My sister-in-law's brother died, and I'm wanting to send flowers to the funeral. However, since they live a distance away, I was looking at the online places for ordering. If you've ordered, who did you uses, and did they meet your expectations?

I have used 1800flowers.com several times and have never had an issue. Mostly for mothers-day and birthday's and the people receiving them have been happy. I have had one funeral that I couldn't attend and family told me how nice the arrangement was.

I've used FTD. The online companies don't make the flowers, they have contracts with local florists who make and deliver them.

So how nice they are is going to depend on the local florist.

One of my girlfriends went through chemo a few months ago and I ordered through FTD and she got an amazing arrangement of flowers that really did last a long time. She was thrilled with them and I was very proud to have sent them to her.

WHen Bill had his pacemaker put in one of my girlfriends sent flowers and transposed two letters in the address. Rather than call her (she supplied a number) they asked neighbors and they pointed the delivery van to his brother's house. His vacant house that doesn't have renters right now. So the flowers sat on the steps of the vacant house for several days before his brother went by to check on the house.

One of my girlfriends had her 10th anniversary party at work. Her mother sent flowers from FTD and they showed up with nearly all the tops of the flowers broken from the stems. Nothing salvageable.

I also sent her flowers from FTD and the tulips arrived at her office in time for the party in perfect condition.

It just depends on the local florist who gets the assignment.

I've been lucky - very happy with what was ever sent. But we received flowers and not been as lucky.

We've always used FTD as well and been very pleased. And you get 20% off with AAA, which helps a lot - ftd.com/aaa

I've used 1 800 Flowers and FTD, both with success.

You can also call the funeral home and ask them if there's a florist who delivers to them frequently. They can give you the names of a few in the local area that you can then call directly.

I'm sorry for your family's loss.

I've had pretty good luck with ordering flowers. I've used FTD most and recently used Nationwide Flowers for the first time, and everyone's loved them. I think it was through a contracted florist with FTD, but 2 years ago I ordered flowers for my future MIL, who had been hospitalized. At the time, I didn't know she was located in ICU and they wouldn't allow the flowers in. The florist let me know, and then they checked in with the hospital a couple days later, and delivered her a fresh batch!

I think if at all possible you should find some florists in the area and call them directly. My Aunt used to own a florist and she said you're going to get more for your money if you just call the florist. Florists pay fees (a lot of fees) to belong to the FTD network. If you're trying to stay within a certain budget, this will really impact the flowers sent, as wire fees are also charged.

I had a friend receive flowers that someone ordered from 1-800-FLOWERS. They were GORGEOUS! They didn't come from a local florist, but were packaged very nicely in an insulated carton and shipped from 800 FLOWERS. The downside to that...she had to arrange her own flowers. The vase, flower food and everything were packed in the box, but she had to put it all together.

I think most florists will take a credit card over the phone. A quick Google search will not only find flowers close to where you're looking, but a lot of the time there are reviews also!

Excellent point, LeeLo, if you can find a good one. I forgot that we used to call a florist near my MIL that we loved, but they closed, and then we sent a couple of deliveries from other florists that were sadly mediocre. We've found that we get better and more consistent service if we go through FTD.

Also, an interesting thought about the flowers that come in a box like that - I used to think it was pretty silly to send DIY flowers, but a co-worker of mine sent some to his mom not realizing that they wouldn't be in an arrangement already. It turned out that she loved having to arrange them and it was an excellent project for an elderly woman who quite frankly needs to have projects. So, they have a place sometimes.

FTD has flowers in a box, too, I discovered recently - so if you order any online read the fine print!

Thank you all for your input. I ended up going with FTD. Since the funeral was today and I knew it was probably impossible to get there, I had them sent to her house. FTD had the most beautiful bouquet of yellow lilies and other plants. My sil loves yellow, so I figured it would make her smile. I just hope it looks somewhat like the picture!

Judy, I find that the FTD website usually shows the biggest most expensive option, but the end product looks very like the picture, with some expected variation for immediate availability of flowers and foliage. I hope it does bring a smile to her face!

My sis-in-law left me a message last night saying she'd received the flowers and that they were beautiful. Her daughter told me this morning that her mom was raving about the beautiful flowers and that she seemed touched to get them. Since it was her brother, his wife and others got all the flowers (understandably so), but she was happy to get some for herself.

I sent them to her house the day after the funeral because I didn't have time to get it to the funeral itself. However, I think I'm liking this idea of sending them to the house after the funeral. It seemed to really make her happy to have another reminder that she was loved and thought about after it was over.

Awesome! I'm glad she was so happy and that you had a good experience!