Tips for full casket spray

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Flowersbytaffie

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May 21, 2005
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Atlanta
www.flowersbytaffie.com
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Georgia
My shop has been open since may and is doing pretty good so far. I have had the opportunity to provide, standing sprays, plants, baskets and one half saddle for funerals. I got my first full casket spray order today and the customers want white and yellow carns and blue delpheniums. After doing weddings for about 10 years this will be my first funeral where I will provide the full casket spray.

Does anyone have any good tips regarding making a casket spray? I recall dripping water from the 1/2 casket that I did. How do I combat that? Also approximately how many stems should I order. Do you use picks to ensure that the stems don't move or do you use stem loc or some sort of adhesive? How long should the arrangement be? Should the flowers reach the ends of the casket? I have practiced doing this with silk flowers in design school but would like any available tips.

Sorry for the silly Newbie questions but who better to ask than you guys?
 
Taffie - congrats on the growth of your shop.

Full casket covers require a different set up container than 1/2 caskets. You can use the Neverwilt double spray bars, or the Diamond line full casket container - there may be more, but these are what I have worked with.

Either way, you need to have two side by side pieces of oasis - one piece won't be long enough. Dripping casket cover? If you use the neverwilt bar, drill out the drain hole at the top corner so you can drain the whole thing after it's made (their hole is just too teeny, and it takes forever to drain. My local funeral director is verrrry strict on drippy flower pieces, so we try to accomodate as much as possible). The other set up will drain easily if you tilt it after making. And both pieces will drip a lot while you're designing.

Using carns, I would pre-green with emerald tepe, leatherleaf, salal, some euc, varigated monkey grass etc, to get a good size and shape. Don't overgreen, though, as you can add more after you have your flowers in. If I were doing a mixed flower casket cover, I don't green first, but I establish my length and shape with my largest flowers. All one type of flower I green first. Mixing greenery of differnt textures and variety of color greens adds so much interest to what can become a very blase piece. Also, use your carns at a variety of stem lengths, some very short inside, to provide depth to your piece - it really makes a difference.

Unless your flowers are especially weak stemmed, you shouldn't need to pick them, or use floralock - at least I typically don't. I think standard caskets are 7'long, but I may be off on that. I don't make the arr to cover the whole lid, unless it's requested. So our full casket is maybe 5'long or so, 12"-16" tall at the center, and down the front of the casket. John Henry has a cascading saddle set up that can really help you get a good drape, but I don't know if it comes in double length.

Flower quantity depends on the cost paid - probably using two bunches of delphinium, more if they're teeny tiny, and 50-75 or more carns - again, depending on your costs & price paid.

After typing all of this, I just realized I should have asked if it was full open, or full closed? I guess it doesn't really matter much, but I hope this helps. This is a good exercise for me, to try and explain a piece. I'm trying to train a new designer and find myself having to really try to "word out" what I do as instinct anymore! Good luck - and let us know how you did!

tracy
 
I always ask the position of the casket as well. If it is to be against a wall, it only needs to be one sided. (the usual for Funeral Home) If it is in a chuch isle, it needs to be 360*. Casket sprays are my favorite thing to do. That and centerpieces....hmmm... is there a pattern here? heheh
Tim - North Port Floral
 
Tracy, you did a great job. :) Funeral work is my absolute favourite thing to do. I love the creativity allowed. Drape is important... so it doesn't look like a centrepiece sitting in the middle of the casket! Long ivy, plumosa, bear grass etc. gives a great line. I love the look of groupings, so much more impact.

Drain drain drain, and Crowning Glory (or equivalent), is great advice.

V
 
Thanks Guyz

Thanks for the tips. You answered most of my questions. I did have one more about it being one sided or 360. There will not be a veiwing at the funeral home only at the church. The casket will lay at the front of the church prior to being taken to the cemetary. Would a one sided arrangement that faces the congregation work or should it be 360 since it will be taken to the burial site?
 
Always make sure your back is finished (greened, no mechanics visible... true for all your arrangements). That way it won't be unsightly at the cemetery.

Any flying birds I've put in the funeral flowers is on a long thin wire... gently bent so it looks like the bird is in take-off soar.

