Chicago's Wholesale Florist — Local services in West Chicago Township

This place is awesome! I had such a great experience visiting as a DIY bride. Before arriving, I had a lot of questions and anxiety about how to purchase flowers. Joe helped me understand the process of the warehouse, what was usually available, and when and how to order the flowers I needed.

Everyone was very welcoming and kind to me despite my novice status. However, there are a few tips I could offer to DIY florists who want to facilitate a smooth and tactful visit!

This is a warehouse. There is no storefront. Yes, it is open to the public. Depending on the day there are flowers out that you can look at and purchase by the bunch. It looks intimidating but when I arrived people were excited to greet me.

Most of their business is done before 8 am. I went on a Tuesday morning after 8. The schedule changes but right now Tuesday is their slowest day. Therefore, I was able to easily look around and talk to people without feeling like I was getting in their way.

Be direct about what you’re doing. There’s no assigned sales associate to answer your questions. Friendly workers may follow you around to see if you need help. If you need time to figure out what you want, let them know you’re only browsing so they can carry on their normal duties until you’re ready.

Joe was very open to being accommodating with my order. So, if you want specific quantities of something that are less than a box's worth, you can definitely ask. However, for the most part, I wouldn’t expect to order unique or out of season things at less than box quantities.

Feel free to come with a list of flowers you’re looking for. Joe can recall prices per bunch and box quantities instantaneously and you're going to want to write it down. Ideally, i'd have a table with names and space to write "box quantity", "bunch price," stocked colors and "available substitutions".

If you want specific colors, come with a picture. Joe is kinda a like a database translator. The names of colors don’t help him as much as you’d think because growers list them under different titles. But if you show him a picture, he can find it in seconds or offer an alternative. It's pretty impressive.

Remember, they’re wholesalers. Talking to the public is not their core job responsibility. Joe was really fun and happy to talk with us but after about 10-15 minutes of answering many questions about pricing and flower types I could tell he was conflicted with wanting to be attentive but needing get back to his regular work. So, use your time wisely!

Thank you so much Joe and.... I think it was Charlie? I'm so sorry I can't remember. I look forward to...

These guys are my go-to.

So I didn't know what I didn't know about flowers before going to Chicago's Wholesale, but I learned a ton from the people who work there about what constitutes quality in a flower and how different arrangements work together for different occasions. The people working there really helped me pick out the right flowers for the occasion. I researched a bunch of different places and these guys were by far the most professional, helpful, and frankly a lot cheaper without sacrificing anything. I ended up looking like a hero to my fiance because of this place, heh.

I recommended these guys to two friends for their weddings and both friends ended up using these guys. You will learn more about flowers, save a significant amount of money that you can instead use on something else, and get really beautiful flowers that people will go on and on about how beautiful the arrangements are. So when flowers come up in conversation (now that I went there I notice it a lot more) I always say "I know a guy," and refer them here. These guys are like professional...

I am a florist in California and my niece asked me to do the flowers for her wedding last week. I had a list of flowers that I needed and was able to walk in and buy from the cooler. They sell to the public but their prices are reasonable. They are VERY helpful and kind there and answer any questions you might have. Since I was traveling and staying at an Airbnb I didn't have all the tools I needed (like buckets). John and his team were kind enough to lend me some buckets (I offered to rent) and he said I could just borrow them and return them. This was a big life saver and helpful. Their prices are affordable and they have a pretty good selection of the standard flowers I was looking for. I needed some items like white stock which they were sold out of but I was able to sub it with some really nice white snapdragon. Anyway, if I lived in Chicago they would be vendors that I would use regularly just based on their customer service and...