Elena's Garden Floral Design and Event Planning

ns to you as a client. She is a pleasure to work with and her team is amazing too! They were able to elevate our venue space and turn it into a cozy, but elevated vibe. We highly recommend working with Carla - she helped us coordinate with other vendors as well to bring in furniture/tableware. You are in great hands for anything decor when you work with Carla and her team!

ity! Literally the most beautiful florals, lighting, and help with all things decor. You will not regret choosing Elena’s Gardens for your floral, lighting, decor, or planning needs

ting, Carla's passion for her craft and clients was clear and her knowledge of the wedding industry was second to none. Most importantly Carla understood us and our wedding vision- we new instantly we wanted to work with her and could trust her to plan and design our special day. Carla and her team brought our wedding vision to life and it surpassed anything we could have ever dreamed of. Everything from floral design, flowers, decor, lighting was stunning. Everyone (even months after our wedding) has continued to remark how beautiful everything was and that is all thanks to Carla and the team at Elena's Garden Floral Design and Event Planning. Carla also was our wedding planner and she made the entire process seamless. She coordinated with all our other vendors which allowed my husband and I to be fully present on our wedding day and enjoy every moment of it. Carla is professional, organized, talented, and a joy to work with. There is not enough space allotted to fully recognize and celebrate how amazing Carla and the team at Elena's Garden Floral Design & Event Planning are. If you are reading this review all you need to know is the answer is "Yes" you need to hire Carla and the team at Elena's Garden Floral Design and Event Planning.

the weeks leading up to the wedding, knowing she had our backs. She was available by phone/text/call- and is a true professional in the wedding industry. When I arrived at our venue on the day of the wedding, I had tears of joy seeing my vision for the evening come to life. Her team was also friendly and professional- shout out Alice- she’s calm/cool/collected and had everything so organized for us. I love that Carla is a floral and design person as well as an excellent planner. I was so happy I was able to find BOTH of these services in the same person/team. Thank you Carla and thank you EG team!

on even with my lack my communication skills. Clearly I’m bad at words but she was able to understand and exceed expectations. I would use her for any other event that I have. Not to mention I had a short notice issue with a champagne wall that didn’t pan out and she was able to take all my worries away with this. I can’t say enough about her and her team if you are debating on hiring them, do it!!!

elp at getting my vision across the finish line and making our big day run smoothly. Carla was a fantastic help with our florals/decor and truly made our wedding so beautiful. Everything turned out more beautiful than my vision board!

on from the start, and went above and beyond to help execute it, and adhere to our budget. She is incredibly responsive, and also just so fun to work with. She helped keep us on track so honestly nothing was a stress!

start, Carla helped keep us on track with all the milestones leading up to our November wedding at CAA. Everything came together beautifully day of from the bouquet to our place settings! The whole day was perfect thanks to the whole team and I'm forever grateful!

as looking for and what vibe I wanted with all the colors and created a secret garden party for all our guests and it was amazing. I was blown away when I saw the room and our bouquets, I couldn't have asked for anything better or different!

our vision and answered our many questions going back and forth on flowers and the proposal until it was perfect. We had a sample meeting a month before our wedding and left feeling excited about the big day. My husband and I did a room reveal before our reception and when we walked in to our space on our day we truly were speechless. The vision was more than we could have imagined and it was absolutely breathtaking. Carla and her team's expertise took what we wanted and elevated it times a million. We will forever dream about that day and décor so if you are on the hunt for a florist and décor team, look no further, as Carla and her team ARE IT! Thank you Carla and team from the bottom of our hearts for making our day so special. xox

s available if we had any questions. It was a huge plus that they were able to subcontract the lighting design which allowed an amazing, coordinated look. Our wedding at Cafe Brauer ended up looking stunning and better than we could have ever imagined. Multiple wedding guests told us it was the most beautiful wedding they've been to. Thank you Elena's Garden for all your hard work!

eally took our input to heart all while keeping the arrangements unique and personal. Through all the stress of wedding planning she always made herself available via phone or email. Don’t hesitate to hire her and her team!!!

