Five ways to personalise funeral flowers
While it may initially be helpful to know you can personalise the flowers for your loved ones funeral, making choices when you are faced with them can be difficult.
You may not be especially creative, or maybe you are usually, but in grief you cannot think in the way perhaps you normally would.
To help with this I have shared five ways you can personalise your funeral floral tributes.
Include sentimental or personal items
Your floral tributes don’t have to be all flowers.
Adding sentimental details into the flowers such as a favourite hat, shoes, or a piece of clothing into a tribute can be a lovely representation of a loved one. For one family I added little butterflies to the tribute which were taken home afterwards from younger attendees and kept by the grandchildren as a lasting memory.
Personal items can be used in a variety of ways, so if there is something that was particularly important to your loved one, let me know - you may be surprised how creative we can be!
Utilise colour
Colour is a simply way to make a design more personal. You might be arranging flowers for a friend who was obsessed with purple - by choosing any purple flower you are quickly making it a better reflection of them.
Your loved one might not have a particular favourite, but perhaps liked a certain palette of colour - maybe they were always dressed in brights and bold patterns. Perhaps they were a fan of pastel tones instead, or maybe they would have preferred a choice of colour that represents the occasion rather than themselves, in which case muted and white and green flowers are always popular for funeral flowers.
Choosing particular colours can instantly make your tribute more of a reflection of the person, rather than an ‘off the shelf’ look.
Use their hobbies as inspiration
In the same way you can use personal items such as a hat, or maybe favourite pair of shoes, I can also use their hobby as inspiration for the design.
For example, your loved one might have been passionate about their garden or allotment so we can weave vegetables in and amongst the flowers. One family included pheasant feathers into a floral heart as their loved one spent all his time in the countryside. I can use a variety of natural additions to a tribute depending on what their hobby was, or even emulate a certain style, so always feel free to make suggestions.
Recreate special memories
Do you have something that instantly reminds you of your loved one?
For some it might be a piece of music, for others it could be smell. Some memories don’t lend themselves to floral tributes (music for example can be included in the ceremony instead), but others do. Recently we created a tribute in the shape of a dolphin for a family. The lady had a huge collection of porcelain dolphins so the family wanted to recognise her love for them - it turned out beautifully and was, as they all said, very ‘her’.
Use favourite or significant flowers
Did your loved one have a particular favourite bloom they would always buy? Perhaps they had flowers they loved for another special occasion such as a wedding or christening.
Some families and friends like to echo these in the tributes created for their funeral too, creating a connection across their life. Recently I created a wicker garland of the deceased’s bridal flowers that adorned her casket.
The tribute to her included lily of the valley, roses and standard white carnations replicating the shower bouquet she once held.
These are a few things that have stuck with me, and can help you in imagining a more personal tribute.
Customers often tell me because I choose high end flowers and natural foliages my designs and choice of flowers don’t look traditionally ‘funeral’, they somehow look softer, more luxurious and personal - adding your input to the design will then help you create a tribute that truly represents the one you love.
