Advanced Funeral Wishes
I often hear families say that they really do not know what their loved one’s wishes were and where to begin with arrangements to be made.
It can be a difficult conversation to have with our loved ones, but by having our Advanced Funeral Wishes recorded it can make it easier. Any Advanced Funeral Wishes you make is not a legally binding document, but it does let your family, or friends know what your wishes are and makes it easier for them where possible to follow those wishes.
So, this is why I have created an Advanced Funeral Wishes form with questions for you to complete that captures the essence of your wishes.
Firstly, I have included a handy list of documentation that would be useful to have in a folder or box in one location. It will help the person that will be dealing with your affairs greatly to have all this information in one place. This form sits alongside your documentation and/or have a copy with your Will so your loved are aware of your wishes.
Please feel free to download a copy to print for your personal use by right clicking the link below and opening in a new window.
Interview with Nicki's Flower Shop
194 Loose Road Maidstone Kent ME15 7UF - 01622 685 849
I have visited many a florists over the years and Nicki's Flower Shop took me straight back to my childhood memories of visiting my local florist. The moment I stepped through the door, it led me to want to learn more about the history of Nicki's Florist and the people that work there. I loved learning all about these three young ladies stories and their passion for the job and creations they make. The customer service is second to none, they all have amazing friendly smiles on greeting and nothing is too much trouble. So whatever your occasion is for ordering flowers definitely give these ladies a visit.
Tell me about the history of Nicki’s Flowers Shop.
Nicki’s Florist was first established on the 30th of September 1990 by Nicki, aged 18, at Grafty Garden Centre. She then moved to our current location, Loose Road on 24th of March 1993. Since then, in October of 2022, Nicki sold the shop to the now current owners, Dawn and Tim. Even though the shop owners have changed, the florists have stayed the same, just with some new additions to the team.
Tell me about yourselves as individuals
Libby – I initially started my career in floristry in 2021, in a temporary trainee position, in a different florist in Maidstone. I have always been very creative and always knew I wanted a career in a creative industry, so it just felt right. I then joined Nicki’s towards the end of 2022. My favourite flower would have to be Ranunculi's as they’re so unique or Freesias, as they’re little and delicate, and smell AMAZING.
Courtney – My first job at 16 was a helper at another Florist, this lead me down the Floristry path. I loved all the pretty flowers and the beautiful things you could create with them. I then started learning about Floristry at Hadlow College. I got my level 2 and 3 Diploma and absolutely loved it. I started at Nicki’s in the middle of 2020 and I couldn’t ask for a better team to work with. I don’t have one favourite flower, but I love Nigella, Orchids and Roses. Simple but they look so pretty and look lovely with everything.
Laura – I chose to be a florist because I get to be creative with design and colour every day, bringing happiness to someone’s day. But also, having the honour of making that final tribute for the loss of a loved one. My favourite flower are Orchids, especially the Phalaenopsis species due to their simplicity, beauty and longevity and array of colours.
The local florist shop is an important link to your local community providing a service for people to order flowers for all occasions. What service would you offer a bride to be in ordering their Wedding flowers from you?
We love doing little weddings. It feels so special when people choose us to help them for their big day. We normally book consultations for them to either come into the shop, or over a call if that is more convenient for them. We do have a book of examples, and of course flowers in the shop to help them decide, or we also have examples on our Facebook and Instagram.
During the consultation, we start off by taking all the details such as the venue and timings, if it’s for delivery, or just the time if it’s for collection. We then discuss what flowers they would like, such as bridal bouquets, buttonholes, venue decorations etc and if there were any specific flowers they would like, or colour schemes they’d like us to stick to. We will then send a quote over by email. Some people come to us with pictures of flowers they have found online, and we are more than happy to try and get as close as we can to replicating it for them, or just using it as inspiration.
We do like as much notice as possible for weddings as this gives us time to ensure we have all the correct details, to send the quote over and source the flowers and materials. It also allows for anything they would like to change or alter before the big day.
What service would you offer a family wishing to order Funeral flowers from you?
For funerals there is no need to book an appointment, you are more than welcome to come into the shop or call any time that is convenient. We have a book in the shop with all the different arrangements that we offer, as well as lots of different examples of previous work we have done on Facebook and Instagram.
We are more than happy to change colours, sizes, and flowers if there was anything specific wanted for a tribute. There is also the option of ordering online, and any changes can be added in the notes box. We can either send the flowers directly to the funeral directors, or to an address, whatever is preferred, or you are more than welcome to collect from the shop.
For bespoke pieces, we normally advise finding a picture similar to the kind of tribute they wanted, that way it is a lot easier for us to visualise what they have in mind. We can then give some ideas, suggestions, and prices.
For funerals we do ask for as much notice as possible, at least a week, due to us sourcing materials and making sure we can get any specific flowers.
Looking at the amazing displays that are posted on Instagram and Facebook – Do you have a favourite part of the year for making displays?
We don’t have any favourites; we love each one as there all great in their own way.
Valentines is sweet with all the loving arrangements we make for couples, beautiful big roses, and sweet messages.
Mother’s Day is all springy, gorgeous mixes of Tulips, Daffodils, Scented Freesia’s. The shop smells extra lovely this time of year.
Easter is also lovely with the yellows, whites, and purples.
Summer we have all bright mixes with cerise’s, yellows, purples, greens and oranges which cheer everybody up.
Autumn, we have deep, rusty oranges, reds, yellows, and greens.
Christmas is fun for us all, we get to spray paint the greenery in golds and silvers, use glittery baubles and fruit slices, decorate wreaths, and make all different festive arrangements.
Tell me one thing each you love the most about being a Florist and what you think makes Nicki’s florist different.
Libby- I think the best thing is the creative freedom, especially when customers are happy to let you choose the colours or flowers of what it is they are ordering. I think we are different as we have great value for money, but with the same great quality of any other florist.
Courtney- I love working at Nicki’s Florist, we have a great hard-working team, and we all care so much about our work. I believe the thing that makes us different to other florists is we try our best to make everyone happy, we try our hardest to make each design as lovely and big as possible and we love seeing how happy customers are with them.
Laura- Floristry to me is so special as it is different every day and I love being able to help people out and make them happy. I think what makes us different is we have friendly happy staff that are always willing to help, with a range of different abilities and knowledge. Me and my colleagues are passionate about the quality of the floral tributes we make.
Take a look at their website at the beautiful florist creations by right clicking the link below and opening in a new window.