true and I still dream about my bouquet!!! I told my husband that he must custom order my bouquet on our anniversary for now until eternity! Carla was so easy to work with, always so responsive, and has an amazing, joyful personality that you want around when wedding planning. I had chills just from looking at her original floral proposal and my jaw was on the floor seeing her and her team's designs on our actual wedding day. Carla and team made our wedding the most perfect, beautiful day and working with her was seamless! She was able to take my vision and make it 1000% better than I could have ever imagined. I highly recommend working with her!

beautiful work and knew I had to work with them. Carla stuck with us through 2 years of COVID reschedules and a lot of changes and was so helpful navigating the whole process, even though their business had never been in a situation like that before either. I didn't have an "exact vision" for our wedding but Carla really understood what I wanted and was able to flush out a beautiful plan for everything. The Elena's Garden team truly thought of all the little details (they even made a flower collar for our dog!) and were so kind and just an overall pleasure to work with. We were so happy with the way everything turned out and are so grateful to Carla and her team for making our wedding day so special!

d you will not be disappointed. What you will experience is ease, relief, reassurance, support, attention to detail, great ideas for overall wedding design and flowers/decor, etc. Carla also has the hookup with many other vendors and friends in the industry as well. She will think of things that you haven’t and show you that all your bases are covered. She is always available by phone, email, text to go through any idea you have no matter how small you think it may be. She worked with us during the pandemic and postponing our wedding date 3x! She was a true Angel and I will miss her so much! It felt like she became a part of our family. Additionally, all of our bridal party, friends, parents raved about how thorough and accommodating (not to mention friendly and professional) on our wedding day. She is my #1 recommendation for all things wedding/event planning/coordinating and floral design! She will make any of your dreams or visions come to life in to time. Truly the dream team!! Thank you so much, we couldn’t have possibly done it without you.

ts on how beautiful the space was. The flowers and greenery made our intimate wedding feel so special and beautiful! Everything turned out even better than I had hoped! I would recommend Elena's Garden to anyone!

she made everything so easy. She was quick to come up with vendor suggestions, yet still gave me the freedom to pick the vendors I was already set on. She is extremely organized down to the last detail. Even as we got closer to the big day, she was able to break down all the larger tasks into smaller “homework assignments” that I was able to keep up with while working my 9-5. Fast forward to the day of my wedding: I found myself so calm and relaxed, and actually getting to eat breakfast while getting my hair and makeup done with my bridal party. Everything (including the tiny details) had been taken care of the days leading up. Our wedding was on a rainy Friday in October 2021, and we could not have asked for anything more! Everything was perfect! Thank you so much, Carla and team!

tra special with beautiful flowers and keeping me sane up to the big day a year later in Nov 2021! We truly can't say enough good things about working with Carla. We got so many compliments on the table settings for the wedding and flowers and also on how well she and her team kept the day running, including diligently keeping me hydrated (which both my husband and I very much appreciated). If you want a gorgeous wedding that goes off without a hitch don't think twice about Elena's Garden Floral Design and Event planning--I'd have a 3rd wedding with my husband just to get to work with her again :)

things under control before and during our big day. She and her team kept everybody on time and helped my wife and I with coordination and planning so that we had ZERO worries for our wedding. This isn't even mentioning the LOVELY attention to detail that Carla and her team put into floral decorations. We had a jaw-dropping backdrop, bouquets, and decorations for our big day. I can't get over how beautiful everything was. You honestly can't go wrong here - Elena's Garden was one of the best choices we made, and they will go the extra mile to make your wedding the best day of your life.

ere looking for, but after our first meeting with Carla , we knew we were in the right hands. Carla and the EG team are incredibly knowledgeable , creative and intentional. When we told our venue and caterer that Carla and EG would be there on our wedding day, they both were incredibly relieved and validated that we had made an amazing choice! It was clear to us that EG is highly respected in the wedding industry based off the positive feedback all of our vendors had to say before our wedding even started!

