Instead of writing a review, I'll just post the email I sent to Yanni after our wedding so you can get a better idea of our experience with his company. Our wedding was Saturday October 11, 2014. Their entire staff was/is on top of their game, literally! We would recommend them to everyone! They made magic happen that day considering we had some room issues with our venue on top of everything. Hi Yanni, First and foremost, Catherine and I would like to thank you for the incredible display you and your team crafted for our wedding October 11th. It was impeccable!!! Still getting compliments on everything to this day. Folks were also saying they've never seen a mandap so beautiful in their lives (Indians). Great choice and architecture. I can truly see why you're a mastermind with your creations. We're beyond grateful you took on our wedding last minute. There's a reason why I picked you to call and that's because you are probably one of the best in the Midwest based off the research I had conducted. We hope we were one of your easier clients to deal with throughout the process. You guys made the room situation with Ashyana Banquets seemless as well! Another note I'd like to make of is Sylwia; she was amazing the entire journey! She's definitely a keeper because she goes well with your brand! And I mean it on all levels. From being high energy in her conversations on the phone, to the high energy and personal touch in her emails to even when meeting her in person the few times. She has never gotten annoyed, or changed her tone with me one bit like some of the other vendors I dealt with. Very solution based and every business needs folks like that on their team. Very professional and I am very critical of people when in any dealings. We wanted to let you know that we will remember that day as if it was just yesterday. Folks called it a fairy tale wedding. Thank you again for everything! Best, Ashish & Catherine read more

This company excels in creating and designing a beautiful wedding experience. They are creative, unique, and will offer you a magical experience from the very first time you meet with them. Sylwia is great to work with. She is very organized and keeps the birde/groom on track up until the day of the wedding. Overall, a very highly recommended company to work with. read more

Yanni, Shari, and Char did a great job preparing and executing our dream vision.They provided us with decor, flowers, and lighting. We would recommend them for all parties, not just weddings. We had a vision of what we wanted for our wedding at The Drake Hotel Chicago and they truly knew how to make it come true. They kept us updated throughout the whole process with photos and a detailed execution and decor plan. Yanni met with us three/four times and spent over two hours, each time, discussing every single detail. He was very forthright about what would look good and what would not be reasonable. Each time we met he would be professional and would easily connect with our parents. We love his dynamic personality and his sense of style. Although he is not Indian, he knew more about the culture then we expected. Yanni and his team went truly went above and beyond what we expected. They were very honest about expenses, execution time, and labor that would go into each event. They put thought to every detail, including Yanni booking a room at the hotel to make sure the mandap was brought in at 2am (to keep it a surprise for all the wedding guests and to not disturb the hotel guests). Even though our cake was very intricate and needed many, many flowers, Shari worked out each detail and made sure the cake looked beautiful the day of the wedding. Shari, Char and Yanni were easy to contact and always promptly and thoroughly replied to emails. Being professional, courteous, and reasonable they made our dreams come true at The Drake Hotel. Our guests commented they were in a dreamland when they entered the wedding/reception halls. Yanni and his team truly love what they do and you will experience that every step of the way. read more

They made my wedding look absolutely stunning. 3 years later, I still get compliments. Their customer service isn't the greatest and you're going to spend a lot of money, but it's so worth it. I couldn't believe how beautiful my wedding turned out, it was better than I even imagined. read more

We worked with Yanni Design Studio and their designer Shari for our 5/15 wedding. Everything looked unbelievable and we are extremely happy with the end result. Shari was very easy to work with; she is kind, creative and pays attention to detail. We highly recommend Shari and the Yanni Design Studio team. Astrid & Dino read more

