Art of Imagination

We had a similar experience as many people who have reviewed A of I. Before we signed a contract we had several delays with quotes and revisions of proposals. Because we were already on a short timeline with planning, the insecurity of whether we would have nice lighting at our wedding added unnecessary stress to the planning process.
Once we signed, Deborah was reliable and responsive. She came to the walkthrough at our venue and clearly knew what she was doing. When we arrived on the evening of the ceremony the lighting and draping was breathtaking. It made the venue glow beautifully with that warm yellow light that I love on a cold Chicago night. She hung several chandeliers inside that added so much class and character to the venue. Her work was perfect! Once we got through the initial stress we ended up being very happy with Deborah.

Deborah is great and a pleasure to work with. They are definitely pricey but you are paying for the service and expertise. There was a slight issue due to the weather at our environment and they handled it like pros. Highly Recommend. Used for café lights, drapes, uplighting.

Reached out to inquire about décor for our venue, and since my initial conversation with Deborah there has been a lack of response and she was very unprofessional. She kept promising to send her ideas and quotes and over a month has passed with no replies to any of my emails.
We decided if this is how she conducts business prior to the wedding, we will be a stand still closer to and possibly could ruin our perfect day. We went ahead with a different company and MDM Entertainment has been absolutely amazing, responsive and great at meeting our budget!

We had our wedding at the Rookery this spring and Deborah’s team draped the whole place. Everything looked gorgeous and we’re still getting complements on how beautiful the event turned out.
My main issue was the lack of professionalism leading up to the event — we had problems booking with them and the assistant was very unresponsive. As the wedding neared, I never received a phone call or follow-​up about their «new fabrics» (as Deborah mentioned were coming out in Jan 2015). This vendor was not my main priority so I didn’t press them, but I was disappointed with their communication throughout the planning process.
Because there were no issues day-​of, I think ⁴⁄₅ stars is appropriate.

Just wanted to add a one-​star review for lack of responsiveness from Art of Imagination.
We met with Deborah in June and were promised a proposal. We followed up in July, and like others, Maggie responded with an excuse-​Deborah was out of town. We never heard from Art of Imagination again and never received a proposal.
We went with Elegant Event Lighting.

I love Deborah and her team! Extremely creative, artistic, unusual, one of a kind, nice, easy to work with, funky, fresh, fun, and the list goes on! She can come up with magnificent ideas and can read what a person wants very well! She knows how to execute everything… even when it seems impossible. I wouldn’t go with any other décor company but AOI!

Art of Imagination helped us with our mandap for our Hindu ceremony. We were planning our wedding from out of town and only met with them twice, and day-​of, everyone was talking about how beautiful our mandap was! We only gave Art of Imagination a couple photos for inspiration, and they completely made it happen. They were great to work with, receptive to our questions and needs, and seamless worked with our venue. Highly recommend!

Art of Imagination was the reason why we enjoyed our wedding as much as we did!!! Deborah is absolutely amazing to work with — she is so passionate, is so artistic, has such a great vision of what can be done to completely transform a space. Deborah listened to our vision for lighting and décor, and was able to create exactly what we wanted. When our venue suddenly switched locations very close to our wedding, Art of Imagination was our stronghold during that time and made sure that we would still get the vision we wanted despite being in a different location. Deborah and her team worked tirelessly to make sure the vision we had in the old location would still be captured in the new location. Deborah even stayed throughout our entire wedding ceremony to make sure that everything would be perfect.
We received so many compliments of how nice the decoration and lighting was at our venue, and are so grateful that we chose Art of Imagination to be a part of our wedding.

Extremely expensive for the quality you receive, and less than convenient ways to pay. If we had a choice I’m sure we could’ve found a better deal elsewhere, but our venue exclusively works with ART.

Brides beware… extremely unprofessional. I had a meeting scheduled with Deborah for over a month to discuss wedding décor. As her schedule is extremely busy, I had taken off of work and made myself available for an 11:00 am time slot on August 13^th that she selected for me. On the day of our meeting, Deborah had her assistant, Maggie, text and call me about an hour before our meeting stating, «unfortunately due to a last minute walk though for this weekend we need to cancel our appointment today for 11:00. Please give me a call to see when you are available to reschedule.» I informed her that I am unavailable to reschedule. I had three problems with this: 1) how did she not know about a walk through for an event that was two days away, 2) she had no consideration for my time by cancelling our meeting approximately an hour before our meeting was to commence, and 3) if you cancel on me about an hour before our meeting to discuss décor, how can I count on you to follow through and not cancel on me on the day of my wedding?

