How to Send Flowers to a Funeral

The passing of a loved one marks a difficult life transition. Finding the right words or gestures to express sympathy to grieving families can feel challenging. An appropriate gesture when paying respects is to send funeral flowers or standing sprays. These arrangements brighten solemn services and convey messages of comfort to families in their time of sorrow. This guide by Lily's Florist covers everything you need to know about funeral flower etiquette, from the meaning of traditional arrangements, to appropriate flower colors and delivery timing. You'll learn tips on working with local florists to select flowers that honour the deceased. For do-it-yourselfers, there is also guidance on hand-crafting funeral arrangements. With this comprehensive advice, you can thoughtfully send funeral flowers with confidence and care. Saying goodbye is never easy, but flowers help transmit profound reflections during poignant ceremonial tributes.

Types of Funeral Flowers

Floral tributes play a symbolic role at funeral or memorial services. When selecting funeral flowers, consider customary arrangements that convey meaningful messages to the grieving family.

Wreaths are a traditional option, formed in circular shapes representing eternity or victory. These displays feature blooms and decorative greens like fern fronds or willow branches, arranged around a foam base or wire frame. Casket sprays have asymmetrical, fan-like shapes designed to lay decoratively across the length of a closed casket. Similarly, standing sprays feature bouquet-style arrangements placed on funeral home displays or easels beside caskets.

When choosing funeral flowers, you should consider selecting meaningful flowers or the deceased's favourite varieties like roses, lilies, daisies or orchids. You can also create arrangements incorporating symbolic plants like white carnations for remembrance or pink peonies for healing. For added personalisation, request a florist to integrate keepsakes like photo charms or meaningful trinkets into the bouquet.

Consider going for elegantly simple focal blooms rather than elaborate multi-flower displays. Classic flower colors like whites, pastels and lighter shades align with formal services, while avoiding darker or bolder palette flowers. Finally, ask if the family specifies any special funeral flower requests or desired meanings like incorporating national flowers to honour the deceased's heritage. With thoughtful selections and bespoke personalisation for the individual, funeral flowers present personalised goodbyes.

Sending Funeral Flowers Flowers

When preparing funeral flower deliveries, certain flower etiquette applies for ideal timing and personalised touches. First, verify if the service allows floral arrangements, as some families specify "no flowers", preferring charitable donations instead.

Check details in newspaper death notices, obituary listings or directly with the funeral home. If flowers are welcome, time the delivery to arrive the day before or morning of the funeral or memorial ceremony for best usage. Late arriving wreaths or casket sprays may be turned away or not displayed.

For personalised expressions of sympathy, enclosure cards are recommended. These feature handwritten notes conveying messages of condolence, sharing poignant memories of the deceased or specifying who the funeral flowers are from for acknowledgment by the family.

Finally, order funeral flowers early, ideally giving a few days advance notice. This allows florists adequate preparation to craft arrangements and coordinate delivery timing relative to when visitation hours or the funeral service occurs. Rushing order requests risks delays, mismatching quantities or even running out of popular funeral flower inventory.

By following ideal etiquette for delivery timing, adding personal touches like enclosure cards and ordering early, the funeral flowers convey sensitivity and heartfelt sentiments to grieving families.

DIY Arrangements

With some creativity and preparation, you can personalise funeral flowers by handcrafting DIY arrangements. Start with a foam flower base, available from local craft stores. Into the base, insert either fresh flower stems or bundles of dried blooms like statice or lavender tied with ribbon.

Enhance the arrangement by surrounding sides and edges with ornamental filler greenery like ferns, willow leaves or eucalyptus sprigs. Another affordable option is using craft flowers constructed from tissue crepe paper, wired cloth or silk. Fold and shape various fake flower types, then insert stems into the foam base. For variety, mix rose buds, carnations, chrysanthemums and wildflowers.

When grouping stems, follow a classic technique of using odd numbers, like combining 3, 5 or 7 of the same flowers. This style appears more natural than even-numbered pairings. Arrangement shapes can follow traditional crescent casket sprays or round funeral wreath forms. And rather than a full covering, leave spaces to allow the funeral flowers platform itself to show. Wholesale craft floral supply retailers offer diverse artificial petals and stems to intermix in DIY memorial bouquets. Blend textures and balance colors to craft meaningful, bespoke home funeral arrangements or permanent memory pieces.

The Card Message

This is one of the most challenging parts of sending funeral flowers and it is one of the most commonly asked questions when someone calls Lily's Florist (have a read of this blog post for tips on what to write); What to write on a funeral flowers card for families. In short, consider your relationship with the person, what they meant to you and how they impacted your life. Keep in mind though that if you are ordering funeral flowers online from Lily's Florist or anyone else, most have a character limit to 250 characters or less, which isn't a lot but it is enough to convey the way you felt about the person you have lost out of your life. 

If you need any assistance on card writing, you are most welcome to call Lily's Florist on 1800 466 534 and one of our experienced staff will be more than happy to help.

Additional Tips

If funeral or memorial services are private, confirm attendance details before ordering any floral displays. You want to make sure your sweeping standing spray or cross-shaped wreath is on display for grieving families at the venue as intended.

For largely attended high-profile funerals, coordinate with others who plan to send arrangements to the ceremony or wake. Avoid overloading the venue with duplicate floral tributes, or crowding out space for visitors wishing to pay final respects beside the casket. As an alternative gesture, consider eschewing the classic white rose funeral wreath, instead making a public donation to the deceased’s preferred charity. This can be gifted in memoriam as a meaningful way to honour impactful lives and legacies.

Other supportive gestures include sending bereavement gifts or giving your time. Provide sympathy through meals for grieving families in the difficult days and weeks following services. Offer respite childcare during the stresses of funeral planning or help with mundane tasks like yardwork or errands. Simple caring assistance and emotional comfort continue deeply meaningful even long after final funeral flower petals fade.