yeah, i wish there would be more flowers instead of leaves but the cost of flowers, esp. white roses, when they arrive at provinces like my home, Iloilo, can get pretty expensive.

Regarding floral wreaths, here’s a piece of trivia I read somewhere: The practice of having flowers at a wake or a funeral came about in Europe in the old days, when embalming was not yet perfected. They would pack the funeral parlor with tons of flowers to mask the odor of a decomposing body. In the 20th century, the embalming technique was finally perfected, and since the flowers now no longer serve their original purpose, the green leafy wreaths could be a practical alternative. :)

But I do agree about the ribbons with the donors’ names — extremely tacky!