Farewell Flowers
Arranging and sending flowers for the farewell of a loved one can be a way for family and friends to show their love, respect and sympathy. Sometimes cards with messages are displayed with the floral arrangements, and this can be a way for the grieving to express their final messages to the deceased or offer support to the next of kin.
Flowers for farewell services and wakes can be displayed in many different ways. They can be used to decorate the room, placed on top of the casket, laid on the grave, or sent to the bereaved family along with messages of condolences.
Hire a florist or make your own?
If you are using a funeral home, they will have a trusted florist that they regularly use and will be able to present you with a selection of arrangements to choose from. Some families choose this option for peace of mind as the relationship between the funeral home and the florist is already established.
You do not have to use any of the suppliers the funeral home suggests. Finding your own florist, or creating your own floral arrangements may give you more options to choose from and an opportunity to personalise the arrangements.
Wholesale Flowers Direct have a selection of flowers and supplies that you can order online and have delivered to your door so that you can create your own arrangements, or you may prefer to pick your own flowers from a family garden.
You can find helpful how-to videos on YouTube for creating your own arrangements. Here are some examples to help you get started:
A cost-effective alternative to using fresh flowers is to hire plants from a local event company. Take a look at funeral florists near you.
What type of flowers should I choose?
There are no rules when it comes to choosing flowers for a funeral service, it is a very personal choice. There are some flowers more commonly included in funeral and sympathy arrangements. These are listed below, however, you can choose any flower, in any colour, that you like. You may want to choose the favourite flowers of your loved one, flower that remind you of them, an arrangement in their favourite colour, or use flowers from their garden.
- Lilies: a white lily is a traditional flower representing peace and sympathy.
- Gladioli: available in white, pink, red, purple, yellow and orange, they are typically used in casket arrangements. Gladioli symbolise sincerity, integrity, faithfulness and remembrance.
- Chrysanthemums: representing sympathy and honour.
- Roses: different colours of roses symbolise different things. Red roses are associated with romantic love, dark red with grief, yellow roses with the love of a close friendship, white with purity and innocence, and pink roses are for appreciation and family love.
- Tulips: these flowers are associated with the perfect and unconditional love of family.
- Irises: purple irises symbolise wisdom, respect and admiration, and blue irises symbolise hope, faith and courage. They are often chosen as gifts between friends.
- Hydrangea: representing sincerity and gratitude. These flowers have large abundant blooms in white, pink, purple and blue. After the funeral service, you may wish to plant the cuttings so they can continue to bloom for many years.
- Carnations: these flowers are long-lasting and fragrant making them a popular choice for funeral arrangements.
- Orchids: the symbol of eternal love and sympathy. Many people choose potted versions so that they can take the arrangement home as a memento.
Asking funeral guests to send flowers
It is up to you whether you would like to ask guests to send flowers or not, and if they should be sent directly to the funeral home to be displayed at the service, arranged at the grave, or sent to the family home so that they can offer comfort to you in the days and weeks that follow the service.
You may decide to ask funeral attendees to send potted plants and native trees instead of cut flowers. These can then be used to create a lasting memorial area in your garden.
Some families ask for donations to a charity that means something to the deceased instead of flowers. These types of requests are usually included in the death notice or funeral invitation.
Different types of funeral flower arrangements
When organising flowers, there are a number of shapes and arrangements for you to choose from. Before deciding on what type of arrangement to order you should consider where they will be displayed.
- Casket arrangements are placed on top of the casket and are usually arranged in a spray or sheath.
- Wreaths and standing sprays are usually displayed on a stand or easel close to the casket.
- Shapes and words such crosses, hearts, or letters spelling out names can be covered in flowers and displayed next to the casket during the service.
- Depending on the budget, you may also want to use floral arrangements to add decoration to the venue entrance, altar, pews or seating and lectern. Small flower sprays, small bouquets or posy arrangements work well in these places.
- Bouquets in vases or baskets are sometimes sent by funeral attendees and can either be displayed around the casket during the service, laid on the grave or sent to the grieving family with messages of condolences.
Find a funeral florist
If you would like to order funeral arrangements or send a sympathy bouquet, find a florist near you in our nationwide directory.