Expressions of love, respect, and honor come in infinite forms, but flowers have served to represent those sentiments for centuries. All over the world, flowers are used in different ways and in varying designs to pay tribute. They provide a tactile and visual memorial that is universally recognized.

While creating this portfolio, our focus was to design floral tributes with geography in mind, specifically West Michigan. What floral designs would represent how our community celebrates the life well-lived?  We set out to use flowers to evoke feeling and feature forward-thinking designs that are meaningful and serve a greater purpose, at the same time remaining mindful of the traditions, rituals, and customs and how those values are evolving.

Within this portfolio are examples of our designs that have incorporated portraits, photographs, mementos, and artifacts. The inclusion of these items can transform flowers into something more personal, more consequential. Tailoring a floral design to incorporate these types of item is one way to convey what was important to a life, favorite book, a musical instrument, a bible can all add meaning.

While creating the layout, we made a conscience decision that no matter the style of service, the floral collections found within the portfolio should be adaptable to the type of service. Whether a casket, urn, or portrait will be present at the service, all the collections represent a variety of choices tailored to different service style.

We also carefully selected types and varieties of fresh flowers and greenery used within the collections. We made our selections based on consistency and year-round available. It was important to us to feature flowers that commercially have no season. This meant excluding some beloved favorites. Those seasonal favorites can always be added in practice, but reliability won the day for the purposes of this portfolios.

For us personally and professionally, this portfolio was rewarding to design. Each stage of the project was gratifying, from the research and preparation to physically designing the floral pieces to the days of photo shoots. This project was an invaluable experience.