Funeral flowers come with a vocabulary of their own, and most people only encounter it at a hard moment. This guide explains the main types of funeral and sympathy arrangements, where each belongs, and who traditionally sends them — so you can order with confidence.
Standing sprays
A standing spray is a large, one-sided arrangement displayed on an easel. It is designed to be seen from across a room, which makes it the centrepiece of a funeral home's display. Standing sprays are the most common formal tribute sent by extended family, friends, and colleagues. They are appropriate at a wake or viewing and at many services.
Casket sprays
A casket spray is the arrangement that rests on top of the casket itself. Because of its place of honour, it is traditionally chosen and sent by the immediate family. If you are not immediate family, a standing spray or wreath is the appropriate choice instead.
Wreaths
A wreath is a circular arrangement, and its shape is its meaning: the unbroken circle is an old symbol of eternal life and of a love that does not end. Wreaths are displayed at the funeral home and are a fitting, traditional tribute from friends and family alike.
Set pieces and dedicated shapes
Some arrangements are shaped deliberately — crosses, hearts, and other forms. These are personal, emphatic tributes, usually reserved for a very close relationship to the person who died, and often chosen to reflect their faith or a defining part of who they were.
Baskets and floor arrangements
Basket arrangements and floor pieces are softer than a standing spray and read as slightly less formal. They work well at a funeral home and transition easily afterward — many families bring them home or to the graveside.
Arrangements for the family's home
Not every sympathy gift belongs at the service. A vase arrangement, a hand-tied bouquet, or a living plant sent to the family's home offers comfort in the weeks that follow. A plant or an orchid is often appreciated most of all, because it lasts and asks little of a grieving household — see our sympathy orchids and the wider sympathy flowers collection.
Which should you send?
A simple guide by relationship:
- Immediate family — the casket spray, and often arrangements for the home.
- Extended family and close friends — a standing spray or a wreath at the funeral home, and perhaps a gentler arrangement sent to the home later.
- Colleagues and acquaintances — a standing spray to the service, or a sympathy arrangement to the home, is gracious and appropriate.
Formal pieces for a service are gathered in our funeral service flowers collection. If you are sending to a venue, our guide on how to send flowers to a funeral home explains the details to gather, and our sympathy flower etiquette guide covers the wider conventions. To talk it through, call (212) 308-3794.