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.

Cremation Urns 101: Types, Materials, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Cremation Urns 101: Types, Materials, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Choosing an urn can feel like an oddly technical task at a time when your heart is still trying to catch up. Families often describe the same moment: the cremation...

Scattering Ashes Ideas: Ceremonies, Etiquette, and U.S. Rules (Land, Water, and Air)

Scattering Ashes Ideas: Ceremonies, Etiquette, and U.S. Rules (Land, Water, and Air)

There is a particular moment many families describe after cremation: the paperwork is done, the phone stops ringing quite as much, and then a quiet question settles in—now what? The...

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Best Travel Urns

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Best Travel Urns

There are trips you pack for with excitement, and there are trips you pack for with a quiet kind of courage. Traveling with a loved one’s ashes often falls into...

After Cremation: Safe, Respectful Ways to Keep, Scatter, or Bury Ashes

After Cremation: Safe, Respectful Ways to Keep, Scatter, or Bury Ashes

There’s a moment many families don’t expect after a cremation. The paperwork is complete, the calls slow down, and suddenly you’re holding a temporary container that feels both ordinary and...

What Can’t Be Cremated? Jewelry, Implants, and Personal Items—What Families Should Know

What Can’t Be Cremated? Jewelry, Implants, and Personal Items—What Families Should Know

The question usually comes out in a whisper at the arrangement table, or in a late-night text to a sibling: “Can Dad be cremated with his wedding ring on?” Sometimes...

What Happens to Unclaimed or Uncollected Cremation Ashes (And How to Claim Them)

What Happens to Unclaimed or Uncollected Cremation Ashes (And How to Claim Them)

Most families who choose cremation never imagine a day when the cremation ashes might sit unclaimed. But it happens more often than people realize, not because families do not care,...

Irish Blessings for Funerals: Popular Poems, Wording Ideas, and Personalized Keepsakes

Irish Blessings for Funerals: Popular Poems, Wording Ideas, and Personalized Keepsakes

In the first days after a death, families often learn that logistics move faster than emotions. Calls get made, dates get set, and then—sometimes late at night, sometimes right before...

What Size Cremation Urn Do I Need? Easy Capacity Chart + Calculator (Adults, Kids & Pets)

What Size Cremation Urn Do I Need? Easy Capacity Chart + Calculator (Adults, Kids & Pets)

There are moments in funeral planning that feel unexpectedly hard because they’re so practical. Choosing an urn is one of them. You’re not only buying an item—you’re deciding where someone’s...

Interment of Ashes Explained: How to Bury Cremated Remains in a Cemetery (Step-by-Step)

Interment of Ashes Explained: How to Bury Cremated Remains in a Cemetery (Step-by-Step)

A lot of families picture “burial” as a casket and a headstone, and then feel off-balance when cremation becomes the choice by preference, by cost, by timing, or simply because...

Choosing the Right Cremation Urn: Size, Materials, and What to Consider

Choosing the Right Cremation Urn: Size, Materials, and What to Consider

Buying an urn is one of those tasks that sounds practical on paper and feels tender in real life. Most families start with a simple question—“What’s the best urn for...

Can Ashes Be Turned Into Glass? The Science Behind Cremation Glass Art (Temps, Materials, Safety)

Can Ashes Be Turned Into Glass? The Science Behind Cremation Glass Art (Temps, Materials, Safety)

If you’re asking can ashes be turned into glass, you’re not alone. Families often arrive at this question after the logistics are over and the quiet reality begins: the ashes...

What Happens During Cremation: A Detailed Family Guide, FAQs, and Modern Options Like Water Cremation

What Happens During Cremation: A Detailed Family Guide, FAQs, and Modern Options Like Water Cremation

Cremation can feel straightforward in conversation, but when it becomes your family’s real decision, the questions get specific fast. What happens to someone’s body? How long does it take? What...

Cremation Preplanning and Prepaid Plans: How It Works, What to Ask, and How to Compare Options

Cremation Preplanning and Prepaid Plans: How It Works, What to Ask, and How to Compare Options

Most families don’t think about cremation preplanning because they’re eager to “get it over with.” They think about it because they love someone and they know what grief does to...

Urn Vaults Explained: When You Need One, Types of Burial Vaults for Cremation Urns, and How to Choose

Urn Vaults Explained: When You Need One, Types of Burial Vaults for Cremation Urns, and How to Choose

Most families don’t begin funeral planning thinking they’ll need to learn a new vocabulary. You may start with a simple question—what to do with ashes—and suddenly you’re comparing urn styles,...

How to Clean & Care for a Pet Urn: Wood, Ceramic & Metal (Do’s, Don’ts & Quick Fixes)

How to Clean & Care for a Pet Urn: Wood, Ceramic & Metal (Do’s, Don’ts & Quick Fixes)

When a pet urn comes home, it often becomes one of the most emotionally significant objects in the house. It is not just décor, and it is not “just a...

Pet Urn Accessories: Stands, Plaques, Photo Frames & Keepsake Boxes (What’s Worth It)

Pet Urn Accessories: Stands, Plaques, Photo Frames & Keepsake Boxes (What’s Worth It)

When a pet dies, families often expect the hardest part to be the goodbye. What surprises many people is how many small decisions come afterward: where the ashes will live,...