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Funeral flowers cost, and the pieces that are worth paying for
Most families spend $150 to $700 on flowers for a funeral. Almost all of that sits in one or two large pieces, the rest is decoration that nobody photographs, and every dollar of it is a genuinely optional purchase from a business the funeral home does not own.
What families actually spend on flowers
Flowers are not on the funeral home price list as a funeral good. They are a third party charge, which means the funeral home is passing on what a florist charges rather than selling you something it stocks. That matters, because it puts the entire decision back in your hands in a way that most of the arrangement conference does not.
The national median funeral with a viewing and burial is $8,300 at the funeral home, casket included and cemetery excluded. Flowers are not inside that figure. Neither is the obituary, the clergy honorarium or the reception, and a family that budgets only from the median is usually surprised by about $1,500 of these small separate bills. The full picture of what a funeral costs is here.
What each piece costs
Florists price funeral work by size, by the number of stems and by how much hand labour the shape demands. A wreath and a shaped tribute take longer to build than a spray of the same volume, which is why they cost more for the same flowers.
| Tribute | Low | Typical | High | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casket spray, full couch | $250 | $450 | $900 | Covers the whole lid, traditionally from the immediate family |
| Casket spray, half couch | $175 | $300 | $600 | Covers the closed half during an open casket viewing |
| Standing spray on an easel | $150 | $250 | $500 | The usual choice for anyone outside the immediate family |
| Wreath on an easel | $120 | $220 | $450 | Priced by diameter, commonly 24 to 36 inches |
| Cross, heart or shaped tribute | $200 | $350 | $700 | More labour than a spray of the same size |
| Standing basket or floor arrangement | $85 | $160 | $350 | Reads as generous and costs the least of the large pieces |
| Table or altar arrangement | $60 | $120 | $300 | Usually bought in pairs for either side of the register table |
| Letter or word tribute such as MOM | $200 | $375 | $800 | Priced per letter, so short words cost far less |
| Sympathy bouquet delivered to the home | $50 | $95 | $200 | What most people send when they cannot attend |
| Living plant, peace lily or orchid | $40 | $85 | $200 | Goes home afterwards, which many families prefer |
| Boutonniere or corsage, each | $12 | $22 | $45 | For pallbearers and close family |
| Delivery to the funeral home or church | $15 | $30 | $75 | Higher at a weekend or outside the delivery radius |
These are typical market ranges quoted by retail florists across the United States, not survey medians. Prices move sharply with the season, with the flowers specified and with the two weeks around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, when wholesale prices roughly double.
Who traditionally sends what
This is the part families ask about most, and there is a simple convention behind it.
- The casket spray comes from the immediate family. It is the only piece with a fixed owner, and it is the one that appears in every photograph.
- Standing sprays, wreaths and baskets come from everyone else, from wider family, from friends, from an employer or a congregation. Several people frequently combine into one larger piece.
- A bouquet or a plant sent to the home is what you send when you cannot be at the service, and it is often more useful, because it arrives in the quiet week afterwards.
- Boutonnieres for pallbearers and corsages for close family are a Southern and Midwestern convention more than a national one.
None of it is obligatory, and it varies enormously by tradition. Jewish and Muslim funerals conventionally have no flowers at all, and sending them can be an awkward gesture rather than a kind one. How different traditions change what is bought is covered here.
Ordering through the funeral home
Most funeral homes will happily place the flower order for you, and there is nothing wrong with letting them. It is one fewer phone call in a week full of them. Understand what it costs before you agree.
Flowers ordered this way appear on your bill as a cash advance item, meaning the funeral home pays the florist and bills you. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, 16 CFR Part 453, the funeral provider has to disclose in writing if it charges you more than it actually paid for a cash advance item, or if it receives a rebate, discount or commission from the supplier. Ask for that disclosure and read it, because the difference is commonly 10 to 20 percent on top of the florist price.
The alternative takes five minutes. Call a florist near the funeral home, say which service and which time, and give a budget rather than a catalogue item. Working florists are good at this and will do more with $250 than a catalogue will.
Seven ways to spend less without it showing
| Approach | Low | Typical | High | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One large piece and nothing else | $175 | $300 | $600 | The casket spray alone, which is what photographs anyway |
| Casket spray plus two standing pieces | $450 | $800 | $1,600 | A conventional funeral home chapel setup |
| Supermarket or warehouse club flowers | $60 | $150 | $300 | Bought in bulk stems and arranged by the family |
| Greenery led design with few blooms | $90 | $190 | $400 | Eucalyptus and foliage cost a fraction of imported blooms |
| Garden flowers arranged by family | $0 | $40 | $120 | Vases and floral foam are the only real cost |
| Silk or artificial arrangement | $70 | $160 | $400 | Keeps afterwards, common for graveside memorials |
Typical market ranges rather than survey medians. Figures assume a service in a metropolitan area with normal seasonal availability.
- Give the florist a budget and a colour, not a picture. Catalogue photographs are built from imported blooms that have to be flown in.
- Buy one substantial piece rather than four modest ones. The room reads the largest object and ignores the rest.
- Ask what is in season locally this week. In season stems cost a third of what out of season ones do.
- Move the church or chapel arrangements to the reception afterwards, so one order does two jobs.
- Supermarket and warehouse club floral departments sell funeral pieces and bulk stems at a fraction of florist pricing.
