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Funeral Flowers
Posted by Sue in Family
I rarely question the prices charged for things. I’m not a bargainer or negotiater and I generally don’t “shop around” for the cheapest price. I guess I just trust that merchants will give a fair value for the money I pay them.
However - I must say that I am appalled and incensed by the prices charged for funeral flower arrangements! My husband’s mother recently passed away and it was several weeks before we had the Memorial Service for the dear woman.
Jim loves flowers, and wanted to send flowers to the funeral home to honor his mother. He ordered the arrangement from a florist here in Hagerstown that we patronize on a sporadic basis, and arranged for them to be delivered to the funeral home in Baltimore on the morning of the service.
I was a bit “taken-aback” when he told me they cost $170, but figured they would be beautiful so didn’t think much more about it.
When we arrived at the funeral home I (discretely, I hope) checked all the floral arrangements to see which one was ours. It wasn’t there! So, after much ado with the funeral home staff, our flowers were finally located (just as the guests were being seated to start the service). They were pretty BUT SO NOT WORTH $170!!! There were maybe 4 or 5 pretty major flowers, plus carnations and the other filler stuff, in a white urn-type container, which I thought was ceramic so maybe that jacked up the cost. IT WAS PLASTIC!
I used to organize parties on yachts and also worked a LOT of catered events and I know what floral arrangements cost. The reason I am so upset about this is that I feel like the floral industry must know that people are mourning and probably won’t question the pricing of “funeral flowers” so they take advantage of these poor people by charging way more than they would for the same flowers in an arrangement for a dinner party or birthday arrangement!
So, next time I need funeral flowers, I’m going to order just a regular arrangement - I’m not going to tell them someone died, so I can be charged a fair price!!
I agree, I am looking to purchase flowers for my mother-in-law’s funeral and it is very sad how the florist use the family of the deceased to make a profit. I am following your advice.