V
 
NPFloral said:
I always ask the position of the casket as well. If it is to be against a wall, it only needs to be one sided. (the usual for Funeral Home) If it is in a chuch isle, it needs to be 360*.
Tim - North Port Floral
Click to expand...
Good point to remember and to have the staff ask the family when placing an order for the casket piece. It is easy to forget that some churches do the aisle thing....as to your liking centerpieces and casket pieces...well maybe you are a "party hearty" to the end kind of guy! You are welcome down this a way anytime!
Sher
 
Recommend 360 degrees,

That way you are safe regardless of what they do in church or at the cemetery. As far as drippy, Akiko always places the oasis in a large sandwich bag and tapes the end shut. There is some leakage as the flowers are inserted, but the spray can be tipped as it is moved from work bench, to storage, to vehicle and once more before going into the F H. We never have a problem with drips or leaks! Good Luck
 
I completely agree

I think I will go with 360 to be safe. This is my first major order with this funeral home and they are huge (they did Coretta Scott Kings funeral and a TON of other dignitaries(sp). As far as the zip log baggie are you saying that you put it on the foam prior to the flowers being inserted? Do you place it on the bottom only or the whole bar of foam?
 
Taffie... trust yourself and remember what you learned in school. When in doubt, look at your notes. ;)

I used to wrap the oasis in dark green foil ( I learned that at Flowers Canada)... I don't do that anymore. As you gain the experience you will find the tricks that work for you.

V
 
As for the 360 design, we sometimes make the back of the design a bit thinner than the front, or we put most of the specialty ($$$) flowers in the front with fewer in the back. We do this when the family wants irises, lilies, etc. but they don't have the money to spend to have many of them. In our area, I've never seen a casket saddle which was not 360.
 
I Really do appreciate the help

I guess the bottom line is you have to develop your own techniques, but reading everyone elses ideas has been great. The comments help to answer so many questions as well as confirm some of my thoughts. I am completing and delivering the arrangement today and will do my best to take pictures and try to post it tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone!
 
Sorry About The Late Response!

Been gone for a couple days chaperone for a church youth group tour of NY CITY!
1) Insert well soaked oasis into the bag as the first step.

2) We don't use the "Zip LOC" style, they don't fold to fit smoothly, and they have the thick, tough closure seams to interfere with the stem insertion. Excess is folded under where no stems go through. I wanted to check the box to give you a good size, but, alas, no box here. Akiko has recycled so many bags from plush etc that over-supply sometimes becomes a problem. Flat folded size needs to be about 14" x 7" or 8" so you don't need 2 bags to a whole block of oasis.

By the way; it also works great for the oasis blocks in the cages for standing sprays!

A fringe benefit with no water supply, the oasis tends to stay suitably moist longer.

Hope this helps!
 
We always do 360. The first few we delivered to the funeral home the furneral director asked "which side is the front" we told him with ours it didnt matter. He appreciates not having to decide or hide one side. That way he looks good either way. If specifically asked by a customer we would do a one sided but even the familys that don't have a lot of money or for what ever reason don't want to spend a lot on flowers prefer a smaller or less expensive flowers to a one sided. At least in our area.
Good luck
 
Whew!

I got the casket spray done and the funeral director and the family were very pleased. Thanks everyone for your tips. I am very interested in the plastic bag technique. When you use the bag, is it difficult to insert the flowers into the foam? Do you use picks?
 
Please remember, AKIKO is the designer,

but I'll report my observations.
Hard stems like pom-pons, carnations, roses etc go in easily. When we proscess them we always cut on an angle anyway so there is a sharper pointed end. For soft stems such as gerbera or tulips etc Akiko keeps a pencil or a hyacinth stake handy on her work bench to make the insertion hole. (hole is smaller than the stem so it fits tightly and minimizes leaks.

Cost of the bags is minimal because so much stuff comes in wrapped in a suitable bag. While some of you in the elegant, high priced areas might consider it tacky, you wouldn't believe how much we recycle here in this rural area where "Use it up, wear it out, make it do" is a way of life.

Glad you had a happy result!

p. s. About 30 years ago Akiko also wrapped in foil. What a pain that was!
 
:) Clark... recylce, reuse, reduce... watch words here too!

That's why I gave up the foil... it was a total pain! Now, holders with drip trays make it unnecessary for me to wrap in anything. Even those things are recycled now, with the co-operation of the funeral directors. :)

V
 
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