How to order funeral flowers and how to choose the flowers that go on the coffin.

If you have never organised a funeral before it might be a daunting task to choose funeral flowers to go on and around the coffin.

Rose & Mary specialises in funeral flowers and are happy to help you to make the right choice. We work with several funeral directors and rather than picking a design out of a catalogue we prefer a more personal approach.  If you choose Rose & Mary as your funeral florist we will always invite you for a chat to discuss funeral flowers so we can create a truly bespoke funeral tribute for your loved one. There are many possibilities to choose from when it comes to funeral flowers so we though it might be a good idea to break it down a bit so when you are faced with the choice of funeral flowers, it might make the process a bit easier.

The first rule of funeral flowers; there are no rules, you choose the flowers that best represent your loved one.

Funeral flowers do not need to be white or contain lilies and roses. You can choose any flowers you want. Choose flowers that are in season at the time of the funeral or a loved one’s favourite flower. Colour choices that represent a favourite colour, football team or flowers or that grew in the garden, you have a choice and we can suggest which flowers best represent that choice at the time of year.

Seasonal flowers

Flowers change with the seasons and we always advise to use seasonal flowers which are always at their best. Most funeral flower catalogues have a selection of flowers that are available year round and leave out the beautiful seasonal selection of flowers. We love the scented narcissi in the winter, the peonies in spring and the dahlias in autumn and all the seasonal foliage. We can’t really stress enough the importance of seasonality as you will always get the best quality flowers at the most reasonable price that are grown in the most sustainable way. If you are not sure which flowers are in season let us suggest some of the best flowers in your chosen colour scheme.

Personal favourites

Everybody has a favourite flower and we will always ask you if there are any flowers you wish to order that have a sentimental value.

It can be a flower that was present in a wedding bouquet or something that grew in the garden of your loved one. Maybe you would like to order flowers that grow on the other side of the world, we always try our best to incorporate a favourite flower and if we can’t get them at the time of year from the wholesalers we might suggest an alternative.

A choice of personal flowers is always a great starting point to choose the colour scheme of your funeral flowers.

Did your Mum love yellow roses or was your Dad a football supporter and you are after something in those colours? That’s a great starting point to create the colour scheme of your floral tribute. Maybe there was a particular colour that always came back in your loved one’s clothing or interior of the house. Yellow roses can complement a white, green and cream design or really stand out alongside brighter colours. These 2 colour choices all contain yellow roses but have an overall different appearance, again, the choice is yours! We can recreate football colours or match flowers to national flags or corporate dolours. All this will be discussed during our consultation.

Here is an example of a coffin spray with yellow roses within a wild palette multi coloured wild flowers.

Here is an example of a ‘Claret and Blue’ coffinspray for a West Ham supporter

adding other items in the funeral tribute

Would you like to incorporate other items in your funeral flowers, always happy to help. Sometimes we add fruits or vegetables or small items tucked in amongst the flowers. We recently made a funeral tribute for a lovely lady who’s nick name was Mouse. Her daughter dropped a small felt mouse to the studio that we added to the coffin spray tucked in amongst the flowers. Another example is a funeral tribute for a lovely French lady. She loved cauliflower so we hid small florets of cauliflower amongst white Hydrangea, Roses and Lisianthus. We can match the flowers to objects that could be placed on the coffin or any other items that feature in the service (such as blue suede shoes, helmets, flags, etc)

 

Once you have chosen your flowers and colour scheme we need to talk about the shape of the funeral flowers that you will choose. Do you want to order the main floral tribute on top of the coffin, or an additional tribute to go along the side ?The shape of the funeral flowers is determined by how it will be seen during the funeral service and what you would like to do with it afterwards. During our consultation we will ask you a few questions to best suggest the shape of the funeral flowers. The first thing we will ask is where the service will be held. Flowers for a cremation can be different to flowers for a burial; a cremation service will last a short time while a floral tribute for a burial will have to last longer as they are usually placed on top of the grave after the service.The second thing we ask is whether the coffin will be pre-placed at the service or will travel in a hearse and then carried in. Flowers that go in a hearse and are carried into the service will be seen from all angles and need to be solid enough to withstand being moved while pre-placed coffins might only be viewed from one side so might need a smaller focal point and might not need to run the length of the coffin if viewed head on. Some burial flowers have eco-restrictions and need to be made differently to traditional flower tributes. Funeral flowers can be shaped as a traditional spray, a cross, a wreath or posy or a novelty shape. We have many examples of what we can do on our website hereThe most important thing while choosing the shape of the funeral flowers is to determine first how it will be seen. Flat tributes such as hearts and letters are not suitable as the main floral tribute on top of the coffin as they are too flat and need to be ordered as an additional tribute to be displayed on their sides. Flowers on top of the coffin need a bit of height to be seen, especially in church services or at crematoria where the coffin is placed at a distance from where you are viewing it from ( but not too high so it will not fit in the hearse)We can arrange that the main coffin spray will match additional floral tributes so that all the flowers have a coherent look.The last thing we ask what you would like to do with the flowers afterwards.Funeral flower for a burial are usually left on the grave afterwards but if you have organised a wake or reception after the short service at a crematorium it is possible to take the flowers with you to the wake/reception. A coffin spray can be placed at the reception venue and you can invite the guests to pick the flowers out of the arrangement to take home afterwards, or if the venue is a bit bare we can decorate the venue with little jam jars on the tables to match the funeral flowers that can also be taken away with guests afterwards. Sometimes we make a coffin spray out of several smaller elements that can be re-purposed as table centres after the service (but only if the coffin is pre-placed). If you would like a hand-tied bouquet to go on the coffin that can be taken home afterwards so that the flowers can be enjoyed for a few more days, it is all possible!