The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

What Size Urn Do I Need? The 1-Cubic-Inch Rule Explained (Plus Common Sizing Mistakes)

What Size Urn Do I Need? The 1-Cubic-Inch Rule Explained (Plus Common Sizing Mistakes)

Choosing an urn can feel like a strangely practical task in the middle of something deeply personal. A family may be thinking about music, photos, a prayer, a scattering location—then...

How Much Ash Is Left After Cremation? Typical Weight, Volume, and What to Expect

How Much Ash Is Left After Cremation? Typical Weight, Volume, and What to Expect

After a cremation, families often ask a practical question: how much ash left after cremation is normal? The answer matters because it helps you choose cremation urns for ashes that fit,...

Green Burial Guide: What It Is, How It Works, Costs, and How to Find a Certified Cemetery

Green Burial Guide: What It Is, How It Works, Costs, and How to Find a Certified Cemetery

If you have been searching what is green burial, you are usually trying to answer two questions at once. You want to honor someone in a way that feels honest...

Lighting a Candle in Memory of Someone: Symbolism Across Traditions and Simple Remembrance Ritual Ideas

Lighting a Candle in Memory of Someone: Symbolism Across Traditions and Simple Remembrance Ritual Ideas

There are moments in grief when words feel too complicated, too public, or simply too far away. In those moments, lighting a candle in memory can feel like the simplest...

“Epitaph to a Dog” by Lord Byron: Meaning, History, and Pet Memorial Quote Idea

“Epitaph to a Dog” by Lord Byron: Meaning, History, and Pet Memorial Quote Idea

Some poems survive because they’re technically brilliant. Others survive because they say, plainly and powerfully, what people feel but struggle to put into words. Lord Byron’s Epitaph to a Dog...

Scatter, Bury, Keep, or Water Burial: Which Urn Type Fits Each Plan?

Scatter, Bury, Keep, or Water Burial: Which Urn Type Fits Each Plan?

When a family asks what to do with ashes, the real question is usually two questions at once: what kind of goodbye fits the life you’re honoring, and what container...

Horse Cremation and Equine Aftercare: Options, Costs, and Choosing an Equine Urn

Horse Cremation and Equine Aftercare: Options, Costs, and Choosing an Equine Urn

Losing a horse can feel like losing a whole world: the daily routines, the barn sounds, the quiet partnership, the weight of a presence that was both powerful and gentle....

Custom Car Accessories as Memorial Keepsakes: Personalized Auto Tributes for Car Enthusiasts

Custom Car Accessories as Memorial Keepsakes: Personalized Auto Tributes for Car Enthusiasts

For many people, a car is more than transportation. It is a place where you think, decompress, sing too loudly, talk to someone on the phone, or drive the same...

Personalized Cremation Urns: Custom Photos, Engraving, 3D Prints, and Other Memorialization Options

Personalized Cremation Urns: Custom Photos, Engraving, 3D Prints, and Other Memorialization Options

Personalization is often the moment an urn stops feeling like a “purchase” and starts feeling like a memorial. Families who search for personalized cremation urns are usually trying to solve...

Cremation Jewelry Brands and Buyers Guide: Where to Shop and Questions to Ask Before You Buy

Cremation Jewelry Brands and Buyers Guide: Where to Shop and Questions to Ask Before You Buy

If you’re searching for cremation jewelry brands, you’re probably doing two things at once: you’re trying to keep someone close, and you’re trying to avoid a purchase you’ll regret. Memorial...

How to Plan a Funeral in 2025: Costs, Trends, and Preplanning Options for Seniors

How to Plan a Funeral in 2025: Costs, Trends, and Preplanning Options for Seniors

Funeral planning has always required quick decisions during an emotional week, but 2025 brings a few new realities: more families choose cremation, more people expect digital tools and transparency, and...

Can You Open a Sealed Urn? What to Know Before You Unseal, Transfer, or Split Ashes

Can You Open a Sealed Urn? What to Know Before You Unseal, Transfer, or Split Ashes

If you’re asking can you open a sealed urn, it usually isn’t because you want to “mess with” something sacred. It’s because life has moved, plans have changed, or your...

Cremation Scattering Laws by State: Where You Can Scatter Ashes (and How to Do It Respectfully)

Cremation Scattering Laws by State: Where You Can Scatter Ashes (and How to Do It Respectfully)

Scattering can be one of the most meaningful answers to the question what to do with ashes. It can also be one of the most confusing, because families quickly discover...

Memorial Jewelry Meaning: Why a Necklace for Ashes Helps People Feel Close (and How to Choose One)

Memorial Jewelry Meaning: Why a Necklace for Ashes Helps People Feel Close (and How to Choose One)

There are moments in grief when you don’t want advice, and you don’t want another decision. You just want something steady. For many families, that is the quiet role memorial...

Funeral Thank-You Note Templates: Examples for Flowers, Food, Donations, and Special Help

Funeral Thank-You Note Templates: Examples for Flowers, Food, Donations, and Special Help

After a loss, thank-you notes can feel like one more impossible task stacked on top of paperwork, phone calls, and the strange quiet that follows a service. And yet, many...

Funeral Thank-You Card Etiquette: When to Send, Who to Thank, and What to Write

Funeral Thank-You Card Etiquette: When to Send, Who to Thank, and What to Write

Thank-you notes after a funeral can feel like an unfair assignment. You are grieving, tired, and trying to keep normal life moving, and suddenly you’re supposed to become a polite...