended over the dance floor! It was breathtaking! Many of our guests couldn’t stop commenting about it and taking pictures throughout the night!
I also do not want to forget mentioning that they even added little touches to the room which really tied everything together. They took it upon themselves to add a few extra orchids to the guests table near the table numbers and they also added small flowers on the tables in the cocktail room. I couldn’t have asked for a team with a more beautiful vision or common sense! It was perfect!
Their team headed by Casey brought my vision to life and exceeded all my expectations.
I agree with some of the other reviews stating that after the intial meeting where the client budget is discussed, Botanicals seem to disregard the budget and go way over when handing you the proposal. On the other hand, I understand they are in the business to make money and once you see what an amazing job they do in the mock-​up, you will be very tempted to go over your budget so be careful!
Also, don’t be afraid to bargain! I feel like many wedding couples are not sure if they can bargain or not at some of these wedding vendors but go for it! What do you have to lose?!
Overall, Botanical’s designers’ visions are nothing like I’ve seen in Chicago! They are a little overpriced but give them a shot! You won’t be sorry!

Pure beauty and bliss… Botanicals made every guest at my wedding feel as if they were entering a beautiful magical sanctuary! Every detail, every orchid, every candle exuded perfection! My wedding was a dream and I am so thankful for everyone that worked so hard to make it happen!

I got married July 25^th and my family cannot stop talking about the flowers at the wedding!
You know you are working with professionals when they can swoop in with last minute rescues and you don’t even know anything went wrong until after the honeymoon! In the rush of the week before the wedding planning, I added another groomsmen and bridesmaid when we found out my husband’s brother was going to be able to fly in from halfway around the world after all. We were so excited that I forgot to tell the florist! Botanicals showed up to deliver the flowers at the church and churned some magic in their truck and TA-​DAAAAA… I had another boutonnière and bouquet!!! My maid of honor only told me the story when it was all said and done and I was VERY glad I hired true professionals!
I didn’t really know what I wanted for the reception space, but I had two adjectives in mind for the flowers: cheery but sophisticated. The staff at Botanicals Inc sat down with me and asked me a lot of questions about the tone of the wedding. I certainly got cheery but sophisticated with bright colored roses and sunflowers but rooted in lots of classic greenery in a sophisticated shape. In the end, the flowers were PERFECT for the space! I specified that I wanted my guests to be able to take the pieces home after the reception. As soon as guests found out, people were running around staking his/​her claims.
The staff is very knowledgable and creative. I highly recommend them for any special event!

I visited Botanical for a meeting to discuss flowers for my wedding. Initially, they were very responsive and seemed to be on the same page as me on the overall look I wanted to achieve. However, I went weeks after that meeting without seeing a proposal. I followed up several times and got no response from them. I finally received a proposal weeks later with no rationale for what took so long. Not wanting to start the process from scratch with another vendor, I asked to come in and see a sample. Again, no response. If this is how they treat prospective clients (whose behinds they should be kissing), I don’t even want to see what happens when they take your money.
I took the descriptions of flowers to another vendor who performed beautifully and gave me a much better price for the same arrangements.
If you aren’t using a wedding planner to set up your floral appointments, you are wasting your time. The people at Botanical are unprofessional and have lackluster customer service skills. I would not recommend using them.

Kara at Botanicals did great work for my 9÷5÷2009 wedding. Kara helped me define a vision for the flowers, even though I didn’t have a very clear idea of what I wanted (besides the color) when I arrived. I wanted a very specific color purple, which Kara got completely and other florists did not understand, and a «touch of vintage». She also helped me trim things to meet my budget.
Bottom line: Kara was extremely helpful on the design front and delivered high-​quality flowers that really set the mood for my wedding.

Ronsley is the grande dame of high end event florists. Their work is beautiful and I have had the pleasure of working with them on many occaisions including a very high profile wedding, charitable functions and social luncheons. Their work is impeccable.
Pricey yes, but they are worth it. If flowers are your «thing» for your special event, look no further. Seriously, don’t bring pictures you cut out of a magazine. Bring your imagination and your checkbook and they will make your dream come true.