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.

Adult Cremation Urns: How to Choose the Right Full-Size Urn (Capacity, Materials, and Shopping Tips)

Adult Cremation Urns: How to Choose the Right Full-Size Urn (Capacity, Materials, and Shopping Tips)

When you start shopping for an adult urn, it can feel like you’ve walked into a store where everyone already knows the language—except you. Listings mention “full size,” “adult,” “200...

15 Reasons People Choose Cremation: Cost, Flexibility, and How to Decide What’s Right for Your Family

15 Reasons People Choose Cremation: Cost, Flexibility, and How to Decide What’s Right for Your Family

A generation ago, many families assumed a traditional burial would be the default. Today, the “default” is less clear—and that can feel unsettling when you’re grieving or planning ahead. But...

Religious Views on Cremation: What Judaism, Islam, and Christianity Traditionally Teach

Religious Views on Cremation: What Judaism, Islam, and Christianity Traditionally Teach

In many families, the first cremation conversation starts quietly, often in the middle of a much louder season of grief. Someone mentions cost. Someone mentions space. Someone admits they don’t...

Is Cremation Biblical? A Christian Guide to Cremation vs. Burial and End-of-Life Choices

Is Cremation Biblical? A Christian Guide to Cremation vs. Burial and End-of-Life Choices

For many Christians, the question about cremation isn’t really about fire or earth. It’s about love, reverence, and the quiet fear of getting something sacred “wrong” at the worst possible...

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...

How to Preplan a Funeral: Checklist, Costs, and What to Watch for With Prepaid Plans

How to Preplan a Funeral: Checklist, Costs, and What to Watch for With Prepaid Plans

Most people don’t begin funeral planning because they enjoy paperwork. They begin because they’ve seen what happens when a family has to make financial and emotional decisions quickly, under pressure,...

Funeral Order of Service Booklet: What It Is, What to Include, and Examples

Funeral Order of Service Booklet: What It Is, What to Include, and Examples

When you are planning a funeral, you quickly learn that there are two kinds of “paperwork.” There is the kind you never want to see again, like permits, authorizations, and...

Funeral Memorial Cards: Wording, Photo Ideas, and Printing Tips

Funeral Memorial Cards: Wording, Photo Ideas, and Printing Tips

There is a moment in nearly every family’s planning process when something unexpectedly small becomes surprisingly emotional. It might be choosing a song, deciding on a time, or realizing you...

Funeral Programs: What to Include, Examples, and Printing Options

Funeral Programs: What to Include, Examples, and Printing Options

A funeral program is one of those details that can feel small until you’re the one standing at the door, greeting people, and watching them look for something to hold...

Customizing a Casket: Interiors, Colors, and Personal Touches That Feel Authentic

Customizing a Casket: Interiors, Colors, and Personal Touches That Feel Authentic

When a family starts talking about “customizing a casket,” what they are usually trying to do is not decorate something. They are trying to make a hard day feel less...

Caskets for Babies and Children: Sizing, Design, and Sensitive Planning Tips

Caskets for Babies and Children: Sizing, Design, and Sensitive Planning Tips

There are losses that don’t fit into ordinary language. When a baby or child dies, parents and caregivers often describe feeling as if time has split in two: the emotional...

Choosing a Casket: Materials, Features, and Cost Ranges Explained in Plain Language

Choosing a Casket: Materials, Features, and Cost Ranges Explained in Plain Language

Choosing a casket is one of those decisions that can feel oddly intense. You may have been doing “normal life” just days ago, and now you’re being asked to pick...

How Long Can You Wait to Hold a Memorial After Cremation?

How Long Can You Wait to Hold a Memorial After Cremation?

In the days after a death, families often expect that there is a “right” order of events: a service, a burial, a gathering, a clear ending. But cremation changes the...

How the Cremation Process Works in the U.S.: Step-by-Step, Crematorium Basics, and Container Options

How the Cremation Process Works in the U.S.: Step-by-Step, Crematorium Basics, and Container Options

When you are grieving, the hardest part is often that everything feels urgent and unfamiliar at the same time. Cremation can be a gentle, practical choice, but families still deserve...

How to Become a Funeral Planner: Job Duties, Skills, and Career Path

How to Become a Funeral Planner: Job Duties, Skills, and Career Path

In the U.S., the funeral planner (often called a funeral planning counselor or funeral arranger) helps families turn urgent, emotional decisions into a clear plan. This guide explains what the...

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...