$251 for Funeral flowers!

[Mermaid02]

My Aunt passed away and I was put in charge of the niece/nephew arrangements... I got 2 and this was the total. I guess when you think about it being 2, it isn't so bad... but I was still shocked.

 

[luvwinnie]

It depends on the size, but that doesn't sound outrageous at all...at least based on prices around here.

 

[mickeyboat]

It doesn't sound unheard of to me, either. When MIL died we got four arrangements - wife, mother, grandmother and MIL. I think they cost over $600.

Denae

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Florists are ridiculously expensive. When my son passed away last year, the funeral home wanted almost $800 for all the flowers we wanted. We ended up using a roadside floral stand near the cemetary. I got twice as many flowers, more beautifully arranged than the florist offered us, for half the cost. I can't say enough what a great job they did. It included two standing arrangments, one in the shape of a cross made of all roses, and a casket arrangement. They even put in a stuffed teddy bear on top of the casket arrangment. It was worth every penny. I'll never use a regular florist again.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

When my grandmother passed away I sent a very modest arrangement and I think it cost $70! I couldn't believe how expensive flowers were! I was ordering from a website so I looked at many different arrangements, and NONE of them were reasonably priced. But then again, ordering flowers for anything is very expensive. Maybe I should have been a florist!

 

[Amy]

The prices are outrageous! When my mom died last year, I got one arrangement from DH and I, and then a small "spray" for in her casket from my two DS's, and it cost over $175!!

I told DH when I die, cremate me, don't even bother with the whole funeral home thing, just have a memorial service in church. Why spend that much for flowers that I can't even see? If you want to get me flowers, do it while I'm living and can enjoy them!!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Don't get going on funeral flowers! I'm still steaming over the lousy arrangement we paid $150 for my niece's funeral.

I ordered it over the phone. It was from the paternal aunts and uncles. I figured for $150, we'd get something very nice.

No! It was a puny-sized wreath. I was furious when I saw it, but so much was going on, I couldn't deal with it at the wake.

I called the florist after the funeral and asked if a mistake had been made. I said I'd ordered $150 worth of flowers and didn't think I got anywhere near that amount. The manager in the shop explained that the designer had used several "mini-roses" in the wreath and that's where the expense was. She told me that I should have said something to the funeral director, and he would have had someone who worked in the shop come over and explain why it cost so much.

I filed that for future reference, but still, it burns me up to this day. The problem, I think, was that so many people ordered flowers for her from that shop, they ran short on supplies and/or arrangement ideas.

 

[Towncrier]

It depends a lot on the florist. My wife has done many beautiful (and reasonably priced) funeral arrangements for several of our friends and acquantances. She is a professional floral designer, but she doesn't have the overhead of owning a shop, so she can keep the prices reasonable.

But I will agree that finding a good florist is like finding a good auto mechanic. You have to look long and hard to find one that suits your needs.

 

[Cindy B]

$251 is cheap! When my MIL passed away almost 3 years ago, the flowers (for one largish grave blanket and one smaller arrangement) was $600!

Yes, $600!

 

[Chicago526]

One tip I've heard is not to tell the florist they are for a funeral. That wouldn't work for a casket arrangement, but if you're just looking for flowers to set around the casket, just ask for regular floral arrangements using whatever color or flower type you want. Have them delivered to you and you can take them to the funeral home or church (or have them sent to a friend or relative that can do that for you). I guess some florists (not all, I'm sure!) jack up the price for "funeral" flowers, figuring no one will be in the mood to haggle or comparison shop. Same goes for wedding flowers.

 

[Puffy2]

Yall were all ripped off. It is expensive to send flowers these days, but you can get a nice arrangement (not skimpy at all) for $75.

 

[Mermaid02]

I know this florist and I am positive the arrangements will be fabulous. I asked that they not be "funeral" flowers... one arrangement is in a basket and the other is in a vase. I want something my uncle or cousins can take home and enjoy. There are 10 of us, so it's only $25 each. I was still a little shocked.... I'm kind of a cheapskate!

 

[puggymom]

That sounds about right. For my father the bill was $1000.00 for three standing arrangements, the casket cover, and a small arrangement from the grandkids.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

WOW!! We must have gotten lucky with our florist. When my FIL died 2 months ago we got a large arrangement and SIL got a matching arrangement and they were only $75 each. Now I won't complain about the price.

 

[clh2]

I took on the task of ordering the flowers for the family when my grandparents each passed away. The florist in my fairly small town was really reasonable, this is now 5 and 8 years ago, so I don't remember the exact pricing, I think for my grandma (8 years ago) there was a 2-dozen red rose cascade from my grandpa, a fall-arrangement in a basket from my parents, a different fall-arrangement from the grandkids, and a small arrangement from the great-grandkids inside the cascade. I think that was about $250.

When my grandpa passed away, I think the flowers were about $200. The same florist did a lovely arrangement with yellow roses and dark purple irises, from my parents, the grandkids had a spring-seasonal basket and the great grandkids had a small arrangement for inside the casket.

The florist was wonderful to work with. I was very specific that i didn't want the flowers to be "funeral looking" and they weren't. I was also very specific about working within a certain budget, and she stuck to it. With the budget, I said I have my total amount, and that needed to include delivery, taxe and set-up fees.

When my SIL's brother passed away, all of the sibs on my DH's family contributed to an interesting arrangement, which - total including taxes & delivery couldn't exceed $80. The person who died was an avid outdoorsman, big hunter etc, and the funeral was in late November. The florist did a nice display of pine boughs, a plaid ribbon, and it included a ceramic figurine of a bear. My SIL was very touched with the display, and the widow still has the figurine as a remembrance.

My advice - find a florist you trust, go in with a budget, and use flowers that are seasonal. My guess, that this week, some of the problem is it is Easter week, and during the "floral holidays" i.e. Valentine's day, mother's day, Easter etc, prices just tend to go up.

Unfortunately, "MY" florist retired.

 

[MickeysMommy]

My dad just died 8 weeks ago and I paid for the flower spray on the top of his casket. I felt like I needed to do something. It was beautiful and had the ribbon that said "Husband" and "Dad". I got the bill a few weeks after and it was $160. I didn't care, it was for my Dad.

Now if you were to just order regular flowers...ridiculous!

 

[HayGan]

We got a small simple arrangement (simple bunch with ferns to lay in casket) of 11 roses for my grandmother. They charged us $75. I was so mad. They know that you don't have time to shop around and can rake you over the coals. It is disgusting! Profits are fine but gouging is disgusting!