First off, let me start by saying their decor is wonderful (if budget is not a concern). I really loved everything about the decor at my wedding, and it's exactly what I expected. However, I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the behind the scenes aspect of it. Let me say again, if budget is not a concern, then that's great. However, Yanni is 100% on the high end in terms of cost. From our initial meeting to our final cost, the price definitely doubled and was extravagant. During our meetings, we liked how prepared they were. I think you have to be clear in what you want from them because if you are not, Yanni will definitely tell you what he thinks, and it will be more expensive. We were reassured by Yanni that he and Sylwia would be at all our events and that since we booked them in 2016 for a 2018 wedding, they ensured us that we had the best team their company had (Yanni and Sylwia themselves) and that they would be at the events to ensure that everything runs smoothly. However, we did not see them at all at our events, and when we asked for them, we were told they weren't there. Yanni later admitted to us that he went to another wedding the day of our wedding and reception and was not there. Sylwia said she came in the middle of the night to make sure things were fine and then left. However, I got to our venue at 5am, and neither of them were there, which is fine, but there was literally nothing done. Not sure how they can claim they left when things weren't done. We had ordered a head table from Yanni (instead of our venue) that was round and would ensure that 9 people can be seen and placed on one side of it. When we showed up to our reception, instead of the round table, there was a small table with chairs all around it. That's not even the definition of a head table! We had a long discussion with Yanni, and we were actually told by previous clients to make it in our contract that Yanni and Sylwia must be there. I have another family friend using them soon, and he is going to make sure it's in his contract. My uncle ended up changing the tables and rearranging the centerpieces. We also had to move our own furniture around when we entered the Sangeet because it was not what we had asked for. Again, the point wasn't that things were messed up necessarily. It was the fact that Yanni and Sylwia will guarantee to you that they will be there, and they likely won't. My dad asked at every meeting if they would be there because his friend insisted to make it in our contract cuz they didn't show up to his daughter's event. So, please know that you will be paying a lot for wonderful decor but that you are also paying for Yanni and Sylwia to be at your event to troubleshoot anything and supervise everything as you are paying a lot of money for their services. However, their decor is great and they definitely are high end, but with that, please ensure that Yanni and Sylwia will be at your event! Include it in the contract! PS: We talked to Yanni on the phone and told him exactly what we would write as a review. read more

I recently had my ceremony, centerpieces and bridal/party flowers done by YDS and all I can say is that they greatly surpassed my expectations! Everything was beautiful and my friends and family were so impressed. Katie, Yanni's assistant, is professional and extremely prompt with all responses. I have recommended them to my friends who have recently become engaged! Unlike some other posters, I had no issues with them meeting me within my budget, which was less than 4k. They are the best! read more

Working with Yanni and his team, from day 1, was amazing. They were incredibly well organized and well informed about our venue, and Yanni was creative from the get go about ways to solve for our party size and incorporate special touches. They made the whole experience, which can be a bit overwhelming, easier to digest and helped navigate step by step the level of detail we needed to think about. Shari, who took over for execution, was terrific and great at reading my taste and leading us to good choices. She was also mindful of budget and helped me trim in an effective way which was still beautiful in got rave reviews from guests. We didn't have to worry about a think on day of, and they did a great job of repurposing flowers from the Indian style ceremony into the western style reception. We couldn't be happier with the process and results and highly recommend! read more

Excellent job! Exceeded our expectations with the mandap they made for our wedding. Have to be careful at times with budgeting, but overall have no regrets choosing Yanni for our wedding, and would definitely recommend! read more

Yanni and Sylwia were a pleasure to work with - we had a wonderful experience. Most of all, every aspect of our wedding weekend from Sangeet to Wedding to Reception was beautiful, elegant, and flawless. read more

Yanni & Mae did an incredible job making our vision a reality. My reception was breathtakingly beautiful and they were so easy to work with the whole way. It was a very seemless process and extremely enjoyable. read more

Yanni Design Studio not only met our expectations but also exceeded them. When we met with Yanni he insisted that when it comes to ambiance you either do it right or you don't do it at all. (He was right!) This studio and its designer are the masters in the "wow effect" in the wedding design process. We had a great time at our wedding and all of our guests loved Yanni's creation from the floral design to the lighting. Customer service was excellent and we definitely recommend them to anyone that puts as much time as we did on planning the big day. Thank you!!! read more

Wish I could give them more. I have heard great things but when I called them for our small wedding in Chicago they said they couldn't do it unless we had a $5000 minimum. We have a decent budget but they didn't ask that. She was nice but it was off-putting that they refused to work with us. read more

We had a very poor experience with Yanni's business practice and their customer service. We paid Yanni everything upfront and an entire year prior to our wedding date. Then it was 3 weeks until our wedding when they called and said that they were understaffed and required an extra $500.00 or else we could get another vendor to do our wedding. Which I'm sure you know, at 3 weeks it's too late to find someone else to design your wedding. This pretty much forces you to cough up the extra $$$. Apparently what they do is quote the venue and what you request to be done, then the design team / management doesn't look at anything until its 3 weeks from your reserved wedding date. To me this is very poor business practice, because if anything needs to be changed or additional charges arise you will be hit with these charges right before your wedding and I'm sure you can imagine that this is the worst time to have to deal with such things. Also, the customer service we received throughout this was poor and they came off as arrogant. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have NOT hired Yanni and searched for another design studio. read more

