Upon someone passing, you immediately want to send a sympathy message, sympathy flowers, and start looking at funeral flowers too.
Funeral flowers and funeral messages are not easy when trying to find the right words, especially in such a short time period. However, a few chosen words and sympathy flowers can go a long way.
This article will highlight a few ideas and phrases that will not only comfort family and friends but also relieve the burden of hoping that you’ve got it right.
Contents – Basic Funeral Tips:
- Condolence Message – What Not to Write
- Sympathy Card – What to Write
- Funeral Flowers – What to Write
- The Bereaved – Funeral Flower Messages
Condolence Message – What Not to Write
Your relationship with the deceased goes a long way to determining what message to write on sympathy flowers. As a rule of thumb, always go with your heart.
Ensuring you are not being insensitive is also a serious consideration. Sometimes even wedding jokes don’t get well-received, and that’s supposed to be a joyous occasion, so you must choose your words carefully with a funeral. Things such as:
- “Everything happens for a reason”…
That would potentially not be received well on a funeral card with a bouquet.
Whereas with sympathy cards, quotes such as:
- “Be brave”, “Be strong”, or “Hang in there”…
These may also not be well-received, especially if you haven’t been spending much time seeing the person’s condition whereas the immediate family has.
Also, going back to funerals, it is essential to consider the immediate family’s beliefs when considering your choice of cards, flowers and words.
Sympathy Card – What to Write
Sincerity is the best approach to writing a sympathy card.
Putting your whole story and heart into a sympathy card is unnecessary. It’s a show of care but without trying to stir emotions any higher than they already are. At this time, less can be more to the immediate family.
Here are some tips:
- Begin with condolences
- Share a short memory or one of their best qualities
- Offer some support; if possible
Example verses:
- I can’t begin to comprehend your loss. Please let me know if there is anything you need, or I can do.
- We want you to know you are in our thoughts constantly during this difficult time
- Our hearts, although heavy with sadness, still, good memories come to the fore of the time we spent together, all of those years
- Over the years, many come into your life, but few leave such an imprint in our hearts and minds
- Losing such a friend cannot be healed, but love leaves memories no one can replace
Funeral Flowers – What to Write
When you order funeral flowers, you usually choose a card to go with them.
Some florists who may be directly involved in the organisation of the funeral would be able to offer some assistance, but in some cases, they won’t.
In this case, look to write a message directly to the deceased, something about them and what made you friends, or close, make it personal, but remember, it is a sad occasion, so anything lighthearted (within reason) that comes to mind could be helpful.
Here are some brief message examples to help:
Funeral flower messages – Shorter ideas
- Thinking of you always
- May you rest in peace
- Gone but not forgotten
- Forever in our thoughts
- Rest in Peace
- In loving memory
- Forever in our hearts
- Until we meet again
Funeral flower message – Longer ideas
- I will always treasure our memories together
- Time is the best healer, but memories of you will never fade
- May your flower shine even greater in heaven
- You will be sorely missed. Your laughter and joy were brought to everyone
The Bereaved – Funeral Flower Messages
Here are some ideas of condolences when sending flowers to the bereaved:
Flowers – Sympathy Card
- We are deeply saddened by your loss
- We are thinking of you at this difficult time
- Our thoughts are with you
- With our deepest sympathy
- With loving memories of [first name of the deceased]
- Wishing you small comfort at this time of sorrow
- With deepest sympathy
Basic and Simple Works
If you are really struggling to find the right words for the funeral flowers or the card, it is okay if you keep it simple.
Some people can make beautiful speeches at weddings and funerals that can change the atmosphere on its head and lead people to remember all that was great about that person’s life.
However, not all funerals can have that person or person(s), so if you are unsure, please don’t try to be poetic or a prophet. Say what would matter most to the people closest to the deceased.
SUMMARY
Funerals are all different, and there are other dynamics at play. A bereavement that has been known that it was about to happen for some time is very different to something happening suddenly to someone at a young age. So every funeral scenario needs to be treated with respect. If you are still unsure what you should write, ask the person who is doing the main arranging for the funeral for the florist’s contact details. They will have helpful advice. Remember, they are third-party and professional at their job.
