Sending Smiles ~

Guest Blog: Urns and Flowers, Comfort in Times of Sorrow - by Helen at Urns.com In our business we meet all kinds of folks who service customers, just like ours. It's always great to partner and learn from them. Sympathy floral designs are such a big part of what we do, when we became "online" friends with Urns.com, it was logical that we take an opportunity to share with each other.  We wrote a guest blog from them and them for us. Cremations are a huge trend right now and their urns are gorgeous. I hope you don't ever need them but if you do, their information just might be what you need. Take it away Helen!! Here at www.urns.com we understand how difficult it can be when we experience loss. It is during these times when you must rely upon friends and loved ones to help move through the transition period and to help when planning a funeral service. Many times when people are preparing for a funeral service, they find themselves shopping for both fun

It's always hard helping a friend with family funeral flowers. My buddy Danny from High School lost his brother this week and it really hits home how the years are moving along and dragging us with them. When he wanted us to send something from him and and his family, I was honored that he thought of me and my flower shop to create the flowers for him. Once again, Designer Norman created a great display, the perfect tribute to a fantastic brother who happened to be a Yankee fan. Norman created this standing spray using blue dyed dendrobium orchids and lush open cut red tea roses. A Yankee logo in the center completes the design. We sincerely hope this helps the family to celebrate the life, love and passion of the man this tribute inspired.  To see this and more of our sympathy designs, visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com or our facebook page at www.facebook.com/localflorist

It's a fact of life that every now and then we have to send flowers for a funeral. Imagine a funeral without flowers... it's a depressing thought. Flowers are such a lovely way of express our grief and support for the family and there are so many flowers options to choose from. One of my favorites is to send a wreath of beautiful blooms. They come in different shapes such as squares (yes, squares), ovals, rounds and even hearts, like this one. Elegant and tasteful, a wreath arrangement really stands out and gets noticed. Choose a solid color of mixed flowers or a sunny color theme like this yellow and white heart wreath pictured below. The next time you need to send flowers, perhaps this blog will have you considering a wreath. It's always our greatest pleasure to guide our customers in their floral selections . To see these and other sympathy flowers options visit our sympathy site at www.sendingsympathy.com or visit our Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/lo

"Hi, I need a floral sympathy piece shaped like an Ice Cream Cone to send to a woman who used to own an Ice Cream Store, can you do that"? Yes we can! How cute is this arrangement that Designer Norman made for a recent viewing. Funerals are no laughing matter but how sweet (not pun intended) was it for someone to remember this woman by having this created. Not only is it thoughtful to come up with the idea of sending these particular flowers but the card read "She made the best ice cream in town".  I'd imagine her family will remember this tribute for many years to come.  Our designers always take pride in what they do but you can imagine that pieces like this are the ones that really make us proud. Great job Designer Norman!! To see this and other samples of our sympathy designs, visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com or our facebook back at www.facebook.com/localflorist

What is it about the holiday season? Mixed among the poinsettias deliveries, boxwood trees and holiday party decorations, we always seem to have more than our share of family funerals to create flower tributes for. As if the holidays are not stressful enough, imagine loosing a loved one at this time.  Actually, I don't have to imagine it, I lost my own father on Christmas Eve 19 years ago. The flowers above were delivered today for a very good customer who was having a memorial service for her mother. Soft pinks, seasonal but feminine made for a striking display at church and the pink marble poinsettias could be given away to family members after the service as a remembrance. There is no substitution for the personal touch needed to create flowers like these. Meeting with the family and discussing their wishes is both an honor and duty that we take very seriously. Above is an arrangement we created a few years back for man who had a special bond with his dog "Lady&

If you've read my blog before you know how I feel about funeral flowers. Yes, those obituaries sometimes say "In Lieu of Flowers" and you all know, that it does not mean not to send flowers. It merely means if you want to make a donation, yadda, yadda. You know that floral tributes not only express your sympathy for the grieving but don't you think the funeral home looks very sad if there were no flowers there? Sending flowers for funerals is a tradition that goes back ages and the reason is that it helps folks know you care, flowers make them feel loved, make it known the person who has passed was loved. It helps make the funeral more bearable. This blog is not about that. It's about NOT sending flowers that arrive to the funeral home in a box! We are not against ProFlowers, who just happens to be pictured here. They are not the only ones that sell flowers delivered in the mail. FTD and 1800flowers sell those, among others.  This blog aims to make you awar