extremely organized, creative, and professional. She made sure that she understood our vision and vibe and executed it flawlessly. You can count on her to draw up a very thorough proposal and to be communicative throughout the entire planning experience. In terms of working with and orchestrating the event across other vendors, Carla is the perfect balance of "taking the reins" and being a collaborative, well-liked partner. Several of our other vendors mentioned how pleasant it was to work with Carla and the team and how grateful they were for Carla's organization and leadership. Perhaps most importantly, Carla never gets frazzled. Her calm and positive demeanor instills so much confidence and makes for a smooth experience throughout planning and on the wedding day. She will make you laugh, and when you see the photos, she will make you cry of happiness! Her work is beautiful!

ct for our wedding. Originally we were just not doing flowers and day of coordination but with postponing our wedding a year we ultimately decided to have Carla become our full time planner. This was one of the best decisions we made and wish I would’ve just done that to begin with. Over the 2+ years of knowing Carla I cannot begin to tell you how much help she is. From the million questions I randomly would come up with to the numerous calls and the heartbreak of postponing…Carla was there every step of the way in addition to being an amazing support system through this entire process. Carla and her team feel like family to us and I am so extremely grateful that I found them while planning for our wedding. I want to throw another big event just so I can have Carla help plan because it was so much fun! If anyone is even thinking about adding the EG team to their vendor list…just DO IT! The planning skills and florals are absolutely fabulous!!!

creatively brought it to life. Her creation set the stage for such a beautiful feeling in the space, overcoming potential quirky challenges with the space. Carla, we can't thank you sincerely enough!

her completely to make our decor amazing. After our first phone call we knew it was the perfect fit because she had a plan with ideas we had never seen before, had so much character, and really worked with our venue space. We also had issues coordinating set up time with our venue, and Carla was so flexible with everything and advocated for us through the whole process. Everything turned out beautifully and I cannot recommend Carla and her team enough!

g flowers were more than I could've imagined. My bouquet was a dream! Even through the craziness of Covid and constant changes and questions. Carla was very understand and flexible. Justin & I can't thank you and your team enough for making our wedding day so beautiful!

d delay, but she made the whole process so easy and fun! About 2 weeks before our wedding we met for coffee and ran through our "plan" one last time, which was really fun. Our wedding photos are stunning and it is so fun to get to see our beautiful bouquets and tables again :) Thank you Carla!!

commodated us through every date change. She is not only a talented floral designer, she is a lovely person and it was a pleasure working with her for our event. The florals were absolutely beautiful.

was a big stress factor for us and Carla's team took that task head on from the minute they joined. I absolutely loved the florals and decor at our wedding -- we got SO many compliments on it from guests. They also handled a last minute downpour magically and made the indoor ceremony so beautiful. Carla's team checked in on us throughout the evening and made sure we were taken care of all while still staying in the background. We cannot express how great her team was -- truly made our wedding so special.

me to life. She transformed rooms in a boutique hotel into romantic, eloquent, and beautiful spaces for a very special and memorable wedding! We hired Carla in 2019---and our wedding was in May 2021 due to COVID-19, and she was flexible, and creative when it came to the details, but held steady to what we discussed. She was very professional, cool, calm and collected. I am still looking at my bouquet 1 week later, which is absolutely beautiful and bursting with color. Thank you Carla for setting the mood for us and our guests to celebrate love. Sincerely, Shana and Reggie

to say, this past year with COVID has been really tough on both, couples getting married, and the events industry as a whole. Carla was there every step of the way to from being available to just listen to our concerns to helping guides us in making decisions along the way. We had reschedule our wedding from August 2020 to April 2021, and then 4 months prior, moved the venue from Chicago to Wisconsin due to restrictions. Every obstacle that was thrown her way, she was able to handle with ease, and made us feel completely comfortable and confident that our day was going to be perfect. She was also a great ally to have when we were faced with several difficult decisions from other vendors and logistics. In year with so much uncertainty, Carla was the one thing we could always count on. In addition to her coordinating, she also did our florals, I never really gave too much detail about what I wanted and fully trusted her creativity. When she brought the flowers the day of I was so impressed - she couldn't have done a better job. She included something that I had mentioned early on in the planning process that I wasn't sure was possible - it was perfect. My mom is still talking bout how beautiful all of the flowers were & her planning is being commended across our guests and families. We had a large bridal party & have a large family - and she did a great job at keeping them all in check and on time.

