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.

Memorial Jewelry vs. Cremation Urns: Which Option Honors Them Best (and When You Might Want Both)

Memorial Jewelry vs. Cremation Urns: Which Option Honors Them Best (and When You Might Want Both)

In the days after a cremation, many families find themselves holding two truths at once. You want something practical that keeps the ashes protected, and you want something personal that...

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...

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...

Choosing a Pet Urn for a Small Pet: Hamster, Guinea Pig, Rabbit & Birds (Minimal Ashes Guide)

Choosing a Pet Urn for a Small Pet: Hamster, Guinea Pig, Rabbit & Birds (Minimal Ashes Guide)

When you lose a small pet, the grief is not small. A hamster who kept you company during late-night homework, a guinea pig whose wheeks greeted you at the fridge,...

Biodegradable Pet Urns: Best Options for Water, Garden Burial & Tree Planting (What to Know)

Biodegradable Pet Urns: Best Options for Water, Garden Burial & Tree Planting (What to Know)

When a pet dies, families often find themselves making decisions they never wanted to make—quickly, while sleep-deprived, and with a heart that feels like it’s trying to learn a new...

Cremation Urn Size Guide: How to Calculate the Right Capacity (With Examples)

Cremation Urn Size Guide: How to Calculate the Right Capacity (With Examples)

When a family chooses cremation, the emotional questions tend to arrive first. What will we do next? Where will the ashes go? How do we create something meaningful without making...

Keepsake Urn vs Full-Size Urn: What’s the Difference (Sizes, Uses, and How to Choose)

Keepsake Urn vs Full-Size Urn: What’s the Difference (Sizes, Uses, and How to Choose)

When you’re holding the phone after “the cremation is complete,” the questions that follow can feel surprisingly practical—almost jarringly so. Where will the ashes rest? Who will want to be...

Best Urn Materials: Stainless Steel vs Wood vs Ceramic (Durability, Display, Burial & Travel)

Best Urn Materials: Stainless Steel vs Wood vs Ceramic (Durability, Display, Burial & Travel)

When a family begins looking at cremation urns for ashes, the first questions often sound practical—“Will it last?” “Will it look right at home?” “Can we bury it later?”—but they...

Pet Urn Size Chart by Weight: Dogs (with Breed Examples) & When to Size Up

Pet Urn Size Chart by Weight: Dogs (with Breed Examples) & When to Size Up

There’s a moment many families remember with surprising clarity: the day you bring your dog’s cremated remains home. It can feel quietly grounding to have them back with you, and...

Keepsake Urns Explained: What They Are, How Big They Are, and When Families Choose Them

Keepsake Urns Explained: What They Are, How Big They Are, and When Families Choose Them

Most families don’t start out knowing they’ll need a second urn. They begin with one practical question—what happens after cremation?—and then, a little later, another: what do we do with...

Cremation Jewelry vs Traditional Urns: Which Memorial Option Fits Your Life Best?

Cremation Jewelry vs Traditional Urns: Which Memorial Option Fits Your Life Best?

When families ask “should I wear ashes or keep them at home?” they are rarely asking only about a container. They are asking how to carry grief through ordinary days,...

Do Urns Decompose? Biodegradable Urns, Burial Timelines, and What to Expect Underground

Do Urns Decompose? Biodegradable Urns, Burial Timelines, and What to Expect Underground

After a cremation, a family often finds itself holding something that feels both solid and strange: a container that represents a life, a relationship, a whole history. Some people want...

Pet Keepsake Urns and Small Pet Memorials: Sharing Ashes, Photo Urns, and Mini Keepsakes

Pet Keepsake Urns and Small Pet Memorials: Sharing Ashes, Photo Urns, and Mini Keepsakes

When a pet dies, it’s common to think you’ll make the memorial decisions right away—choose an urn, choose a spot, choose the words. But grief doesn’t move in neat steps,...

How to Transfer Ashes into an Urn: Step-by-Step Tips, Tools & Safety

How to Transfer Ashes into an Urn: Step-by-Step Tips, Tools & Safety

The moment you decide to move a loved one’s cremated remains into a new urn can feel surprisingly tender. Sometimes it’s because the crematory returned the ashes in a temporary...

Infant & Child Cremation Urns: Sizing, Styles, and Compassionate Buying Tips

Infant & Child Cremation Urns: Sizing, Styles, and Compassionate Buying Tips

There are losses that rearrange time. When a baby or child dies, many families describe the days afterward as both painfully slow and impossibly fast—appointments, forms, phone calls, decisions you...