Your Friend With Flowers
chicago Wedding Florist | SERVING CHICAGOLAND COUPLES SINCE 2017
I'm Michaela, a Chicago wedding florist, former wedding planner, and believer that beautiful celebrations begin with caring for people well. My planning background taught me that the best wedding days aren't just beautiful -- they feel effortless for everyone involved.
Over the years, I've found that my favorite couples aren't simply planning a beautiful wedding day -- they're creating an experience that feels thoughtful, personal, and deeply meaningful to everyone involved.
If that sounds like you, you're in the right place.
I've always believed beautiful flowers are only part of the story. The most memorable celebrations are the ones where people feel welcomed, cared for, and surrounded by joy.
- You care deeply about making guests feel welcomed and celebrated.
- You believe the best celebrations are both beautiful and meaningful.
- Timeless and personal feels more like you than trendy.
- You want guests to remember how they felt, not just how it looked.
- You'd rather invest in a meaningful experience than impress strangers on Instagram.
- And yes, you probably never leave Trader Joe's without flowers.
When we work together, my goal isn't simply to design beautiful wedding flowers.
It's to help create an experience that feels seamless, intentional, and genuinely cared for -- from our first conversation to the final installation on your wedding day.
Because flowers aren't just decoration.
They're one of the ways we welcome people, celebrate relationships, and create moments that will be remembered long after the day is over.
Thoughtful design. Exceptional experience. Genuine care.
These three values guide every decision I make -- from designing your florals to caring for the people gathered around them.
A few things we might have in common...
Where Flowers First Took Root
Some of my favorite childhood memories were spent outside -- watching things bloom, learning patience, and discovering that the smallest seeds often become the most beautiful parts of a garden.
When Papee passed away in 2024, we continued growing some of his poppies in my parents' yard. Each spring, they return as a quiet reminder of the people who shape us, the traditions we carry forward, and the beauty that can outlive us. In fact, when it came time to create my brand, I asked for subtle poppies to be woven throughout the artwork and floral details as a small tribute to him.
When our daughter Eloise James was born, we honored Papee by giving her his first name. Now, she's learning to garden too.
I think that's part of why flowers have always meant so much to me.
They're present for life's biggest moments and its hardest ones. They help us celebrate, remember, honor, and connect. Long before I ever designed a wedding, they taught me that beauty has a way of bringing people together.
James "Papee" Hamilton
Eloise James Mantarian
Me - 1996
Four generations connected by flowers, dirt under our fingernails, and a shared appreciation for watching something beautiful grow.
The flowers I design today are rooted in lessons that began long before weddings entered the picture.
Me & Mom
I've always believed flowers speak a language all their own.
They're there for us on our best days and our hardest ones. They help us celebrate, honor, welcome, remember, and love. They transcend culture, language, and generations -- connecting people in ways words sometimes cannot.
Perhaps that's why I've always felt drawn to them.
Before becoming a florist, I worked in wedding planning. That experience taught me that the most meaningful celebrations aren't necessarily the most elaborate. They're the ones where people feel welcomed, cared for, and fully present in the moment.
Today, that belief shapes everything I do.
I care deeply about beautiful flowers and continually honing my craft. But I care just as much about the experience surrounding them -- the emails answered quickly, the details remembered, the vendor team cared for, and the feeling that your celebration matters.
Because it does.
While weddings are what brought us together, what we're really celebrating is the beginning of a marriage, surrounded by the people who know and love you most. Your wedding day only happens once, and I believe it deserves to feel just as important to your vendor team as it does to you.
It's a privilege I never take lightly.
With so much gratitude,
written from the desk of Michaela Mantarian.
A Personal Letter from me, to you.
D
M
ear Friend,
The values guiding every design, decision, and celebration.
The Heart Behind My Work
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I spend many weekends surrounded by weddings, but for my couples, this day only happens once.
That's why I approach every celebration with fresh eyes, thoughtful care, and the belief that no detail is too small when it matters to the people experiencing it.
My goal isn't simply beautiful flowers. It's helping create a wedding day that feels thoughtful, meaningful, and deeply cared for -- from your first conversation to the final installation.
No. ONe
Every Couple Gets One Wedding Day
Most florists spend their careers perfecting their floral design skills. I believe hospitality deserves the same attention.
For me, creating an exceptional experience means more than designing beautiful flowers. It's answering emails promptly, anticipating needs, caring for the vendor team, and making every couple feel like they're my only couple.
Because while beautiful flowers are remembered, so is the way people made you feel.
Hospitality Matters As Much As Design
Before flowers, I worked in wedding planning & that experience continues to shape the way I serve my couples today.
It taught me how dozens of moving pieces come together to create a seamless celebration, how to anticipate needs before they arise, and how the smallest details can have the biggest impact on a wedding day.
While my role today centers around floral design, I still approach every wedding with the same big-picture perspective: creating beautiful flowers that not only look stunning, but work thoughtfully within the flow of the day.
A Planning Background That Serves You
I love a beautiful reception as much as anyone, but the ceremony will always be my favorite part of the wedding day.
It's the reason we're all there.
The flowers, the music, the guests, the celebration -- every detail ultimately points back to that moment when two people begin a new chapter together.
Long after the bouquets are set down and the tables are cleared, what remains is the marriage itself. That's why I believe the most meaningful celebrations don't just look beautiful -- they honor the significance of what is taking place.
The Ceremony Is The Heartbeat
Beautiful flowers will always matter to me. But what matters most is what they represent.
They're there for life's biggest celebrations and its hardest goodbyes. They help us honor, remember, welcome, and connect. In many ways, flowers are a universal language -- one that transcends backgrounds, traditions, and even words themselves.
That's why every design begins with people first. Because the most meaningful flowers aren't simply beautiful -- they help tell the story of the lives they're celebrating.
Thoughtful Design Tells A Story
A Few Things Bringing Me Joy Lately
Life Lately on Peony Lane
AFTERNOON RITUALS
Around 3pm most afternoons, my Apple Watch helpfully reminds me that "traffic is light" to Starbucks in Bourbonnais. My order changes with the seasons (a lavender latte in spring, an Americano in fall) but the ritual stays the same: a few quiet minutes before diving back into flower recipes, timelines, and emails.
SEASONAL JOYS
These days, summer feels a little magical. Pool days with Eloise, late sunsets, backyard dinners, and a wedding season in full bloom. It's a season that reminds me to slow down, stay present, and savor the little moments before they become memories.
What I'm Cultivating
Some of my favorite childhood memories were made with dirt under my fingernails. These days, that looks like teaching Eloise how to garden, watching Papee's poppies bloom each spring, and being reminded that the most meaningful things in life rarely happen overnight.
ON PEONY LANE
These days, life revolves around Joe, Eloise, backyard pool days at our home on Peony Lane, Disney trip planning, and finding reasons to pull out the fancy plates on an ordinary Tuesday. I've learned that celebrations don't have to be grand to be meaningful & that's a philosophy that follows me into every wedding I design.
If you've made it this far, chances are we care about many of the same things.
The Beginning of Something Beautiful
Beautiful design.
Meaningful celebrations.
Guests who feel welcomed.
A wedding day that feels deeply personal and entirely your own.
I'd be honored to hear what you're dreaming up.