How to guides Church Sympathy Flowers

Choosing sympathy flowers for the church

A funeral service is a celebration of a person's life. Flowers play a large part in the service: they are often used to convey feelings that are difficult to communicate in words and they help in setting the tone of the funeral service. The flowers that are chosen for decorating the church or other place of worship are, to an extent, dependent upon the size and the feel of the church and the personality of the deceased. The bereaved may wish to keep things low key with some carefully chosen small arrangements, or they be more flamboyant and fill the church with flowers. When choosing flowers, pre-designed arrangements can be bought, or if preferred something unique can be designed specifically to the tastes of the bereaved.

Themes for sympathy flowers

It is common to decide to theme the flowers. This maybe as simple as choosing a specific colour or type of flower. The bereaved may wish to ask mourners to buy sympathy flowers to match this theme. Examples of themes that may be an appropriate choice are as follows:

• Peace and simplicity: to keep the flowers simple, white is a good choice. White lilies and roses with a small amount of foliage make an elegant bouquet.
• Traditional: an arrangement made up of burgundy roses, for example, conveys a luxurious feel.
• Striking: to change the feel to a more bold choice, red roses and red berries can be incorporated into the design of a bouquet.
• Warm and vibrant: for a contemporary, celebratory service, a mixture of bright coloured flowers can make up an arrangement. Choose orange, lime green and fuchsia carnations and gerberas to give this effect.
• Pretty: pink is the colour choice for those who want to make the arrangements pretty. This is a common choice for children. Pink freesias and roses will make a beautiful display.

Flower types

Carnations are the most sold flower in the UK, hugely popular due to their versatility and pretty look. One meaning of the carnation is admiration. It is also used as a symbol of love. In particular it has become the flower that represents a Mother's love. This originates from Christian legend, which states that as Mary's tears mourned the passing of Jesus, pink carnations sprang up where her tears fell. Lilies and roses are a very popular choice, they are both classically beautiful and they come in a range of shapes and colours. The lily is a Christian symbol for purity and the Chinese use it as a symbol for eternal love. Many different species of lily are available: some species such as the oriental lily are only white whilst others, such as the Asiatic lily come in a plethora of colours, mainly pinks and oranges. Roses are available in all colours except blue and black. Common types of rose include the hybrid tea, floribundas and miniatures. It is well known that the red rose is a symbol of love, the most commonly chosen flower for Valentines Day, but also appropriate as a gesture of love at a funeral. Gerberas are a modern choice of flower and are available in a wide range of colours. They are very distinctive and a somewhat fashionable choice. Mini gerberas are also available, which add interest to an arrangement.

Fresh flowers are seasonal, so it may not always be possible to source the desired flowers for a fresh arrangement. It may therefore be a wise choice to use silk flowers. Silk flowers also offer the advantage of durability and will endure the multiple moves associated with a funeral cortege and service, ultimately being placed at the cemetery or kept as a memorial to the day and a tribute to the deceased.

Dressing the church

Most commonly the arrangements used to adorn the church are bouquets. Again, posies may also represent an appropriate choice as they are small and simple -- particularly suitable for a child's funeral. Baskets are also a poplar choice. In the church flowers can be placed on pillars and windowsills, or stands can be used, which are specifically designed to hold flowers. A key advantage with baskets is that they are self supporting. Alternatively vases can be used for arrangements.

An old Christian tradition saw young flower girls dressed in white bringing flowers down the aisle behind the coffin, and then placing them around the sanctuary. Although few funerals now include this, n is rarely carried out now, however it is usually the case that the sanctuary will be dressed with flowers. The centrepiece will be the coffin spray. The wreaths or tributes from the funeral car can also be brought to the front of the church to add to the floral decoration.

The best way of deciding which flowers to choose is to look at as many different arrangements as possible, it will soon become apparent which flowers are right. The most important thing when choosing the flowers for the church is to ensure that they express the way that the bereaved felt towards the person that has been lost and that they reflect the way in which the deceased would wish to be remembered. The dressing of the church will usually be taken care of by the funeral director. So the family of the deceased should arrange for the flowers to be delivered there once they have been chosen. The flowers chosen to decorate the church for a funeral service should be chosen to reflect the way that the deceased lived their life and would wish to be remembered. Some components used in the church, such as the coffin spray will be used throughout the whole day so to ensure durability a silk arrangement is a good choice.

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