planning during a pandemic. She helped us think through all of our options multiple times as restrictions changed, and she always did so in such a professional, supportive and realistic way. When our wedding week finally came, it was clear that Carla was so focused on our event and making sure that what we wanted was happening and that all of the small details we had discussed would be brought to life. She also really helped us get excited and we had zero stress about our plans as we had full confidence in her and her team. They were so attentive to us on our wedding day and communicated efficiently with the other vendors and our guests. Their floral and decor were so gorgeous I teared up when I saw the ceremony and reception set ups. What they created was even better than I had imagined, and I will be dreaming about the back drop and my bouquet forever! I cannot think of another vendor that I would recommend more than Carla and her team at Elena's Garden. They are simply the best!

ding in Jan 2020 - fast forward to the pandemic - and 4, yes 4, wedding date changes and Carla put together the most perfect wedding for us on April 10, 2021. She coordinated everything for the date changes and made it seam so easy, although I am sure it wasn't. Our wedding flowers were absolutely stunning! Our original wedding was supposed to be a winter wedding and I liked the deep (non bright) colors she was preparing. Since we had to change our wedding to Spring, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to have our "warm, moody, romantic" Chicago wedding. But she pulled it off perfectly. She truly understood everything I wanted and executed on it with perfection. Finally, Carla is overall just a really great person. She's laid back and easy to talk to - even about things not wedding related. I was able to reach her whenever I needed her via text, phone or email. She always responded within a matter of minutes. You can't go wrong with choosing her. You are making the right decision!

. Carla was right there the whole time offering her flexibility and understanding. Ultimately, we changed the floral aesthetic and added an entirely different arrangement for the ceremony flowers - Carla made the right changes and transformed our backyard into the wedding venue of our dreams. I actually hadn't cried that day until I saw the flowers!! :) Could not recommend the EG team more highly! Thank you Carla for making our dream day!

r size, it still involved a lot of planning and a lot of work! We couldn't have done it without Carla and the results were beyond our imagination. Our yard was transformed and the flowers were amazing. We are so grateful and look forward to working with Carla on something again in the future.

eople in the wedding party, as well as flowers for the parents of the bride and groom and flower girls. I was on a limited budget but Carla made it happen- my flowers were beautiful! Carla was able to incorporate a piece of my jewelry in my bouquet as well. Highly recommend!

the overall vibe I wanted to achieve, and the color of my bridesmaid gowns.. thats it! She took that info and ran with it. This was also INCREDIBLY helpful because I was an out of town bride- so I couldn't meet with her in person for the main stages of planning. She was fantastic about being timely and giving me various options (with photos). She was very flexible with changing of guest counts, church restrictions, etc. Throughout the entire process I felt like I was in great hands (she even helped me decide on linens). At the wedding, soo many people came up to compliment me on the florals.. I would not have changed a single thing!

planner! Carla was able to take my ideas, budget and vision and create my dream look! The floral, candles, vibes, lighting and linens was everything I wanted and more! About two months before my wedding, I was extremely stressed and getting Carla's advice on a few things when she reminded me that she also helped with wedding coordination. Without any hesitation, I booked her for my big day! From that moment forward- Carla was everything to me for the next 60 days. She is so organized, positive, supportive and kind. Carla will fight to get things done right especially when there is a lot to juggle. I can easily say that hiring Carla and her team was the best choice I made during my wedding planning process, second of course to marrying the groom :)

She made sure that everything was just the way I wanted and I'm forever grateful. Fun to work with, great personality, can't say enough good things.

e listened to every detail we wanted and made our wedding experience unforgettable. She was able to execute exactly what we and then some. We highly recommend Carla and her team!

que), she also went above and beyond doing so much more. She helped us coordinate linens and place-settings, oversaw set-up of our venue, worked with our other vendors seamlessly and steered me in the right direction with design decision making. Unlike some vendors I talked to/worked with who just agreed with whatever I said (which made me question their value when they're the experts and I'm turning to them for help), Carla shared her honest opinions with me which helped me navigate the sometimes overwhelming decision-making that goes hand in hand with wedding planning - and make the best design decision possible for my big day. And she did so in the most kind and supportive manner. She truly was wonderful to work with - and incredibly talented. She worked within our budget and color constraints, never pressured us, and created truly stunning arrangements. She has fantastic taste, is so positive and down-to-earth, and was all-around the best vendor decision we made. We can't say enough good things.

