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 to Expect When You Receive Cremation Ashes: Handling, Storage, and Next Steps

What to Expect When You Receive Cremation Ashes: Handling, Storage, and Next Steps

Receiving cremation ashes can feel surprisingly heavy—emotionally and sometimes physically. Even if you chose cremation with confidence, the moment you’re handed a container (or you open a delivery box) can...

What Are Human Ashes, Really? Composition, Appearance, and What You Can Do with Them

What Are Human Ashes, Really? Composition, Appearance, and What You Can Do with Them

When a loved one is cremated, the moment the cremated remains come home can feel strangely quiet. There’s often a temporary container, a simple bag inside a box, and a...

How Much Should I Spend on Flowers for a Funeral?

How Much Should I Spend on Flowers for a Funeral?

Planning a funeral involves countless decisions, each carrying profound emotional weight. From selecting the service location to arranging meaningful tributes, every choice reflects the love and respect you hold for...

How Do Pet Funerals Work? A Gentle Guide to Saying Goodbye, Pet Cremation, and Memorial Choices

How Do Pet Funerals Work? A Gentle Guide to Saying Goodbye, Pet Cremation, and Memorial Choices

Losing a pet can feel disorienting in a very specific way. The grief is real and heavy, but the world around you often treats it like it should be smaller,...

What Do You Say to Someone Who Is Grieving the Loss of a Pet?

What Do You Say to Someone Who Is Grieving the Loss of a Pet?

When someone experiences the death of a beloved pet, the loss can feel all-encompassing, touching every corner of their daily life. Pets are more than companions, they are trusted friends,...

Do You Send Condolences for Pets?

Do You Send Condolences for Pets?

Losing a beloved pet is one of the most heart-wrenching experiences many people will face. Pets are not just animals, they are family, companions who share our joys, comfort us...

How Do I Choose a Life Insurance Agent?

How Do I Choose a Life Insurance Agent?

Most people don’t start looking for a life insurance agent because it sounds fun. They start because something feels urgent or important. A new baby. A mortgage. A spouse who...

What Is the Cheapest Way to Plan a Funeral?

What Is the Cheapest Way to Plan a Funeral?

The most cost-effective approach to planning a funeral often involves separating the disposition from the ceremony. By choosing the simplest professional disposition option, most commonly a direct cremation, families can...

Can Pet Ashes Be Buried with Humans? Laws, Cemetery Rules, and Realistic Options

Can Pet Ashes Be Buried with Humans? Laws, Cemetery Rules, and Realistic Options

There’s a moment many families don’t expect until they’re living it: you’re planning a burial or an urn placement for someone you love, and suddenly the conversation turns to a...

Why Are Carnations a Funeral Flower?

Why Are Carnations a Funeral Flower?

Funerals are moments filled with profound emotion, where love, grief, and remembrance come together in quiet, meaningful ways. During these times, every detail matters, especially the flowers chosen to honor...

Is It Rude to Not Dress Up for a Funeral?

Is It Rude to Not Dress Up for a Funeral?

Funerals are profoundly emotional moments that bring together family, friends, and communities to celebrate and honor a life that has passed. In these times, grief can feel overwhelming, and even...

Is There Such a Thing as a Funeral Planner?

Is There Such a Thing as a Funeral Planner?

Planning a funeral can feel like navigating a maze of decisions, each carrying deep emotional weight. From choosing caskets or cremation urns for ashes to arranging a service that truly...

How Do You Prepay for a Cremation?

How Do You Prepay for a Cremation?

For many families, the decision to prepay for cremation isn’t primarily about securing a financial bargain—it’s about reducing the emotional and logistical pressure that comes during a time of grief....

Funeral Thank You Message From Family: What to Say, When to Send It, and How to Make It Feel Real

Funeral Thank You Message From Family: What to Say, When to Send It, and How to Make It Feel Real

If you’re searching for a funeral thank you message from family, you’re likely in that delicate space where the service has ended, the house feels quiet again, and the outpouring...

What to Say Instead of Deepest Sympathy?

What to Say Instead of Deepest Sympathy?

Losing a pet can feel disorienting in a very specific way. The grief is real and heavy, but the world around you often treats it like it should be smaller,...

Cremation Diamonds and Gemstones: How They’re Made, Costs, and Key Questions to Ask

Cremation Diamonds and Gemstones: How They’re Made, Costs, and Key Questions to Ask

If you’ve been looking at cremation diamonds and thinking, “Is this real… and is it something we should actually do?” you’re in very good company. This is one of those...