. I love taking photos of the arrangements in our cooler and I especially love these pretty heart wreaths we create for funerals. How could anyone not have their spirits lifted when they see these sunny flowers. Sent to a father by his children both the form and the color speak volumes of how they felt about him. Designer Holly created this wreath using fresh, white lilies, spray and tea roses, viking and daisy poms, cream colored stock and accents of fresh ruscus foliage. This wreath, also going to the same service was created using garden, tea and spray roses, carnations, waxflowers, hydrangea and peony blooms. To see more of our sympathy designs visit our website at www.sendingsympathy.com

I took a quick photo as Designer Norman was working on this arrangement before it was finished but I still had to share. This piece was created for a man who adored Star Trek and everything it stands for. I could really relate to why he was so crazy about a TV show like Star Trek, being a fan myself. His niece and nephew phoned our shop and sheepishly mentioned that they would love for us to work in the Star Trek theme and if we could include the Enterprise. I jumped at the idea to create something special for them and became giddy when I found this amazing photo to use. Bold colors for a bold theme, this square wreath of flowers really showcases the Starship and I'm going to guess that this tribute will not soon be forgotten. I think Designer Norman did a fantastic job on this very special floral design. To see more of our funeral and sympathy designs, visit our website at www.sendingsympathy.com

Did you know that we have a sympathy specific website just for choosing and sending funeral flowers? About 4 years ago we developed this site to make it easier on folks needing to plan a family service, not to mention others who needed to show their sympathy through flowers. We thought by having a site just for these kinds of flowers and other gifts it would be more considerate of their feelings during a stressful and sad time. This past week we were able to redo the site completely with many new and updates styles of arrangements. I sincerely hope you won't need this website, but if you do we hope it makes it easier on you. To visit our site you can go to http://www.sendingsympathy.com/ and to  read more about the importance of sending flowers for funerals, visit our re posted blog on the subject.

We see it all the time in the obituaries in the paper and online - "In Lieu of Flowers" send money to this organization or charity but what is it really saying? Customers ask all the time if that means they are not allowed to send flowers and the answer is a big NO. That sentence does not mean that the family does not want flowers for the service and that the funeral director will not accept them, it means that if you wanted to honor the person by making a donation, this is the organization the family would like you to donate too. Can you imagine walking in to a funeral service and not seeing flowers? How sad indeed. Flowers help to express your feeling in a visual, loving way and families have expressed that flowers are measurable representation of how well loved their family member was. So the next time you need to express your sympathy, remember that flowers are still very much appreciated and I personally believe that nothing will ever change that!

When you think about flowers at a funeral do they make you feel sad? Think again about attending a funeral and not seeing any flowers? Now to me, that would be really sad. Flowers are such a caring and thoughtful way to not only pay your respects but help to celebrate the life of the person who has died. This sympathy piece was delivered this morning for the service of a wonderful man sent by his Niece. I love this piece because not only is it very beautiful, it also shows the person in life, the way he should be remembered. The family said he was a religious man and what a wonderful way to celebrate his life and his faith. Colorful and expressive, the flowers really showcase the photo and I'm sure this piece will not only be admired by everyone in attendance but will be remembered by the family for years to come. Not sure what to send to a service? How about all white flowers in a clear glass vase? Another option that is a bit different is sending a plant or dishgarden. These ar

Below is a repost from one of my very first blogs . I wanted to re-post it because as it was relivant in March of 2008, so it is today, especially after the holiday. In honor of my dad, who died on Christmas Eve 17 years ago and because of the season, I thought it was especially timely to remind people how important flowers are to families who are grieving. Recently a customer and I got to talking about sympathy flowers . This started me thinking about the floral industry and what an important role we play during the grieving process. I remember when my father passed away I asked my mother if she wanted me to inform friends and family to make a donation instead of sending flowers. My mother's response was something I've never forgotten, even 15 years later. She looked completely grief stricken and told me that her greatest fear was that she would walk into the wake and not find any flowers there. Being in the floral business , I've always known that flowers are sent as