On the 29th April 2015 I was able to be back home in New Zealand with my family for the funeral of my very dear Nana Shirley who lived to the age of 92. Nana, as her mother had been before her (and now the generations continue this legacy) was a lover of flowers and had been able to design her own celebration of life service. This even involved requesting the flowers and style of arranging that she wanted her funeral displays to be formed in. Nana was extraordinary – she adored colours and always dressed colourfully. She was seldom seen without a hat. She had many of them, so when it came to choosing her casket flowers what could be better than the roses and delphinium blooms that she had grown over the years arranged in floral print Hat Boxes?!
For Florists worldwide I understand that there is a trend for the sympathy flower market to have greatly declined and there is a call and a need for floral arrangers and designers to revive this type of work in new and innovative ways. One such designer who has grasped this is Randy Wooten AIFD http://www.delorices.com/about_us.php . He’s recently written and published a book called Jubilation which was launched this week.
Jubilation proposes the thought of sympathy in a whole new light, focusing on the life of the loved one rather than the loss of the person by creating a celebration of life event to honor their passions in life. The book is full of ideas and beautiful photos to capture the reader. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdlxOJZnzno
Nana’s funeral was a true celebration of life. A joyful occasion where we designed flowers that truly honoured her passions in life. I so loved arranging with joy the many arrangements that set off my Nana’s funeral so beautifully.
Nice post!
What an amazing tribute to Nana Shirley Mel. I hope when I pass over that there will be someone around to share something positive about my life too. Thanks for sharing this, it is just lovely xxxxx