a day or two after my grandma had passed away i received a call from my uncle asking me two things:
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1) if i would speak at the funeral
2) if i would do the floral arrangement for the casket
i immediately said yes to both even though one of the things terrified me slightly. funny enough, it wasn’t speaking at at the funeral, i’m actually one of those crazy people who love public speaking, so i had no issue there. it was the thought of doing the floral arrangement that had me kind of freaked out.
so why say yes? well, because i felt as though it was a nudge from my sweet sweet grandmother to finally transition to working with fresh flowers. i’ve done flowers for four weddings now, they just haven’t been fresh flowers. i’ve always worked with faux flowers. flowers that don’t die. flowers that have wire in them and can bend however you want. flowers you can hot glue. you get the idea…
i’ve been thinking about working with real true flowers though for a while now (by a while i mean a few years), but have just never made the leap.
yep, i never made the leap until i got that call from my uncle! saying yes truly did terrify me, but i thought why not? if not now for my grandmother, then when? i’d rather have something created that fits her and is a tribute to her, than some arrangement that is generic and not personal at all. i just kept telling myself, “you can do this! just have faith!”
so the morning after i got in from colorado and the day of the viewing (the arrangement had to be done by 3:00 pm), my mom and i set out to pick up the flowers. we started our floral shopping bright and early at walmart, then headed to harmon’s & michaels, & then finished off at costco. can i say thank heaven’s for costco and harmon’s? love their floral selections! of course, i do have to give michael’s credit for the feathers and twirlies.
after making all our purchases we headed home to put it all together & i say “we” because my mom hung in there with me getting me what i needed, listening to me throw ideas around, and cleaning up my mess the entire three hours. she is a fabulous assistant and cut the production time in 1/2 if not more. every time i’ve had a big floral project to do, she’s been right there doing whatever she can to help…some times even into the early morning hours & i can’t thank her enough for all that help! she was even willing to lie down on the floor next to this arrangement so i could get a good measurement of how long the spray should be! i mean think about it, what is a good length? i had no idea and figured there was only one way to find out?!
back to the actual arrangement though, thankfully a good friend of the family (who is also in business of flowers) had a casket saddle on hand. don’t know what a casket saddle is? neither did i. i had no clue what one was until i got thinking, “wait, how do they get the arrangement to sit on casket that has a curved top?” i guess i should get some points for even thinking of that from the get go? right?
truthfully, when i realized we needed one of these i was slightly relieved since i figured we wouldn’t be able to track one down and that meant we’d have to use a florist instead, but no, one was tracked down and i was back on. back to diving head first into something i felt i knew nothing about.
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| a casket saddle, so now you know too! |
this whole project was literally the epitome of leaping without looking and hoping you either find ground or find wings to soar with. i spent the morning before my flight out on google examining hundreds of casket sprays and then spent a few hours the night before watching how-to video’s on youtube. i’m telling you, you can learn anything on the internet – well almost anything.
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| the photo inspirations we took with us when shopping |
so once we got home and got the flowers back in water, it was time to start, time to put that research to use. all of the sprays i had looked at online were symmetrical & rounded or they laid flat along the top of the casket (see above). i had the thought to do something a little different though about half way through & it turned out looking nothing like the inspirations, it literally took on a life of it’s own. it seems all my arrangements seem to do that when i have a particular person in mind.
time for the photo’s…
the greenery and fillers all lined up waiting to be used
starting to build the base. the majority of the greenery was actually cut from my grandparents yard. greenery my grandmother had helped plant back when they built the house (at least 25 years ago), and that she had walked past every day since. it was a personal touch that only those who knew her really well would notice, like her sons. i have to give my grandpa credit for the idea. when he heard i was having a hard time finding enough greenery he suggested i cut things from the yard. truly a fabulous idea on his part!
adding in the roses
my grandma loves fall colors so those were the colors i used. i love the pops of yellow!
i have incorporated a bird into every project i’ve done, all four weddings and now this arrangement.
the finished product
see, told you i didn’t do symmetrical. i wanted this to be different & personal. something as unique and lovely as she was on this earth. i wanted it to be a tribute to the amazing and beautiful person that she is to all of us and so when i had the idea to break the mold, i ran with it. it may be the only asymmetrical spray my grandpa or the mortuary owner have ever seen (and they both told me such), but rules were made to be broken, right? besides, i think it turned out o.k? maybe it’ll start a trend? i mean, you know it’s different when the mortuary owner says, “…she’s never seen anything like it.” 🙂
at the grave dedication
some up close shots
i just had to add the feathers and the twirls, i knew my grandma would approve of & love them, without a doubt.
the pallbearers rose’s and a carnation from one of her sweet sisters.
in the end, i think for being my first ever legit real flower arrangement, i did all right. i am so grateful for my family (especially my grandpa, since it was from him) trusting me with this assignment and letting me serve my grandma by doing something i love for her. it just wouldn’t have been the same had a florist done it. i, personally, am so glad i took the leap and jumped right in. yes, they are just flowers, but i know my grandma was there in spirit with us that day and i like to think she smiled at the all the personal touches that were just for her. i also really do believe this was her way of gently pushing me forward towards a dream i’ve had for a while now but have been too scaredy cat to try. i feel like i took a leap into the unknown on this project and my wings came…
…and i have my grandma to thank for that!
i love you grandma!
It really was a beautiful, incredible arrangement! And I love that you had Cindy lay down next to them to make sure the size was right – lol!