- Let people bring a single stem to lay on the casket. It costs nothing and it gives everyone something to do.
- Use plants rather than cut flowers where the family will keep them. A peace lily on a windowsill outlasts the week by years.
In lieu of flowers, and how to word it
Redirecting flowers to a charity has become the most common instruction in American obituaries, and it does two things at once. It removes an expectation from people who cannot easily afford it, and it gives the money somewhere useful to go.
Word it as an invitation rather than an instruction. Something close to the following works in almost every obituary. In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to the hospice that cared for her, or to a charity of your choosing. Naming one organisation and giving people an alternative is kinder than naming none, and it avoids the impression that flowers would be unwelcome.
If you want to be practical about it, some families ask for a meal train or a grocery card instead, which is unusual to see in print but is often the thing that actually helps. Writing the obituary itself is covered here, and what publishing it costs is here.
Timing, delivery and the things that go wrong
Funeral flowers are a rush order in an industry built on lead times, so a few practical points are worth more than any price comparison.
- Give the florist the exact venue, the service time and the name of the deceased. Chapels frequently run several services in a day and pieces get set out for the wrong one.
- Order at least 24 hours ahead where you can. Same day is possible almost everywhere and costs a premium almost everywhere.
- Confirm who collects the pieces afterwards. Funeral homes discard what nobody claims, including the casket spray, which upsets families more than any price on this page.
- Ask the cemetery what it allows on the grave afterwards. Many grounds remove standing arrangements within a few days and permit only flush containers.
- Keep the card envelopes. They are how the family knows who to thank, and they are the first thing lost in a busy chapel.
The flowers are the small bill
The median funeral runs $8,300 at the funeral home before the cemetery sends anything. A burial insurance policy pays cash to whoever you name, usually within days, and it covers whichever part of the week needs paying for.
(786) 818-0383Talk to one of our licensed agentsCommon questions
What are funeral sprays and what do they cost?
A casket spray is the large arrangement that lies on the casket, usually $250 to $600, and traditionally it is bought by the immediate family. A standing spray sits on an easel beside the casket, typically $150 to $350, and is what friends and colleagues most often send. Sprays for a man and for a woman differ only in convention, not in price.
What colour flowers should you send to a funeral?
White is the safe answer everywhere and reads as peace and respect. Red carries love and is common for a spouse or parent. Pink is gentle and often chosen for a grandmother. Yellow is friendship and suits a colleague. If the family has named a colour the person loved, that beats every convention here.
What do funeral flowers mean?
Lilies are the most traditional and signify restored innocence. Roses carry love, with the colour setting the shade of it. Carnations are long lasting and are the usual choice for a spray because they survive a long service. Chrysanthemums mean death in much of Europe and Asia and mean nothing in particular in the United States, which is worth knowing if the family is not American.
What flowers go with a cremation urn?
Urn arrangements are smaller and lower than casket work, designed to sit beside or around the urn rather than over it. A wreath encircling the urn or two matching low arrangements either side are the usual shapes, and they typically cost $100 to $250. Ask the funeral home for the table dimensions before ordering, since urn tables are smaller than people expect.
Can I bring my own flowers rather than buying from the funeral home?
Yes. Funeral homes charge a considerable markup and a local florist or supermarket will usually be a fraction of the price for the same stems. Confirm the delivery time and who will be there to receive them.
How much do funeral flowers cost?
Most families spend $150 to $700 in total. A casket spray typically runs $250 to $900, a standing spray on an easel $150 to $500, a wreath $120 to $450 and a sympathy bouquet sent to the home $50 to $200.
Who pays for the casket spray?
By convention the immediate family provides the casket spray, and everyone else sends standing sprays, wreaths, baskets or plants. It is a convention rather than a rule, and several people often combine on one larger piece.
Should I order flowers through the funeral home?
You can, and it saves a phone call. It usually costs more. Flowers ordered this way appear as a cash advance item, and the Funeral Rule requires the funeral home to disclose in writing if it is charging you more than it paid or receiving a commission from the florist. Ask for that disclosure, or call a florist near the venue yourself.
What does in lieu of flowers mean?
It is a request in the obituary that people give to a named charity instead of sending flowers. Word it as an invitation rather than an instruction, name one organisation and offer an alternative, so that nobody feels flowers would have been unwelcome.
Are flowers appropriate at every funeral?
No. Jewish and Muslim funerals conventionally have no flowers, and sending them can be uncomfortable rather than kind. A donation, a condolence call or a meal for the family is the customary gesture instead. Ask the funeral home if you are unsure, since they will know the family and the tradition.
What is the cheapest way to have flowers at a funeral?
Buy one substantial piece rather than several small ones, give the florist a budget and a colour instead of a catalogue photograph, and ask what is in season locally. Supermarket and warehouse club floral departments sell funeral work at a fraction of florist pricing, and garden flowers arranged by the family cost almost nothing.
What happens to the flowers after the service?
Whatever nobody claims is usually discarded by the funeral home, including the casket spray. Decide in advance who is taking pieces home, whether any are going to the reception, and which are going to the graveside, and tell the funeral director. Some families send arrangements on to a hospice or a care home afterwards.
Can I put flowers on the grave afterwards?
Usually yes, within limits the cemetery sets. Many grounds remove standing arrangements and easels within a few days for mowing, and permit only flowers in a flush container or a vase fitted to the marker. Ask the cemetery office for its rules in writing.