Funeral Flowers in Kenya: Wreaths, Sprays and What to Write

Choosing funeral flowers is a decision people make quickly, badly and while distracted, usually because they have never had to make it before. The good news is that the choice is narrower than it looks: there are three formats, and which one is right depends almost entirely on your relationship to the person who died.

Funeral flowers in Kenya come in three formats

A standing wreath goes to the service. It sits on an easel near the casket, usually carries a printed sash with the sender’s name, and is what organisations, colleagues and extended family send. Ours is KSh 18,500 and we set it in place before guests arrive.

A casket spray lies on the casket itself. This is for immediate family only. spouse, children, parents. If you are not in that group, do not send one; it is an awkward thing to have to move.

A hand tied bouquet or vase arrangement goes to the family home, during the mourning period or afterwards. This is the right choice for friends, neighbours and colleagues of the bereaved rather than of the deceased. A vase arrangement is kinder than a bouquet here, because a grieving household should not have to hunt for a vase.

Colour

White and green is the safe register everywhere in Kenya. white roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, with deep green foliage. Beyond that, conventions vary considerably between communities and denominations, and it is genuinely worth asking someone close to the family rather than guessing. Where you cannot ask, white is never wrong.

Timing

Flowers to the home can go any time during the mourning period. Flowers to the service should arrive before it starts. for us that means ordering at least 24 hours ahead for a wreath, and telling us the service time so we can deliver and set up ahead of guests. For shorter notice, call and we will tell you honestly what is possible.

What to write

Short, plain, and include your full name. the family may not recognise a first name alone, and cards are often read weeks later when working out who to thank. “With deepest sympathy, from the Ochieng family” does everything it needs to. Avoid anything that centres your own grief, and avoid religious language unless you are certain it is shared.

If you cannot attend

Send to the home rather than the service, and follow it with a message. Flowers at a service you did not attend can read as a substitute for presence; flowers at the home a week later, when the crowd has gone and the house is quiet, tend to land better.

Our sympathy and funeral range is here, or call +254 797 468003 and we will walk you through it.