Funeral Flowers

If you are arranging a memorial or funeral service, you will need to consider purchasing flowers to used at the church, funeral home or grave site. You will also need to arrange for transporting the flowers that others will send to you or the bereaved family members.

Funeral flowers express a feeling of life and beauty and can offer much comfort to the bereaved family. During times of grief, flowers send a gentle message of hope, encouragement and sympathy. It's a proper way for people to send funeral flowers to let those who've lost someone know they care.

Floral arrangements designed specifically for funeral services are arranged with such a display in mind. A simple bouquet may be arranged decoratively in a basket that can stand on a floor or table. While the larger funeral flower arrangements come with their own stands and can be used at the front of the room or at the entrance.

Typically funeral flowers are used to decorate around the casket or photo of the deceased. But some are also used as decorative elements throughout the funeral home or location of the memorial service. Ultimately, you can place the arrangements wherever you desire.

The most elaborate display of flowers can include gladiolas, chrysanthemums, and roses woven over a form to create shapes such as hearts, crosses, or wreaths. The costs range and will vary depending on the size and arrangement of the floral piece and florist you choose.

If the funeral home is arranging transportation of the body from its facility location or the church to the cemetery, generally they will also transport the flowers. You may want to check with the funeral home to ensure they include the floral arrangement transportation. Otherwise, you will need to bring an additional vehicle or designate someone to transport the funeral flowers to the grave site.

It is becoming more common today for the bereaved families to ask that friends and relatives make contributions to a favorite charity in lieu of giving flowers. These requests are often noted in the obituaries and death announcements found in the local newspaper.

Decide how you would like to address the flower gifts ahead of time before you make the death announcement so you can include it in your announcement before the memorial service.

Funeral flowers are still a beautiful way to decorate for the service. If budget is a concern, consider making your own arrangements, cut flowers in a vase or pick plants from your own garden if they are in season. You can also designate this task to a close friend or family member.

Carole Galassi is the creative director for The Funeral Program Site (http://funeralprogram-site.com) which produces and offers beautiful quality, premium funeral program templates and obituary templates and funeral resources for those who have recently lost a loved one.

Carole is also an author for the local newspaper and is the CEO of a web and graphic design company Creative Media Web (http://www.creativemediaweb.com) located in Northern California.