London Crematoria
Funeral flowers for
London crematoria.
Casket sprays, chapel pieces and committal tributes hand-delivered to every crematorium across Greater London — Honor Oak, Mortlake, Golders Green, Putney Vale, City of London, West Norwood, Eltham and beyond. Composed by our local florists, placed before the cortège.
All venues
9 crematoria we serve across London.
Same-day chapel placement before the time of service. Send a tribute below.
Cremation flowers
A composition for the committal.
A crematorium service is briefer than a burial — typically twenty to thirty minutes — and the floral composition is read against that tempo. We compose casket sprays at scale (1.2 m to 1.5 m for full caskets, 60–80 cm for cremation coffins), in palettes that hold their colour under chapel lighting and bear movement to the catafalque without shedding.
Beyond the casket, we compose family pieces placed on the lectern or either side of the chapel, posies for grandchildren to carry, and memory bouquets for the wake or reception that follows. Each piece is sized to the venue: Honor Oak's chapel is intimate; Golders Green's main chapel seats four hundred. We compose accordingly.
For the major cremation traditions — Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, humanist, Jewish (where permitted), Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Greek Orthodox — we adjust composition, palette and timing to the rite, and never present a piece that does not belong.
What is cremated, what is removed
The committal
protocol.
The single fact most families want clarified about cremation flowers is what happens to the tribute at the moment of committal. The short answer: most tributes are removed before the casket is committed.
Larger floral pieces — wreaths, standing sprays, letter tributes built on foam frames — are removed by the funeral director or the crematorium attendant before the curtains close. Reasons range from environmental (foam frames release toxins when burned) to operational (cremator capacity and emissions limits). Only the casket and a small number of flowers placed directly on or in the casket pass through to cremation.
If the family wants specific flowers cremated with the casket, this needs to be agreed in advance with the crematorium. Most venues will accept a small posy or hand-tied bouquet placed inside the casket; a few will accept a single rose laid on top. Foam-framed pieces, ribbons and large outer tributes are always removed first. Our florists ask the question on every cremation brief and confirm the answer with the funeral director, so the family is not surprised on the day.
After the service, the removed tributes go to one of three places: home with the family, the crematorium's garden of remembrance (where they are placed and slowly decompose), or back to the funeral director for a wake or reception. Our florists offer to collect select stems for drying and pressing — returned to the family in a small frame two weeks on — at no extra charge.
Chapel sizes and venue notes
Composing to the
chapel.
The London crematoria differ in scale and in the conventions they expect from the families who use them. Composing to the venue is part of getting a tribute right.
Honor Oak (Brockley) and Mortlake (Kew Road). Intimate chapels seating around 80 mourners. Tributes scaled accordingly: casket sprays of 90 cm rather than 1.2 m, standing wreaths of 18–24 inches rather than 30. Anything larger crowds the chapel and obscures the celebrant.
Golders Green (Hoop Lane) and Putney Vale (Stag Lane). Larger chapels with a main hall seating 200–400. Casket sprays at full length (1.2 m), letter tributes scaled up, formal palettes (white on white) common given the historic clientele. Multi-tribute services from large families are routine here.
City of London (Aldersbrook), West Norwood, Eltham, Manor Park. Council-run, well-equipped, with chapels of varying scale. Each has its own placement protocol — some require all tributes to be set down at the entrance for the funeral director to position; others allow the florist to place directly. Our florists know each venue's preference.
South London (Streatham), East London (West Ham), St Marylebone (East Finchley), West London (West Kilburn). Long-established crematoria, mid-scale, with reliable protocols and experienced chapel coordinators. We hold trade accounts at most of these and can dispatch a tribute on minutes' notice for a confirmed service later the same day.
Multi-faith cremation in London
Composing across
traditions.
Hindu. Hindu funerals conclude with cremation and flowers are an integral part of the rite. Garlands of marigolds, jasmine and roses are placed around the body; loose petals (marigolds and rose) are scattered on the casket and inside the chapel. White, yellow and orange — the auspicious colours — dominate. Honor Oak, Mortlake and Golders Green all accommodate Hindu services with extended committal time and dedicated facilities.
Sikh. Sikh services typically involve prayers and recitations from the Guru Granth Sahib at the gurdwara, followed by a cremation at the local crematorium. Floral conventions are flexible but conservative: white roses, lilies and chrysanthemums, modest scale, no religious imagery from other traditions. Mortlake, Hounslow and Honor Oak are common choices for British Sikh families in London.
Buddhist. Buddhist cremation conventions vary by school (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana). White is consistently appropriate; yellow (the colour associated with monastic robes in some traditions) is also welcome. Avoid bright reds and pinks. Modest standing pieces and hand-tied bouquets fit the rite.
Greek and Russian Orthodox. Cremation is uncommon in Orthodox practice — most families opt for burial. When cremation is chosen, the tribute is modest and white-only, with the casket often closed and surrounded by candles and an icon rather than flowers.
Civil and humanist. Civil and humanist services follow the family's preference entirely. Bright palettes — sunflowers, gerberas, the deceased's favourite blooms — are common at celebration-of-life services; restrained whites and pastels at more sombre civil ceremonies.
Crematoria FAQ
Chapel placement, timing, post-service collection.
For anything not covered here, please write to us via the contact form.