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.

Creating a Small Family Pet Cemetery on Private Land: Rules, Records, and Respect

Creating a Small Family Pet Cemetery on Private Land: Rules, Records, and Respect

When a pet dies on rural land, the instinct to bring them home can feel both tender and practical. You know the trees they slept under. You know the paths...

Headstone vs. Grave Marker vs. Gravestone: Differences and How to Choose

Headstone vs. Grave Marker vs. Gravestone: Differences and How to Choose

If you’ve ever found yourself typing headstone vs grave marker into a search bar late at night, you’re not alone. This is one of those funeral-planning details that feels deceptively...

Wanting to Rest with Your Pet Someday: How to Talk with Family and Plan Ahead

Wanting to Rest with Your Pet Someday: How to Talk with Family and Plan Ahead

There are some wishes that sit quietly in the background for years, until a birthday, a holiday, or a sudden loss brings them into focus. Wanting to be laid to...

Pets in Human Cemeteries: Special Sections, Companion Graves, and What’s Allowed

Pets in Human Cemeteries: Special Sections, Companion Graves, and What’s Allowed

If you have ever stood at a grave and wished you could also visit a pet you loved just as deeply, you already understand why this question is becoming more...

Pet Cemetery Burial Guide: Plots, Headstones, and What to Expect at a Pet Graveyard

Pet Cemetery Burial Guide: Plots, Headstones, and What to Expect at a Pet Graveyard

When a pet dies, families often describe a strange split reality. One part of you is grieving in a way that feels quiet but physical, like your body is missing...

Seasonal Grave Decorations: Ideas for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Within Cemetery Rules

Seasonal Grave Decorations: Ideas for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Within Cemetery Rules

A gravesite changes with the seasons, even when nothing “new” is added. Grass grows fast in spring, heat bakes flowers in summer, leaves pile up in fall, and winter can...

Should You Buy a Headstone Before You Need It? Pros, Cons, and Planning Tips

Should You Buy a Headstone Before You Need It? Pros, Cons, and Planning Tips

For most families, a headstone is something you choose after a death—when the grave is fresh, the paperwork is still unfolding, and the emotional weight of “making it final” feels...

Burial in a National Cemetery: Eligibility, Costs, and How to Apply

Burial in a National Cemetery: Eligibility, Costs, and How to Apply

When a loved one served, families often carry two realities at the same time: pride and grief, gratitude and paperwork, the desire to honor a life well-lived and the need...

Visiting a National Cemetery: Etiquette, Photography Rules, and How to Honor the Space

Visiting a National Cemetery: Etiquette, Photography Rules, and How to Honor the Space

There are places that ask something quiet of us the moment we arrive. A national cemetery is one of them. Even before you read a sign or see a uniform,...

Understanding Your Cemetery Contract: Plot Rights, Fees, and Long-Term Obligations

Understanding Your Cemetery Contract: Plot Rights, Fees, and Long-Term Obligations

In a season of loss—or even in the quieter months of funeral planning—a cemetery contract can feel like a different language. The words look familiar: plot, deed, perpetual care, interment. But...

What to Do If a Headstone Is Leaning, Cracked, or Damaged

What to Do If a Headstone Is Leaning, Cracked, or Damaged

You might notice it from a distance first: a headstone that doesn’t look quite square anymore, a tilt that wasn’t there last time, a corner that seems chipped, or a...

Military Headstone Symbols and Abbreviations: How to Read a Veteran’s Grave

Military Headstone Symbols and Abbreviations: How to Read a Veteran’s Grave

The first time you stand in front of a veteran’s grave, you might notice how much is said in so few lines. A name. Two dates. A short row of...

Can I Be Buried with My Pet? Human–Pet Companion Burial Options Explained

Can I Be Buried with My Pet? Human–Pet Companion Burial Options Explained

If you’ve ever looked at your dog sleeping at your feet or your cat curled up in the same sunny spot each afternoon and thought, “We’ve done life together,” it...

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

If you’ve loved more than one pet, you already know this quiet truth: grief doesn’t replace itself. It layers. A dog who grew up with your kids. A cat who...

What Is a Headstone, Exactly? Definitions, Types, and Cemetery Rules in Plain English

What Is a Headstone, Exactly? Definitions, Types, and Cemetery Rules in Plain English

When you’re grieving—or trying to plan ahead—cemetery language can feel like a second loss: unfamiliar terms, rules you didn’t know existed, and decisions that suddenly carry a lifetime of permanence....

Most Popular Types of Headstones Today: Photos, Pros and Cons, and Cost Considerations

Most Popular Types of Headstones Today: Photos, Pros and Cons, and Cost Considerations

Choosing a headstone is one of those tasks that can feel both practical and deeply personal at the same time. In the early days after a death, families are often...