The loss of someone close can never be made up by anything. Still, with your support and some sympathy words and gestures, you can always make the bereaved family feel a little better. Sending flowers to the close family members of the one who has expired is one of the appropriate ways to offer your sympathies. Often people get confused when it comes to sympathy flowers etiquette as flowers have always been associated with beauty and romance. This makes people apprehensive about sending funeral flowers to the deceaseds family. So, to allay all such confusions, given below is the etiquette for sending sympathy flowers. Etiquette for Sympathy Flowers Timing If you have been to any funeral before, you would know that friends, family and other acquaintances visit the funeral home or the church to pay a visit to the close family of the deceased. The visitation and viewing ceremonies are conducted which the people known to the deceased attend. The sympathy flowers etiquette says that they should be ideally sent to the funeral home or the church before the first visitation hours. In case, they have not been sent in time, sending them before any other extra visitation hours or at least the last visitation is considered to be appropriate. However, under no circumstance should the flowers be sent to the graveyard when the service is going on as it can disrupt the whole ceremony. You may read more on funeral etiquette. sympathy flowers Arrangements There is a particular funeral flowers delivery and arrangement etiquette, which is with regards to the kind of arrangement that should be sent. If a person was very close to the deceased, it is all right to send a very big and rich looking flower arrangement such as a standing cross and a casket spray. Otherwise, anything from a simple bouquet of flowers to a flower basket to a wreath would do. Read more on funeral flower arrangements. Flowers Sympathy flowers etiquette says that all kinds of flowers can be sent to the family of the deceased. Just because the flowers are being sent to convey sympathy, it does not mean that they have to be dull looking. If the flowers are to be sent to the residence of the deceased, daisies and lilies are a good choice. If they are being sent to the funeral service, large lively flowers such as chrysanthemums, carnations and gladioli should be send. Flower Meanings and Colors When it comes to choosing funeral flowers, different people go by different rules. Some people choose bouquets made of flowers which the deceased was very fond of. Some go by their own liking and taste. Very few actually look into the meanings these flowers stand for. For instance lilies stand for love while Statice stands for remembrance. Carnation stands for pride and beauty while Protea symbolizes courage. Red roses, as everybody knows, stand for love, however when added to a sympathy bouquet, they denote strength and courage, which the family of the deceased badly needs. You may go to list of flowers and their meaning. sympathy flowers Besides these flowers, any white or blue colored flowers added to a funeral flower bouquet have a very calming and peaceful effect on the family of the deceased. Sympathy Messages Along with choosing the right flowers, writing the sympathy messages appropriately is equally important. Sympathy flowers etiquette recommends keeping it short and concise when it comes to writing sympathy messages. Simple words such as "my deepest condolences" are more than enough to convey how you feel. In case you want to offer your help to the family at such a time, you can mention it on the sympathy card. You can write things like, "let me know in case you need help with grocery shopping or baby sitting". Such sweet gestures will be well appreciated by the family of the deceased sympathy flowers. The sympathy flowers etiquette says that they can be sent to the residence of the deceased any time within a month of the funeral service. So, even if the news of death reaches a person late, he can still convey his sympathies and support to the family by way of flowers.