5 Stars all the way! To be honest Yanni was not my first choice for wedding decor, I kind of had my heart set on a different company, but after seeing the other companies wedding decor vision for us, which I liked, I couldn't get past the sticker shock when the quote came in and thought to myself this is crazy! So enters Yanni, which my husband picked out for us, as soon as I met Yanni I knew I wanted to work with him. He is like the Greek "Frank from Father of the Bride". He's very direct and very outgoing and the one thing he said that I will never forget is, "I won't tell you what to do, but I'll tell you what to do." ha! Once you meet him you'll get it. Anyways, as it was close to our wedding, we didn't have time to see a room set-up but he did give us examples of what his vision was and I was very impressed. I am just going to tell that even though I didn't get to see the room prior, my mouth dropped when I walked into our ballroom to walk down the aisle with my dad. IT WAS AMAZING! The flowers were bigger then my head, so colorful, so gorgeous....I can't praise him enough, he's so talented. Brides-to-be some advice for you is to just trust him and don't stress about it b/c you will be amazed. The other bonus is he will work within your budget and not cut corners, and you'll get more for your money with Yanni. read more

When it comes to wedding room design Yanni Design Studio is the most unique and innovative in the Chicagoland area. Having photographed hundreds of weddings receptions I can say with confidence Yanni knocks it out of the park every time unlike any other vendor. The staff members are professional and go above and beyond to exceed expectations. Tara is a wonderful design coordinator to work with- she is organized, prompt, and most important, exceedingly talented at what she does. If you're looking for a reception fairy tale, go see Tara at Yanni Design Studio. read more

I cannot say enough about Yanni Design! We worked with Shari for our July 2014 wedding, and the flowers and room design transformed both our church and wedding venue into a breathtaking romantic garden. I am still getting compliments on how exquisite the centerpieces and bouquets were. In addition 3 different centerpieces motifs and the bridal party bouquets, we reused reception flowers for the church, decorated the pews of our church, draped our entire ballroom reception venue (which they had never done before), had room uplighting, and had a cake topper and floral detailing created for the cake-- all of which were flawless. Yanni Design is extremely professional and accommodating when it comes to scheduling and working within your budget. Shari was always upfront with cost differences and ways to get a similar look while saving a bit of a money. A week before the wedding she even threw in a few wired single flowers as hair pieces for my flower girls for free! In addition to the fantastic results, the single most remarkable thing to me was Shari's artistic ability with flowers. She was able to create a beautiful experience for us off of my very loose ideas of what I wanted. I literally told her some things I didn't want, have her a few adjectives describing what I was going for, and gave her a collection of Pinterest photos of bouquets I liked. That's it: I didn't even give her any names of flowers or specific colors, and she blew us away with the entire design scheme. I was simply amazed with the result. We are recommending Yanni Design to all our friends getting married. You can't go wrong if you chose them--you will not be disappointed! read more

Even though the flowers turned out beautifully, the process of getting us there was far from pleasant. We felt that Yanni and his assistant Kati tried to deliver the least and charge the most. It took a lot of work and back and force negotiations to finally get the results we wanted. read more

I have always invisioned my wedding ever since I was a little girl. Last year I got engaged to a wonderful man, and I started planning my dream wedding. I've always loved flowers. I still do. I have them in my house at all times. I knew that I wanted to go all out on my wedding flowers. I wanted to do something over the top, and beautiful. So after we booked our hall, they gave us a pamphlet for Yanni's. I saw the cover of it, and fell in love instantly. I knew I wanted to hire them to do my wedding. So the next day we met with Tara, and went over a bunch of options, colors, designs, etc. I love the color purple, so that's the color we choose for our arrangments. We picked 2 different ones. When we first walked into the hall after of ceremony, I was speechless. It looked absolutely stunning. Yanni's did an amazing job. We were so happy with everything. Anytime I had a question or concern, it was answered with no hesitation. I was incredibly happy about that. My wedding was absolutely 100% everything I ever wanted and more. It was a day we will never forget. I am so glad we chose to hire Yanni's. I will reccommend them to anybody and everybody! read more

I don't even know where to begin. Stephanie Jacobson absolutely turned my wedding visions into a reality. The decor was so beautiful! As an out of town bride, Stephanie accommodated my schedule so well, from emails to phone calls, she worked with me as I continued to change my mind on decor ideas up until the week before our wedding. She was also honest in her opinion when I asked for feedback, that's what I appreciated the most. If she didn't think something would go, she told me and that helped me tremendously in making decisons. Stephanie, thank you for making my wedding so beautifull. I will never forget the moment when I saw my mandap for the first time and all I could say was "wow". I was absolutely blown away with every single detail. read more