While Deborah’s comment is a great way to save face in front of Unilocalers, it is not true. I was there to drop off things for my wedding 2 days before, That is when I noticed that all my wedding decorations were up and that another wedding rehearsal was going on for a wedding that was happening the next day. I called Deborah to let her know because I didn’t think it was fair and she said that there was nothing that she could do and she didn’t get paid for the event that was happening the day before so she got nothing out of it as well.

Art of Imagination decorated for my wedding on 5÷10÷2014 at Loft on Lake.
Deborah and her team are absolutely AMAZING!!!
From the very beginning she was fantastic to work with. She understood my vision from day one and made me feel completely comfortable. The space was beyond amazing the day of! BEAUTIFUL!!!
Deborah is so talented and I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten to work with her!

If you are looking for a company who can transform a boring room, create an environment that will make you feel love, happiness, and tranquility — pick Art of Imagination.
From the start, meeting Deborah was a warm and patient, made us feel comfortable, was engaging and listened to all our ideas while adding great suggestions from her past experiences and projects.
We felt more like family rather than another couple or company who needed pipes and drapes with lighting. She not only listened to our ideas, but on the the day of the event, transformed the rooms into pieces of art and even threw in a few extra bells and whistles that made it even more special. It added the grandeur we needed to make it classic, timeless and unforgettable.
Thanks Art Of Imagination. Your work rocked! Our guests loved what you had done, and most of all, we will always be grateful to your friendship and hard work.

Deborah from Art of Imagination was one of my favorite vendors! She truly understood my vision and outdid herself. She helped transform the white canvas at Room 1520 into a romantic and gorgeous evening.
I loved the meetings with Deborah. She is so talented and her prices are completely fair! She was even kind of enough to make sure our chandelier was hung for the dessert table.
Lighting makes a huge difference and with Deborah you will never have to worry about streaky or tacky lighting.
I know some reviews mention the lack of communication. That’s only in the beginning with the proposal and honestly seems to be quite normal with wedding vendors. Be patient and trust that she will deliver.

My wife and I were really impressed when we met with Deborah at Art of Imagination. We hired AOI to add the much-​needed ambiance, color, and style to theme our wedding at Stan Mansion. Deborah has a relationship with Stan Mansion and does lighting at the majority of events there, and has reasonable pricing.
Some of the smallest things go a long way and lighting/​décor is one of them. You have MANY options to choose from when you work with Deborah. She really takes the time to listen to your vision and have a clear understanding of your theme. With that said, she delivers on whatever you ask of her. We were delighted with the lighting and décor at our wedding, and it really brought out our theme. Deborah ensures perfection every time (see her photos to become a believer) so you can invest with confidence.
Please be aware: Deborah is one of the busiest and most sought after people in the business. You will probably get to meet face to face with her twice but will coordinate a lot through her assistants. It’s important to be patient and we learned that while Deborah cannot talk to us weekly — she made times to meet at the appropriate stages of our wedding planning and she will ensure the job gets done. Let the other reviews and her photo portfolio do all the talking. Just do your best to meet as early as possible and sign your contract as early as possible so you won’t feel rushed at the last minute. We did have to take more of the initiative to follow up but it was well worth it.
Thanks for such a great job, Deborah, and you not only did a wonderful job — you helped us achieve our vision and made our photos look magical!

My mother and I met with Deborah to discuss possibilities for my fiancé and I’s June 2013 wedding at Ravenswood Event Center. We really liked her, and she told us she would send us a proposal. Then… nothing. We emailed her seperately (my mother and I) 4 and 5 weeks after the meeting and never heard a peep. Our meeting was in mid-​July. Don’t really know what the deal was with AOI and their lacking communication skills, but if it’s any indication of how they operate, I guess we dodged a bullet.
Check out Kehoe Designs, who we’ve hired. They’re awesome.

We met with Deborah two months ago.
Prior to that I spoke with her assistant on the phone. She told me that Deb is quite busy and would need me to send pictures of my dress, invites and my favorite 10 things on pinterest to them before meeting with her, which I did.
My fiancé and I met with Deborah at 7pm on a weekday night — we were really happy that she could accommodate such a late appointment.
When we got there, she had no recollection of the things I had sent her assistant, which seemed weird since her assistant had made such a point of me doing so before I was able to speak with Deb, but I ran with it and broke out my iPad to show her some things.
Deborah was great during the meeting. She loved that I could be a bit of a DIY bride and help her with planning. We left in really high spirits and she told us it would take two weeks to send a proposal — totally understandable.
Three weeks went by and we heard nothing. I sent an email during week four and got no response. I tried again the week after and gave up after that.
I guess if you want to hire Deborah and don’t have the budget she wants (ours was $ 8,000 for décor) she just ignores you.
As a bride who has manners and looks at many vendors, I take the time to tell vendors I’m not hiring that I don’t intend to do so.
This is just poor form.