nted or know anything about the floral process. FTD - I had to fill out a survey and felt frustrated that I had to choose styles and etc without talking to anyone. (Not necessarily bad, just not my style) After my first conversation, I knew that I was going to go with Elena’s Garden. Carla was responsive, thoughtful, honest, and patient throughout the planning process. I had some idea what I wanted, but Pinterest and instagram can really derail you in terms of honing in to what I really wanted. Carla was there to put that focus into my vision and worked with my budget. I also had a family only wedding as well and she excitedly volunteered to make a beautiful bouquet for that too. Lastly, I love that I got to work with Carla (the owner) directly and her lovely mother. It’s always great to support local, independent family businesses.

ome along for the ride". After learning where the heck I was trying to drag her, she said " we are in" and 10 months later, off to Emerald Lake Lodge in Banff, Canada we would go! I had more than a few wild ideas (including a backpack bouquet for hiking) and she never said something wasn't possible, but instead started taking my ideas and making them even more wonderful! Emerald Lake Lodge is a hidden gem in the Canadian Rockies and without and design or floral is already beautiful on its own, but what the Elena's Garden Team did was beyond my imagination! Guest were talking about how Carla didn't just deliver, but mastered the hygge feel I was going for. I am not even sure if anything went wrong the day of because Carla and her team handled it all without me ever noticing anything and allowing me to simple just be present and enjoy my special day. I recall shedding a tear or two during the ceremony, but when I first saw the room, I lost it ( I blame it on exhaustion haha) She found a way to include my adventure-esque touches mixed in with all the decadent brass candlesticks, lush greenery, eye striking pampas grass and made sure it was all dripping with rich blooms. Fairytales aren't just in the movies, Carla helped us create the perfect setting and day for our fairytale to come to life. Whether traveling to a mountain destination, or staying local to Chicago, do not look any further than Elena's Garden Floral and Design to make your dreams a reality!

didn't really feel like a priority or like our wedding was going to be unique. Carla listened to my vague description of what I wanted and came back with a beautiful proposal. She gave us multiple options for backdrops so that we could feel confident choosing one. And while the proposal was awesome, the flowers on the day-of were so much more incredible than I could have imagined. They were the absolute perfect fit for us! Carla impressed us so much from the get-go that we decided to go with her coordination services as well, and again, we are so happy that we did. She was an invaluable source of information, and it would have been so overwhelming to navigate things without her, both in the weeks before and on the day-of. She handled everything on our wedding day, from making sure that everything happened on time, to keeping us fed and watered, to bringing me an extra pair of shoes to dance in. We have to shout out the rest of her team, too, as they were phenomenal and very professional. Melissa accompanied the wedding party around town for pictures and was such a good sport (and saved me from freezing with her portable hand warmer). Throughout the whole process, I don't remember Carla ever telling us "no," which should give you an idea of her can-do attitude and fun and professional spirit!

ome to life. She is kind, detail-oriented and creative. If you let her work her magic, magic is what you will see on your wedding day! I have received so many compliments on our set up and flowers from our wedding and it's all thanks to Carla and her team. We are so grateful we found Carla and we can't recommend her enough!

a venue yet, but I knew that no matter where we ended up, it was going to look beautiful with Carla's touch. I knew just from the very first phone conversation that I wanted to hire her, because she was so personable, helpful, and I could tell paid great attention to detail and design. Carla actually ended up recommending the venue we ended up at, and it couldn't have been more perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Carla throughout the entire planning process, and when the day came, she and her team, honestly, blew me away. The florals were everything I could have dreamed up and more, and she made the venue look spot on with my vision. The colors, arrangements, and every little detail was just right, and I am still receiving compliments from guests on the florals from my wedding day almost a month later. Thank you Carla and team for creating the most beautiful day of my life - I would work with you again in a heartbeat :)