Yanni's floral arrangements were absolutely breathtaking! The final masterpiece that was unveiled at the reception was more than my husband and I could ever imagine. I remember the first time I saw one of my floral arrangements, which was at the second meeting at the design studio. I was so excited. I couldn't believe how full, tall, and gorgeous the centerpiece was - and it was only a sample piece. It was the perfect arrangement of orange and yellow roses with hand painted hydrangeas, willow branches, and many other flowers mixed in. The attention to detail was exceptional. The day of the wedding I couldn't have asked for anything better as well. The bridal party flowers were delivered on time and individually marked for each attendant, making it easier to distribute. All the bridesmaids were just mesmerized by their bouquets (as well as I). Words cannot express how everything looked.Thank you for making my day so memorable. People are still talking about it. read more

Our wedding was magical! Yanni Design Studio did an incredible job creating the perfect look for our wedding. Sylwia and Yanni listened to what we wanted and executed the centerpieces, florals and other decor beautifully and with great attention to detail. The room was transformed into an elegant, real-life fairy tale that was beyond my greatest expectations. A special thanks to Sylwia for her guidance throughout the process and her devotion to assisting me in accomplishing the wedding of my dreams. She is amazing! read more

I honestly cannot say enough WONDERFUL things about Yanni Design Studio! Planning a wedding can be hectic and surprisingly enough, not every vendor you work with will be helpful. This was not the case with Yanni. Our designer was Shari and she was absolutely amazing from our first meeting to our last. She was very knowledgeable and worked with me to make all of my ideas come to life! They were able to work within our budget and still create beautiful pieces. I had SO many compliments on my flowers, from the bridesmaids bouquets to the amazing centerpieces. The pin lighting that Yanni used just made everything come together at our reception. I am still in complete awe when I look at pictures of the flowers on my wedding day! I highly recommend Yanni Design Studio!! read more

Yanni is NOT a designer, he's a thief. This guy quotes you prices in estimates and then after you sign the contract, prices start changing. There are plenty of designers out there that will do jobs just as well and even better than this guy. He sells people a dream and feeds off of your emotions because he knows it's your wedding day and he can! Stay away!! read more

If you are getting married, there is NO ONE you should go to other than Yanni. I have been told by dozens of people that this was the most spectacularly decorated wedding they had ever seen -- and some were employees of the venue for 20+ years! Thats a true testament to Yanni and his team. Sylwia was a dream to work with. My mom made some demanding requests, and she executed with such grace. Yanni himself was also involved in the planning, which is truly rare to have the actual owner be hands-on. This was especially important, as it put us at ease during the vetting process. I gave them my vision (enchanted winter forest) and they created a few sketches on a blue print, which brought my vision to life even moreso than i could have ever imagined up myself. One non-negotiable was a marble floor, which I knew would be tricky, since a lot of the vinyl covers either look incredibly fake or cheap. They gave me several samples and the finish product looked like TRUE marble imported from Italy! My decor was one-of-a-kind, and I will forever be grateful to YDS for this. My wedding is still the buzz amongst friends and family all thanks to you guys! 5/5 HIGHLY recommend! read more

I hired yanni design studio team for decoration at my grand indian-catholic wedding. Yanni's team was very profession. I worked with Lauren who is an amazing person. Very professional and hardworking. She tried her best to accommodate all my request. I changed my mind a week before the wedding with the decoration and she was very nice about it and made all the changes that I requested. She was always reachable thru phone as well as email. She also helped me at times when I found myself confused with the color choices especially with floral choices. I would highly recommend Yanni design studio to any bride who is looking for a dream wedding. read more

We used Yanni for our wedding at Bolingbrook Golf Club in July. They completely exceeded my expectations. Shari was wonderful to work with. Yanni was professional from start to finish. They took our questions, any hesitations we had and were willing to help. They were there before, during, and after the wedding. We didn't have to worry about anything. It was so reassuring to know that they would hold up their end entirely and then some! For that, it was worth it to spend the money. Not to mention, the flowers were so gorgeous! They were exactly what I wanted with the look I was going for. The uplighting that they did made our room look so magical. We couldn't be more pleased. Highly highly recommend Yanni! read more