What Dreams May Come…
Deborah, I saved my 100^th review for you!
Words cannot begin to express how happy I am that I found you and you took the time to transform The Nineteenth Century Club’s second floor. Every time I remember walking into that room I am overcome with Love and when I saw you I really wanted to give you a big hug but I composed myself.
When I first started to plan my wedding I looked at lots of pictures of other people’s wedding so I could have an idea of what type of decorations I wanted. I came across some pictures of paper lanterns in the photos on Nineteenth Century Club’s Facebook page and decided that I wanted those. Some how I got connected to Teri Y. who referred me to Grand Stage Lighting where I spoke to Jason who referred me to Deborah. Funny how things take on a life of their own once you start something. I told her about the paper lantern idea and her and Sherry (her assistant) came up with a plan and emailed me about it.
I have to say Sherry was so patient with me and my questions. She promptly returned my calls and emails. Thank you Sherry!
I don’t remember what the quote was but it was very reasonable. I was on a tight budget and had a small amount to play with. So small in fact, that when Deborah asked what my budget was I never really answered the question.
Anyway, after looking at more wedding pictures from the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park, IL where we had decided to get married I started noticing more things that might need to get done. The stage definitely needed a clean and polished look.
I emailed Deborah and Sherry again and they sent me new ideas and this time it did not include the lanterns. It included a structure that would mark the dance floor, this structure would be covered with ivory wrapping and have a Japanese fabric hanging over like a canopy stlye and upwashed with LED lights that were blue and green. She would also be covering the width and height of the stage with an ivory fabric upwashed with LED lights. It sounds amazing I thought. And although I was sad about giving up on the paper lanterns Deborah told me that she had been at Nineteenth Century before and was giving her recommendations based on that.
I figured Deborah is an artist and she knows what she is doing and I should just trust her and her company. I also went on Facebook and found the page for Art of Imagination and analyzed every picture. These pictures are breath taking and Deborah works at venues like The Stan Mansion and Loft on Lake. I thought my event is little peanuts in her book. I have to admit I was nervous about not getting the proper attention for this reason.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I walked in. I still get overwhelmed with emotion when I remember walking into that room and seeing Deborah and her crew there. They were a little late and were working so hard to get everything done. Deborah gave me extra side lights and the hanging crystals which were not part of the deal but she did this to make up for being a little late. What I paid I’m sure did not cover half of what she created.
I had walked into my very own fairy tale and Happy Ever After! The room was so gorgeous and magical it knocked the breath out of me. Tim, my husband, cannot stop talking about how beautiful everything was. People came up to me and asked who my wedding planner was.
I’m sure Deborah gets plenty of business but WOW does not begin to cover how happy you made me. You and Sherry and everyone at Art Of Imagination are true artists.

It was a pleasure working with Deborah for our wedding Memorial Day weekend at the Rookery Building. She was friendly and professional. The drapery and lighting created a wonderful ambiance for our reception and enhanced the beauty of the light court for our guests (the majority of whom were from out of town and first-​timers to Chicago). We received so many compliments on how beautiful and unique our reception venue was.
I highly recommend Art of Imagination… Deborah’s work is elegant and amazing!

Art of Imagination… is exactly that.
Don’t have the experience (or resources) to turn a caterpillar space into a butterfly event? Deborah with Art of Imagination has the vision, the drive and the experience to do just that…
I’ve worked with Deborah on two very large scale events, and a private non-​profit event, and have seen her work at various trade shows, and vendor showcases. Always professional, detailed, and fun to work with.
Elegance and class is an understatement. She truly transforms spaces with light and fabric. She works often at Stan Mansion (a very cool venue, but in need of some strategic lighting and drapery), and many other beautiful spaces throughout Chicagoland. (I’ve heard she does great stuff at Loft on Lake, a new wedding venue, too!)
Her staff is friendly (polite!) and works hard, and Deborah is the point person for all events and sees the job through… I always felt at ease with the pace, and the finished product was always the talk of the party or show.
I highly recommend her to those in need of some creative inspiration with raw spaces, especially weddings, fundraisers, etc. It just adds that «wow factor» that you want guests to leave with.