My daughter and I worked with Yianni and and his designer, Stephanie, for my daughter's wedding on 9/19/15. It was a dream working with such creative and talented people. They created a stunning autumn paradise at the Church and in the Ballroom!! The Bride and Groom were amazed as they entered the Ballroom The WOW factor was over the top!!! Our guests felt they were so special to be part of the celebration! I thank Yianni and Stephanie for their guidance, creativity and professionalism. I have worked with other floral designers in the past.....Yianni Design Studio is without any question...THE BEST!!! Thank you, Thank you!! read more

Tara, our project manager, made all of our wedding dreams come true. Starting with the wedding ceremony, the flowers at the church were simply lovely. All the flowers for the wedding sponsors, groomsmen, bridesmaids and bridal and groom parents were simply perfect. The wedding reception was something out of a fairy tale. The floral globes were amazing. The table center pieces were gorgeous. All our wedding guest could not stop taking pictures or talking about how magnificent the flowers were at our ceremony and reception. We cannot thank Tara and all of the people of Yanni Design Studio for making our wedding an unforgettable event. We highly recommend Yanni Design Studio for your wedding event. It is worth every dollar. read more

Yanni's was great to work with. We initially saw their work at the Schaumburg Bridal Expo and thought it was beautiful. I assumed they must be ultra-expensive because their work was so elegant and sort of a step-up, so to speak, from what one usually sees. However, when I reviewed their prices, they fell into the average range for what one can expect to pay for flowers, from what I saw in magazines and online. Of course, one can go more pricey or less, but we were looking in a moderate range. Tara was very helpful. She was responsive and flexible, and made sure that I didn't forget deadlines or appointments for making decisions. We initially met with her and looked at numerous pictures to pick out our style preferences and then discussed colors. The center pieces and bridesmaids bouquets really turned out fantastic and "wowed" a lot of people. The way that they decorated every aspect of our wedding made it feel extra special, and I would definitely recommend them and use them in the future if I were looking for floral decoration at an event. Also, when we said that we were using Yanni's to our photographer and our reception hall owners, both responded with something along the lines of, "Oh, Yanni's. They always look great," even implying that they did a job above and beyond many other florists. read more

From the very beginning, we had a wonderful experience with Yanni Design Studio. I can not say enough good things. We used them for our wedding on 12/20 at a venue Yanni does not commonly work at. Our first meeting was so exciting and full of great ideas that I felt excited my whole way home and knew I wanted to work with Yanni and his team. Yanni helped to transform a venue that was not at its best. His team, including Stephanie, made the place stunning the actual day of our wedding. I could not even imagine it would look the way it did. They improvised a bit day of and made it even more beautiful than we originally talked about. We received countless compliments on the decor and some people did not even realize our ceremony and reception were in the same room after the team flipped it from the ceremony to reception. Overall, Yanni Designs is VERY organized, on time, professional and just all around great! Working with them was a pleasure and they are truly talented. I HIGHLY recommend Yanni Design Studio for any event. This was my favorite part of the wedding and was not disappointed. They are worth every penny! Thank you to Yanni, Stephanie, Char and the production team! read more

I had the best experience working with Yanni Design Studio for my wedding in January. I worked with Sharri, who was so kind and helpful. She really took the time to make sure she understood my vision and knew exactly how to execute it perfectly. She listened to all of my crazy ideas and found a way to make them happen, making sure everything was still elegant. My theme was winter wonderland and they created just that. My guests were awe struck by the scene they created and how they transformed the room from ceremony to reception. Everyone is still talking about the decor, lighting , and florals. Yanni Design Studio made all of the appointments and preparations up to the wedding absolutely stress free. And I never had to worry once on the wedding day. I came in to the venue and everything was already set up and looked absolutely amazing. I highly recommend Yanni Design Studio to anyone planning a wedding or special event. They will make your planning stress free and you will end up with an unforgettable event. read more

My sister used Yanni's 5 years ago, and they did SUCH AN AMAZING JOB! I knew I wanted to use Yanni's but tried to be smart and shopped around with other design companies. Luckily, Yanni's prices were competitive and I was happy they were able to work within our budget. The customer service was right on target with what I wanted! We worked with Tara Cox and she was AMAZING and so helpful and patient with me throughout our emails, meetings, and overall planning. I know nothing about flowers and was nervous about our centerpieces (we had 3 different styles) but they turned out better than I could have dreamt! The backdrop was breathtaking and Yanni's was the talk of my wedding as everyone kept commenting on how beautiful the centerpieces and backdrop was! We used pin-lighting which really helped showcase all our centerpieces. Our backdrop had uplighting in the amber color (which Tara suggested) and it was just so elegant and gorgeous!!! We couldn't be happier and hope future brides chose Yanni's because it really makes the entire day breathtakingly beautiful! read more